Sting in tail for Blackburn

BLACKBURN suffered late UEFA Cup heartbreak as they came within 90 seconds of creating club history.

In 16 previous matches in both the UEFA Cup and Champions League, Rovers had won just one match, and that a dead-rubber group stage clash against Rosenborg at Ewood Park.

Consequently, in coming from behind in this UEFA Cup first-round, first leg tie with goals from Robbie Savage and Benni McCarthy, Rovers were poised to win on the road on the continent after nine attempts.

But they were unable to weather a late Salzburg storm as Marc Janko grabbed an equaliser in the second minute of injury-time.

Formidably, on the artificial surface of their Bulls Arena, Salzburg had won all five matches — including a 1-0 victory over Valencia in a Champions League qualifier — by a combined goal margin of 13 to one.

But Rovers mastered the conditions well after the hi-tech stadium suffered a floodlight failure in the 18th minute, but play resumed a little more than five minutes later.

Blackburn were in the dark six minutes after the game resumed when the predatory Alexander Zickler, coolly slipped a right-foot shot to the left of the advancing Brad Friedel.

Salzburg’s celebrations, though, lasted less than two minutes.

Following a Christian Tiffert foul on David Bentley, midfielder Savage then curled a 22-yard right-foot free-kick into the top right-hand corner.

The fumbling Ochs certainly gifted Rovers their second goal.

After failing to hold onto a 35-yard free-kick piledriver from Pedersen, McCarthy made Ochs pay by sidefooting home the rebound from six yards for his second goal since a £2.5million move from Porto.

Then in the closing stages Blackburn came under severe pressure. Friedel saved from sub Karel Pitak — but in failing to clear their lines, it allowed Janocko to grab a late equaliser.

SV SALZBURG: Ochs, Bodnar, Dudic, Linke, Carboni, Kovac, Zickler, Jezek (Vonlanthen 62), Tiffert (Pitak 62), Meyer, Janocko (Janko 46).

BLACKBURN: Friedel, Neill, Khizanishvili, Tugay, Emerton, Savage, McCarthy (Nonda 87), Bentley, Pedersen, Gallagher (Peter 81), Ooijer.

Referee: Tomasz Mikulski (Poland).