Ince winces at Sam’s start

AMID the cheers and whoops of Blackburn’s ecstatic supporters, the contented chatter of Sam Allardyce and the celebratory high-fives of his players, there was another sound just about audible in Lancashire on Saturday night: the noise of Paul Ince gnashing his teeth.

Rovers’ spectacular return to form here came too late for Ince, sacked last week after just six months in charge following a six-game losing run which prompted panic buttons to be pressed in the Ewood Park boardroom.

Ince is understood to consider the decision deeply unfair — especially as it came just when a juicy run of fixtures was looming large on the horizon — and this belatedly emphatic display will not ease his sense of injustice.

Instead, it is Allardyce, installed as his replacement last Thursday, who took the plaudits as Blackburn closed the gap to safety to three points.

“It was very clear how we have to play,” Benni McCarthy, back to form here with two well-taken goals, said. “Things we used to do in our game in previous years under Mark Hughes (Ince’s predecessor) we forgot to do.

“We look forward to getting ourselves out of the big mess that we have got ourselves in.”

McCarthy was presented with his first goal when Ibrahima Sonko chopped down Morten Gamst Pedersen in only the ninth minute.

Jason Roberts stabbed home another nine minutes later when Stoke right-back Ryan Shawcross helpfully deflected the ball into his path five yards from goal.

McCarthy’s second, in the 27th minute, came after Roberts’ shot was parried by goalkeeper Steve Simonsen and he was only denied a third after the interval by the width of a post.

BLACKBURN (4-4-2): Robinson 6, Ooijer 6, Samba 7, Nelsen 6, Warnock 7, Emerton 7 (Simpson 85, 5), Dunn 6 (Tugay 70, 6), Andrews 8, Pedersen 7, McCarthy 8 (Derbyshire 79, 6), Roberts 8.

Subs Not Used: Brown, Khizanishvili, Mokoena, Judge.

STOKE (4-4-2): Simonsen 6, Shawcross 6, Sonko 5, Abdoulaye Faye 5, Higginbotham 5, Delap 5 (Soares 59, 5), Whelan 6, Amdy Faye 6 (Olofinjana 75, 5), Cresswell 6, Pericard 4 (Tonge 59, 5), Fuller 6.

Subs Not Used: Sorensen, Pugh, Davies, Wilkinson.

REFEREE: Peter Walton (Northamptonshire) 7: No complaints from either manager.

MATCH RATING: *** Sam Allardyce could hardly have dreamt of a better start.