Goalscorers: Alan Shearer 7, Keith Curle 32 PEN, Colin Hendry 39, Uwe Rosler 57, Paul Walsh 71
Teams:
Blackburn Rovers: Tim Flowers, Henning Berg, Colin Hendry, Ian Pearce, Jeff Kenna, Graeme Le Saux, Mark Atkins (David Batty 78), Stuart Ripley, Tim Sherwood, Alan Shearer, Chris Sutton
Manchester City: Tony Coton, Keith Curle, Richard Edghill, John Foster, Alan Kernaghan, Garry Flitcroft, Fitzroy Simpson, Nicky Summerbee, Niall Quinn, Uwe Rosler, Paul Walsh (Peter Beagrie 78)
Referee: Keith Cooper, Attendance: 27,851
Blackburn Rovers were closing in on their first top-flight title in 81 years. After Manchester United’s disappointing goalless draw earlier on Easter Monday at home to Chelsea, Blackburn knew they could open up an eight-point lead at the top of the table with just four games left to play. They faced Manchester City who were amidst a group of sides firmly in a relegation dogfight. For once, the city of Manchester was cheering for one team only.
Brian Horton’s team were one of the leading scorers in the bottom half of the table and always looked capable of scoring, especially with an attack that consisted of Niall Quinn, Uwe Rosler and Paul Walsh. However, they struggled to keep clean sheets and another shutout at Ewood Park would elude them inside of seven minutes. City skipper Keith Curle played the ball back to his goalkeeper, Tony Coton. Coton’s kick was dreadful and it went straight to Alan Shearer. His reaction was instant, sticking the ball straight into the back of the net. It was a late Easter treat for the Premier League’s top goalscorer and the league leaders were 1-0 ahead.
City had beaten Liverpool FC on Good Friday, so they came into the match with a bit of momentum and as the rain lashed down on the Ewood Park turf, they found a controversial way back into the match. Nicky Summerbee’s deep cross was well-collected by Tim Flowers. However, referee Keith Cooper had spotted an infringement on Quinn, who had claimed his shirt was tugged. There were arguments from Blackburn players but Curle made no mistake from 12-yards to level the scores.
The Citizens were level for just seven minutes. A Blackburn corner was headed out into the path of Colin Hendry. He slipped as he took the strike but the ball picked up speed across the muddy surface and somehow squirmed through Coton’s body, then the legs of John Foster on the goal-line. It was another error from Coton who was experiencing a difficult evening and Blackburn were back infront.
The rain might have stopped for the second half but the pitch wasn’t playing very well. This did lead though to plenty of mistakes. Hendry was the next to make a crucial error. His clearing header on 57 minutes had no power on it and Rosler punished him with a decisive strike into the bottom corner to score his 21st goal of the season in all competitions. Blackburn looked more nervous as the game continued and it was Horton’s side that looked the more dangerous. Midfielder Garry Flitcroft was denied by Flowers before the winner arrived on 71 minutes. Quinn drew Hendry out wide before playing through Summerbee. His shot was well-saved by Flowers but the rebound favoured Paul Walsh who made no mistake to score the winning goal.
It was only Blackburn’s second home defeat of the season but despite this result and a further defeat at West Ham, they held off Manchester United on the final day to become champions. Manchester City finished 17th and just two places above the relegation zone, parting company with Brian Horton as first-team manager once the season was over.
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