Diouf salvages point for Blackburn in draw with Sunderland

FT: Blackburn 2 Sunderland 2

El-Hadji Diouf salvaged a point for Blackburn at Ewood Park after Darren Bent’s cool double looked set to send Sunderland on their way to a rare win.

Bent opened the scoring for the visitors in the 52nd minute only for Morten Gamst Pedersen to reply almost immediately with a drilled shot in off the post.

Bent restored Sunderland’s lead on 65 before Diouf’s header 13 minutes from time. Marton Fulop saved brilliantly to deny Nikola Kalinic at the death.

After Bent was played through again to fire a hat-trick chance inches wide in the 72nd minute, Allardyce had seen enough and responded with a triple substitution.

Forced to throw caution to the wind, the Rovers boss introduced Franco di Santo, El-Hadji Diouf and Nikola Kalinic in place of Roberts, McCarthy and Hoilett.

And in the 77th minute Allardyce’s move paid off when Diouf got on the end of fellow ex-Black Cat Pascal Chimbonda’s cross to head home the equaliser.

Rovers should have snatched victory in the dying seconds when Kalinic’s header from a Pedersen free-kick was brilliantly saved by Fulop before Samba somehow struck the rebound wide.