Sven fails to make it a perfect ten against Blackburn
Sven Goran-Eriksson's Manchester City looked on course to continue their 100 per cent home run in the Premier League, but only managed to draw 2-2 with Mark Hughes' Blackburn Rovers, who scored a contentious equalizer with only six minutes remaining through Paraguayan striker Roque Santa Cruz.
Eriksson's side were going for their tenth consecutive win at home and after a scrappy and tepid first 20 minutes of the north-west derby at Eastlands, the game suddenly took fire.
City, whose starting XI were shorn of rested Brazilian playmaker Elano (though he did feature for the last half hour) and Didier Hamann, surged down the left-hand-side through Bulgarian winger Martin Petrov.
Petrov rounded stand-in right-back Zurab Khizanishvili (Stephen Warnock was out suspended), and - from the by-line - squared the ball to City's joint leading scorer, Rolando Bianchi. All the Italian had to do was stick out a leg on the goal line to open the scoring. As it was record £8.8m signing from Reggina failed to connect and was left to blush at one of the biggest misses in Premier League history.
It only took six minutes for City to make amends, again through Petrov. From a similar position on the left, he picked out Darius Vassell at the back post. The 27-year-old former England forward nodded his second goal of the season much to the relief of Bianchi. It was the start of a manic three-minute-and-14-second period.
Blackburn struck back immediately - a minute later - through man-of-the-match Santa Cruz. Via David Bentley's free kick from the Blackburn left, his head glanced in the equalizer.
While the travelling fans were celebrating their side's leveling goal Petrov again marauded down the left and aimed for Bianchi again on the six-yard box. Blackburn skipper Ryan Nelson could only deflect the ball into his own net.
Hughes changed things at the interval, bringing on striker Benni McCarthy for the beleaguered Khizanishvili, but the South African was dealt with by City's central pairing of captain Richard Dunne and Micah Richards.
They weren't, however, able to deal with Santa Cruz, who - from a Bentley cross - headed in at the front post in the 84th minute. It was the 26-year-old's seventh goal in only his last four games. The contention arose when referee Howard Webb initially disallowed the goal as David Dunn, on his 28th birthday, appeared to be in an offside position.
After consultation with his linesman, who had originally flagged, Webb overturned his decision and, to the incredulous City supporters, the goal stood.
The draw meant Eriksson's side have failed to banish their Blackburn hoodoo - Hughes' club, only 29 miles away, had won the previous six meetings between the teams. And the last time City beat Blackburn at home was back in January 1993, when goals from Mike Sheron, Keith Curle and David White propelled them to a 3-2 victory.
City host high-flying Liverpool on Sunday, and a win then would strengthen their unlikely position in the Premier League's heralded 'top four'.
Sven Goran-Eriksson's Manchester City looked on course to continue their 100 per cent home run in the Premier League, but only managed to draw 2-2 with Mark Hughes' Blackburn Rovers, who scored a contentious equalizer with only six minutes remaining through Paraguayan striker Roque Santa Cruz.
Eriksson's side were going for their tenth consecutive win at home and after a scrappy and tepid first 20 minutes of the north-west derby at Eastlands, the game suddenly took fire.
City, whose starting XI were shorn of rested Brazilian playmaker Elano (though he did feature for the last half hour) and Didier Hamann, surged down the left-hand-side through Bulgarian winger Martin Petrov.
Petrov rounded stand-in right-back Zurab Khizanishvili (Stephen Warnock was out suspended), and - from the by-line - squared the ball to City's joint leading scorer, Rolando Bianchi. All the Italian had to do was stick out a leg on the goal line to open the scoring. As it was record £8.8m signing from Reggina failed to connect and was left to blush at one of the biggest misses in Premier League history.
It only took six minutes for City to make amends, again through Petrov. From a similar position on the left, he picked out Darius Vassell at the back post. The 27-year-old former England forward nodded his second goal of the season much to the relief of Bianchi. It was the start of a manic three-minute-and-14-second period.
Blackburn struck back immediately - a minute later - through man-of-the-match Santa Cruz. Via David Bentley's free kick from the Blackburn left, his head glanced in the equalizer.
While the travelling fans were celebrating their side's leveling goal Petrov again marauded down the left and aimed for Bianchi again on the six-yard box. Blackburn skipper Ryan Nelson could only deflect the ball into his own net.
Hughes changed things at the interval, bringing on striker Benni McCarthy for the beleaguered Khizanishvili, but the South African was dealt with by City's central pairing of captain Richard Dunne and Micah Richards.
They weren't, however, able to deal with Santa Cruz, who - from a Bentley cross - headed in at the front post in the 84th minute. It was the 26-year-old's seventh goal in only his last four games. The contention arose when referee Howard Webb initially disallowed the goal as David Dunn, on his 28th birthday, appeared to be in an offside position.
After consultation with his linesman, who had originally flagged, Webb overturned his decision and, to the incredulous City supporters, the goal stood.
The draw meant Eriksson's side have failed to banish their Blackburn hoodoo - Hughes' club, only 29 miles away, had won the previous six meetings between the teams. And the last time City beat Blackburn at home was back in January 1993, when goals from Mike Sheron, Keith Curle and David White propelled them to a 3-2 victory.
City host high-flying Liverpool on Sunday, and a win then would strengthen their unlikely position in the Premier League's heralded 'top four'.
