Feyenoord 0-0 Blackburn
Blackburn reached the knockout stages of the Uefa Cup with a hard-earned point against an entertaining Feyenoord side at the De Kuip Stadium.
Rovers started well, but saw several decent chances wasted by Shabani Nonda.
Feyenoord took control, and only a superb Brad Friedel save stopped Angelo Charisteas putting the home side ahead.
Brett Emerton was lucky not to concede a penalty before the break, but Feyenoord's challenge faded after a bright start to the second half.
Blackburn played well in patches in the opening 20 minutes, but a real cutting edge was frequently lacking.
Seemingly taking a leaf out of Louis Saha's book, Nonda stopped in his tracks with the ball at his feet - but there was no offside flag for the striker to worry about, and a promising situation came to nothing.
Soon after, Nonda's low shot was well saved by Feyenoord's Henk Timmer after some surprisingly delicate interplay between centre-back Andre Oojer and striker Benni McCarthy created the opportunity.
Nonda was again guilty of profligacy in front of goal as he sent a horrible header high and wide after David Bentley's looped ball into the box found him unmarked.
The miss proved a turning point, as Feyenoord finally gained a foothold in the match.
The home side's first chance went to striker Charisteas, the Greece international skilfully fashioning a one-on-one chance for himself only to be denied by Friedel's outstretched leg.
Charisteas then played in the influential Nicky Hofs but his chip was underhit and sailed into Friedel's arms.
Blackburn were extremely fortunate to escape a penalty appeal after Emerton caught Stein Huysegems' heel as the Feyenoord midfielder burst through on goal.
Rovers were under intense pressure, and were again lucky to escape when Danny Buijs' ball across the box was mishit by Hofs, allowing Oojer to make a vital block.
Blackburn would have been happy to go into half-time level, but whatever manager Mark Hughes said to his players during the interval seemed to have little effect in the early moments of the second half.
Feyenoord cut Rovers apart down the flanks, but an awful first touch from Charisteas inside the six-yard box saved Blackburn.
Moments later, Huysegems had two shots within a couple of seconds: the first was charged down by Emerton, while the second drew a sharp save from Friedel.
The home supporters thought they had another decent claim for a penalty, but replays showed Oojer had chested, not handled, the ball inside the box.
Emerton's long-range shot was a rare Blackburn effort on goal in the second half.
But Rovers appeared comfortable defending the point which took them through as Feyenoord's challenge ran out of steam despite late efforts from Ali Boussaboun and Jonathan de Guzman
