(AP Photo/PA, Dave Howarth)

Blackburn rally to beat Portsmouth 3-1

By WALTER SIMON,

(AP) -- LONDON (SE) - Jason Roberts came off the substitutes' bench to score two goals as Blackburn overcame a half-time deficit to beat bottom-placed Portsmouth 3-1 at Ewood Park.

Blackburn were trailing 1-0 at the break and badly in need of inspiration when desperate manager Sam Allardyce sent on Roberts and another striker Benni McCarthy at the start of the second half.

The results were instantaneous with Roberts levelling after 53 minutes and sealing the fourth successive home win with the third with four minutes remaining.

Portsmouth, with only one win now in 19 Premier League matches, were good value for their interval lead given them by a fierce low shot from 30 yards by Jamie O'Hara, the midfield player on loan from Tottenham.

But the introduction of Roberts and McCarthy transformed the match and with seven minutes of the re-start Blackburn were level when Roberts converted a headed pass from Ryan Nelsen.

Pompey manager Paul Hart sent on Tommy Smith in place of last week's hat-trick hero Aruna Dindane and the former Watford player went close with a header.

But Blackburn went ahead in the 73rd minute when New Zealander Nelsen rose to head in a David Dunn corner.

Roberts, who was on loan at Portsmouth a few years ago, finished off his old club when he turned in a low centre from McCarthy from close range.

Portsmouth faded quickly after half time and showed little of the form which enabled them to crush Stoke and Wigan in 4-0 wins in their last two matches.

Hart blamed poor defending for his team's latest setback but tried to rally his defeated team.

Hart said: "We have been beaten by three set pieces and that is sacrilege in my opinion after spending all week in training working on defending them.

"In the first half I thought we defended extremely well and got our noses in front.

"We expected Blackburn to come at us in the second half and throw on the two strikers so we cannot use that as an excuse.

"Even so, there were lots of good things to come out of the game and we just have to pick ourselves up and get on with it again. But I am disappointed."

Allardyce said he had no options but to send on McCarthy and Roberts because his team had been so poor in the first half.

Allardyce said: "We have been strong at home this season but we were doing nothing right in the first half and I felt we needed to put pressure on them.

"Roberts can be an asset if you get the ball into him and he took both his goals well.

"In this division you have to win your home games or otherwise you can get into real trouble so this was an important win against an improving team who could have got out of the bottom three if they had won."

Updated November 7, 2009