Blackburn Rovers went down not with a bang, but with a chicken-filled whimper. Needing a win to avoid relegation, the hosts came out flat-footed against Wigan Athletic and more or less condemned themselves to the drop. Although the final score was only 1-0, Wigan were dominant for much of the match and the hosts were booed off the park at halftime.
Blackburn Rovers Vs. Wigan Athletic, 2012 Premier League: Final Score 1-0 Wigan, Blackburn Relegated
The only positive of the first half, as far as the home fans were concerned, was the release of a caped chicken onto the field in protest of Blackburn owners Venky's. The chicken was eventually caught thanks to the efforts of Ali Al-Habsi and Yakubu. That was pretty exciting. The match was not; the best chance of the half went to the visitors, when Gary Caldwell (a Wigan centre back) thwarted Victor Moses (a Wigan forward) from a corner kick.
Then again, even if Caldwell hadn't blocked Moses off he probably wouldn't have scored -- the 21-year-old made a habit of hilarious misses throughout the match, even hitting a shot out for a throw-in at one point. Blackburn came pretty close to making their guests pay after the break, and Junior Hoillet almost certainly should have had a penalty after being felled by Emmerson Boyce, but it was a false dawn as far as Steve Kean's men were concerned and Wigan managed to get the goal their play warranted through Antolin Alcaraz in the 87th minute.
Blackburn are now six points clear of safety with one game to go -- an obviously impossible margin to overcome -- and you could easily see them stuck in the Championship for some time. Wigan, meanwhile, will be sticking around for another year. It's yet another incredible comeback for Roberto Martinez and crew.
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