Virtually the whole of Steve Kean's stint as manager of Blackburn Rovers was shrouded in controversy.
He had been unwanted by the majority of supporters, who were unhappy that someone lacking in experience had been chosen by the owners to replace Sam Allardyce.
Calls for him to be sacked soon surfaced and the situation had reached fever pitch by the time that Rovers travelled to Manchester United two years ago today. Kean's side were bottom of the table and it had been reported that if they were to be defeated at Old Trafford, his short time as boss would be brought to an end.
This was a United side, though, who were without Wayne Rooney. The talisman had been dropped by Sir Alex Ferguson as punishment for having a night out with teammates Jonny Evans and Darron Gibson over the Christmas period. Blackburn wouldn't have had many better chances to pull off an upset.
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They started brightly and were rewarded in the 16th minute with the game's opening goal. Referee Mike Dean adjudged that Dimitar Berbatov had thrown Christopher Samba to the ground and Nigerian striker Yakubu stepped up to convert the resultant penalty.
In response, the home team created a couple of chances, but neither Nani nor Javier Hernandez could find the target, which meant that Blackburn made it through to the break with a slender one-goal advantage.
Many anticipated that United would gain control after the restart, but it was Rovers that scored the next goal in the 52nd minute. It was Yakubu again as he took advantage of some slack defending to angle a shot beyond the reach of David de Gea.
However, within 10 minutes, Blackburn's lead had been eradicated by Berbatov. The Bulgarian headed in just 60 seconds after Yakubu had made it 2-0, before he turned in a cross from Antonio Valencia. With just under 30 minutes left to play, United were expected to claim the spoils.
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Blackburn had not read the script, though, and in the 80th minute they scored the winning goal. De Gea attempted to punch clear Morten Gamst Pedersen's cross, but he was beaten to the ball by Rovers defender Grant Hanley, who headed into the net from close range.
"It was a very physical game, because the wetness of the pitch made everything such hard work. When United pulled it back to 2-2 they got the crowd behind them but they were not able to build up their usual head of steam because we dug in so well. We have learned from recent defeats. We no longer just lash the ball up the field, we try to pass our way forward," Kean told reporters after the match.
"We are desperate for wins and it was great to get one here. This is such a young team, because of all the injuries we have and this is the sort of result that can really make a young lad's career. The victory is massive for everyone at Blackburn, but it's no use if we don't build on it. We need more wins to climb the table and now we have got to go on and do the same professional job in our next games."
MAN UNITED: De Gea; Evra, Jones, Carrick, Rafael (Keane); Valencia, Park, Nani, Welbeck; Hernandez (Anderson), Berbatov
BLACKBURN: Bunn; Samba, Hanley, Henley, Lowe; Formica (Goodwillie), Pedersen, Petrovic, Nzonzi; Rochina (Morris), Yakubu (Slew)
Liam Apicella
