Reid baffled by sluggish Rovers

STEVEN REID wants Blackburn to banish an unwanted Premier League statistic.

The fact sheets show Mark Hughes’s side have fallen behind more often than any of the other 20 teams in the top flight this season.

It happened again at the weekend when Middlesbrough defender David Wheater made the breakthrough in the 13th minute with his third goal in five games.

Yet, Blackburn are still in the hunt for a European place after digging in and drawing level through substitute Matt Derbyshire in the 75th minute.

“It seems to be the case the last couple of months that it takes us until half-time to get going,” Reid said. “We usually improve late on, which was the case against Middlesbrough.

“We were fortunate, though, as they hit the crossbar and in the last seconds (Jeremie) Aliadiere had a chance at the far post.

“But it is five games unbeaten so it is a decent little run. Hopefully we’ll improve this week when we face Aston Villa.”

With both sides in need of points for different reasons, there was a bit of an edge to Saturday’s game.

Boro manager Gareth Southgate and his assistant Colin Cooper had a brief touchline flare-up with Hughes in the second half.

Hughes admitted being mischievous, rolling the ball into play and hitting Aliadiere on the back.

“The fact of the matter is I saw a couple of centre-halves I used to do battle with and reverted to type,” said the former Manchester United striker.

“It was pre-meditated, the crowd was flat and it was the best thing I did. I just felt Middlesbrough were running the clock down and we needed to raise the momentum.”

Middlesbrough should have secured the points but 20-year-old Wheater saw a header come back off the bar, Tuncay Sanli mis-kicked in front of goal and Aliadiere squandered two great chances.

With Jonathan Woodgate sidelined through injury, Wheater has grasped his chance and is set to be rewarded with a long-term contract. Southgate is keen to get a deal with the youngster rubber-stamped.

He said: “Talks are ongoing and we are a long way down the line to sorting that out.”

BLACKBURN (4-4-2): Friedel 7, Ooijer 6, Samba 6, Nelsen 5, Warnock 6, Bentley 7, Reid 5, Dunn 5 (Derbyshire 65, 7), Pedersen 4 (Emerton 65, 5), Santa Cruz 7, Roberts 4.

Subs Not Used: Brown, McCarthy, Khizanishvili.

MIDDLESBROUGH (4-4-2): Schwarzer 7, Young 8, Huth 7, Wheater 8, Pogatetz 6, O’Neil 6, Boateng 5, Arca 4 (Rochemback 46, 6), Downing 6, Tuncay 4, Aliadiere 5.

Subs Not Used: Turnbull, Riggott, Lee, Johnson.

REFEREE: Keith Stroud (Hampshire) 4: Almost lost control of a bad-tempered game in the second half and should have flourished at least one red card.

MATCH RATING: *** Sparky stuff and a game Boro should have won, but they were punished for poor finishing.