Allardyce wins battle with old pal Brown

Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce won his battle with close friend and long-time assistant Phil Brown as Rovers defeated 10-man Hull 1-0 on Wednesday.

Allardyce and Brown worked together for several years at Bolton before going their separate ways and it was the Rovers chief who earned the bragging rights at Ewood Park thanks to a first half own goal from Hull goalkeeper Boaz Myhill, who turned Martin Olsson’s shot into his own net.

Rovers’ win kept them well clear of the relegation zone, but Hull are just one point above the drop zone as they failed to build on last weekend’s win over Manchester City.

Blackburn held a pre-match minute’s silence to mark the death of supporter John Taylor, who died after being hit by a rubbish bin thrown by fellow supporters at Stoke last weekend.

The hosts were close to an early lead after six minutes when New Zealand defender Ryan Nelsen met Morten Gamst Pedersen’s free-kick and Myhill superbly parried his effort over the bar.

Myhill was called into action again to push away a header from El-Hadji Diouf before Hull striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink tested Paul Robinson for the first time.

Rovers took the lead in the 16th minute when Diouf’s pass sent Olsson clear down the left. The Swedish defender took aim from a tight angle and his shot deflected off Myhill and into the net.

Olsson could have doubled his goal tally after half an hour but he shot straight at Myhill after a poor clearance from Steven Mouyokolo and then headed Pedersen’s long throw wide.

Hull were struggling to find any momentum and suffered another blow in the 39th minute when Boateng was sent off after an aerial challenge with Pedersen.

Boateng had needed treatment following the clash and he got up to discover referee Lee Probert showing him the red card.

Blackburn went for the kill and Pedersen whipped in a free-kick that landed on the roof of the Hull net before Steven Nzonzi dragged an effort wide.

Australia midfielder Brett Emerton should have extended Rovers’ lead when Diouf sprung the offside trap, but his weak shot allowed Myhill to save.

Myhill produced a fine stop to turn Gael Givet’s header from Pedersen’s cross onto the bar, but Blackburn had no reason to rue that miss as they cruised home.