Soccer: Nelsen sent off in battling draw

Referee Alan Wiley shows Blackburn Rovers' captain Ryan Nelsen the red card. Photo / Reuters

New Zealand defender Ryan Nelsen was shown a red card but the Blackburn Rovers team he captains held on for a 1-1 draw against Arsenal at Ewood Park yesterday.

Nelsen was shown his second yellow card for a foul on Dutch striker Robin Van Persie in the 84th minute of a fiery English Premier League clash.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger later accused Blackburn of waging "violence" in a game that featured a swag of yellow cards, a charge dismissed by his managerial counterpart Mark Hughes.

"I felt there was a desire for violence more than commitment in some of the challenges," said Wenger. "We were very resilient against a team that was over-physical. We dealt well with the problem we had."

Arsenal took the lead in the 18th minute when Van Persie took advantage of some sloppy defending to score.

Goalkeeper Brad Friedel failed to deal with Eduardo Da Silva's shot and Nelsen and David Dunn both had chances to clear but failed to do so.

Blackburn almost drew level in the 34th minute through Nelsen, who struck the post from close range.

The equaliser came midway through the second half to midfielder David Dunn courtesy of a mistake by Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann.

- NZPA