Blackburn slump at home once again
BLACKBURN, England -- Blackburn suffered their fourth home Premier League defeat in a row when they lost 1-0 to Charlton at Ewood Park.
Iceland's Hermann Hreidarsson struck with a diving header from eight metres, reaching a Paolo Di Canio corner to power the ball past keeper Brad Friedel and through the legs of David Thompson on the line.
Charlton's third straight win takes them up three places to seventh, while Blackburn remain 15th after their latest setback .
Blackburn had more of the first-half possession but could not find a way past impressive keeper Dean Kiely, with Andy Cole -- looking for his 250th goal in all competitions -- failing on three occasions and Steven Reid seeing a long-range effort well saved.
Manager Graeme Souness brought on striker Matt Jansen for midfielder Garry Flitcroft at halftime in a bid to help Cole up front, but the game remained evenly balanced as both sides created chances without finding the net.
Charlton substitute Radostin Kishishev saw his right-foot shot fly wide, while Blackburn's Turkey midfielder Tugay had his effort blocked on the hour before the visitors' Scott Parker fired a shot from 12 metres that was saved by Friedel.
Kiely was called on again to make a magnificent save from a looping Thompson header on 65 minutes before Italian substitute Dino Baggio almost snatched an equaliser five minutes from time only to see his right-foot volley flash wide.
Copyright 2003
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
