Sunderland pay penalty for miss
McCarthy scored his first goal since October
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Wednesday, 02, Jan 2008 10:49
Benni McCarthy scored the only goal of the game as Blackburn Rovers beat Sunderland 1-0 at Ewood Park.
Sunderland were left to rue a missed penalty by Dean Whitehead when McCarthy converted from the spot at the opposite end five minutes later.
After a first half that provided little in the way of drama the game sparked into life during midway through the second period.
First Chris Samba fouled Black Cats striker Daryl Murphy but Brad Friedel guessed correctly which corner Whitehead was targeting and saved well to his left-hand side.
Samba redeemed himself in the opposition box when his forceful cross struck Danny Higginbotham's arm. McCarthy stepped up and converted from 12 yards to give Mark Hughes' men the lead.
Sunderland's woes increased when former Rovers player Dwight Yorke was dismissed for a second yellow card after fouling David Dunn.
With that the Black Cats' chances of earning a point evaporated and Rovers comfortably saw out the remainder of the game.
Elsewhere, Bolton left it late to beat Derby at the Reebok Stadium but a goal by Stelios Giannakopolous in stoppage time was enough to separate the sides.
Derby enjoyed the best chances of the first half and were unlucky on several occasions. Craig Fagan tested Jussi Jaaskelainen early on and then forced him to tip another chance over the bar.
From the resulting corner Michael Johnson curled the ball onto the bar from 25 yards out and Fagan went close again before the break but could only find the side netting.
In the second half Bolton seemed more assured and threatened when Nicolas Anelka struck the crossbar from distance.
Captain Kevin Nolan then spurned an opportunity from a mere two yards out after Anelka had played him in.
But with time running out Giannakopolous lifted a long ball from Jaaskelainen over goalkeeper Lewis Price and into an empty net.
The defeat leaves Derby rooted to the bottom of the table while Bolton rise to 14th place.