South African striker Benni McCarthy illustrated why he was targeted by Chelsea with one of the goals in Blackburn Rovers’ 2-0 Intertoto Cup win over FK Vetra of Lithuania on Sunday.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho tried to lure McCarthy to Stamford Bridge last month but Rovers coach Mark Hughes refused to sell.
His decision was justified when the 29-year-old South African, who scored 18 times last season, hit the opener after half an hour in Vilnius following a cross from Mort Gamst Pedersen.
Matt Derbyshire then sealed the victory on 80 minutes when he drilled in a 25-yard effort past Vaidas Zutautas in the Vetra goal to give Rovers a cushion ahead of the second leg of the third-round tie at Ewood Park next Saturday.
Hughes was satisfied with his team’s overall performance, which has put them a step closer to the qualifying stages of the Uefa Cup, despite the team struggling at times during the encounter.
”We are happy with the result. It was a good win for us,” said the Welshman.
”We are very early in our preparation and I think at times that showed, but we are grateful that we’ve been able to not concede any goals and win the game 2-0.
”I did try and say before the game that we felt it would be a difficult game, because of the stages of preparations that both teams had.” — Sapa-AFP