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  • Anelka (88)
  • McCarthy (58 pen), McCarthy (68 pen)
  • Date:2007-03-04
  • Kick-off:13:35
  • Venue:Reebok Stadium
  • Attendance:21743
  • Referee:Styles, R

Live Commentary

90mins

FULL TIME: BOLTON WANDERERS 1-2 BLACKBURN ROVERS: Rovers survive a nervy last few minutes to come away with three points thanks to two McCarthy penalties, but Bolton nearly brought it back at the end after Anelka scored and Faye's goal was disallowed

90mins

Pedersen has another go from the free kick but can't get it right again, sending it high and wide for the third time today.

90mins

Faye thinks he has levelled the game with a gtreat flicked header but hasn't noticed that the assistant referee has his flag up on the far side to break Bolton hearts as the goal is disallowed for offside.

90mins

The fourth official indicates that there will be four minutes of added on time, something Mark Hughes is not happy about.

89mins

Campo swingsa in a corner towards Jaaskelainen who had come up for the corner, but three Rovers shirts crowd him out and get the ball away.

87mins

BOLTON WANDERERS 1-2 BLACKBURN ROVERS (ANELKA): Anelka gets Bolton back into the game late on after a mix up in the Rover defence lead to the ball finding its way to the French striker, who calmly slotted the ball home for his tenth goal of the seaso

85mins

Anelka tries to hit one from long range but Pedersen is quick to close down the French striker before the shot can go anywhere near the goal.

84mins

David Bentley comes off and on comes Paul Gallagher in his place.

83mins

Roberts uses a great burst of speed to get away from the Bolton defence but the Rovers striker can't put it past Jaaskelainen who does well to save and deny Roberts his first Blackburn goal.

79mins

Diouf curls in another corner for Bolton but Friedel claws the ball away from danger and Blackburn survive again.

78mins

Gary Speed is subsituted and A Teymourian comes on for him.

77mins

Bentley has a try from the free kick but there is too much curl on the ball and it drifts wide of Jaaskelainen's left hand post.

77mins

Ben Haim pulls back Roberts who had just got away from the defender.

73mins

Matt Derbyshire comes off and is replaced by Jason Roberts.

72mins

Vaz Te makes a quick impact, getting away from Warnock and the lifting the ball over Friedel from inside the area but it doesn't come down quick enough and goes over the bar.

71mins

Anelka turns Samba with some quick feet inside the area and squares the ball for Nolan but the midfielder can't get enough on the shot and sends it straight at Friedel.

69mins

Stelios Giannakopoulos is dragged off and Ricardo Vaz Te is brought on to replace him.

67mins

McCarthy dusts himself off to score his second from the penalty spot, sending the ball under Jaaskelainen who was unlucky not to stop the shot.

67mins

Rob styles awards another penalty to Blackburn after a reckless challenge from Faye brings down McCarthy.

63mins

Anelka delievers another good cross for Bolton and finds Giannakopoulos, but the Greek striker has the ball just knicked off his toe by Nelson before he is about to pull the trigger.

61mins

The second corner is not as good as the first and Nelson is able to head the ball away from danger.

60mins

Diouf whips in a deep corner which looks like Anelka is going to get on the end of but Friedel just gets there ahead of the French striker to punch behind for a corner.

58mins

Spped has a great chance to pull the game level with a volley which beats Friedel but is cleared off the line by Dunn

57mins

BOLTON WANDERERS 0-1 BLACKBURN ROVERS (MCCARTHY): McCarthy puts it away from the penalty spot despite Jaaskelainen getting a hand on the ball.

56mins

Bentley outpaces Speed and the veteran defender slides in on Bentley but makes no contact with the ball and Rob Styles points to the spot.

53mins

Diouf crosses the ball and sends it right infront of Friedel but no one can get any contact on the ball and ends up sailing wide of the goal.

50mins

Dunn hits a shot first time from a long way out with Jaaskelainen caught out of position, but there isn't enough power on the shot and it just trickles wide of the goal.

48mins

Anelka cuts in from a wide position and gives the ball to Nolan who hits a sidefooted shot first time, but the Bolton captain doesn't put enough of an angle on the ball and its straight at Friedel who saves with ease.

47mins

Pedersen hits a free kick over the wall but the ball doesn't come down quick enough as the ball ends up in the stands behind the goal

45mins

Bolton get the second half going again as both teams go in search of a much improved performance on the first half.

45mins

HALF TIME: BOLTON WANDERERS 0-0 BLACKBURN ROVERS: A half of few chances as both defences go in on top at half time, Blackburn just shading the game after having the best chance of the match through Bentley who blazed over when through on goal.

45mins

Campo has another chance this time with a header from just inside the penalty area but its straight at Friedel who saves with ease.

45mins

The fourth official indicates there will be just one minute of added on time.

43mins

Ben Haim sends a long ball into the box which Nelson gets a head on but only as far as Campo who hits a rasping volley just over the bar.

42mins

Ben Haim sends in a cross for Bolton and Nolan is able to get infront of his marker Samba, but the Bolton skippers header is just off target.

41mins

Bentley gets a good cross into the area and McCarthy is able to flick the ball on for Derbyshire who takes a wild swing at the ball and sends it over from 10-yards-out.

39mins

Giannakopoulos swings in a second corner for Bolton and Fridel is forced to come through a crowd of players to take the ball, which he does well.

37mins

Pedersen sends a good cross into the box but again its Nelson who is able to get to the ball first and head it behind for a corner.

36mins

Campo whips in a cross but Nelson gets up high to get a powerful header on the ball and send it away from danger.

34mins

Speed finds himself with time and space to shoot but its a poor effort which is easily closed down by Emerton and Samba.

32mins

Bentley makes some room for himself and has a shot but its straight down Jaaskelainen throat who holds onto the ball.

31mins

Emerton sends in a low cross for Rovers but Faye slides in to block the cross and deflect it away from danger.

29mins

Speed heads a high pass back to Anelka who takes the shot first time but slices the ball well wide of the goal with a poor volley.

28mins

Pedersen out muscles Emerton and gets in behind the Rovers defence but he can't pick out a white shirt as Samba is able to cut out the pass and clear away.

26mins

Campo sends another miss placed pass out of play which seems to be a continuos theme of this first half, neither side getting into their stride at the moment.

23mins

Dunn slides the ball across for Bentley to run on to, unmarked in the penalty area, but the potential England midfielder can only sky the ball high over the bar and miss the best chance of the game so far.

21mins

Nicolas Anelka gets away from Brett Emerton and streaks away towards goal but ends up going wide and his eventual cross is blocked by Ryan Nelsen who puts its behind for a corner.

18mins

Morten Gamst Pedersen sends a long throw into the penalty area but Kevin Nolan is able to smash the ball away and up field.

16mins

David Bentley swings in another free kick from the left but Abdoulaye Faye gets a good header on the ball to send it out for a throw-in.

14mins

El-Hadji Diouf has the first shot on target of the game but its deflected by Chris Samba who takes the pace off the shot makking it easy for Brad Friedel to save. El-Hadji Diouf has the first shot on attack of the game but its deflected by Chris Samb

13mins

David Dunn goes on a mazy run a gets himself into the penalty area but he lays it off to Matt Derbyshire and the youngster is well tackled by Henrik Pedersen

12mins

Henrik Pedersen sends in a long throw but again it doesn't beat the first man and Brett Emerton is able to head the ball away.

10mins

Nicolas Anelka swings in a cross from the left but its easy for Ryan Nelsen to head away as Rovers cope with another Bolton attack.

9mins

Ivan Campo launches a long throw into the area but it doesn't clear Stephen Warnock at the near post who heads the ball away from danger.

5mins

David Bentley swings in a free kick from the left but its a poor one and Jussi Jaaskelainen is able to gather the ball with ease.

4mins

Tal Ben Haim launches a free kick into the penalty area, send the ball towards the penalty spot but Brad Friedel is quick off his line again to punch away.

3mins

Stephen Warnock sends a risk header back towards goal and Nicolas Anelka is nearly on to the ball but Brad Friedel sees the danger and is quick off his line to claim the ball

1mins

Morten Gamst Pedersen has an early shot from a free kick but only manages to send the ball high and wide of the Bolton goal.

0mins

Rob Styles blows the whistle and gets us underway here at a wind swept Reebok Stadium for the 136th Lancashire derby between these two sides.

0mins

Blackburn Rovers XI: Friedel, Emerton, Nelsen, Samba, Warnock, Bentley, Dunn, Mokoena, Pedersen, Derbyshire, McCarthy

0mins

Blackburn make two changes from the side that beat Arsenal in midweek with David Dunn coming in for Kerimoglu Tugay who is on the bench. Benedict McCarthy the hero from midweek comes into the starting line-up for Shabani Nonda who is ill.

0mins

Bolton Wanderers XI: Jaaskelainen, Hunt, Faye, Ben Haim, Pedersen, Nolan, Campo, Speed, Giannakopoulos, Anelka, Diouf

0mins

Bolton make two changes from the side that lost at Tottenham last week with Tal Ben Haim coming in for the suspended Abdoulaye Meite and Henrik Pedersen replacing Ricardo Gardner who drops to the bench. Kevin Davis is also missing through injury.

Match Preview

Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers go head-to-head in a fiercely contested Lancashire derby on Sunday.

What will add spice to a usually tasty mix is the fact that both clubs have ambitions of finishing in the top-six and securing European football next season.

Rovers' welcome their local rivals buoyed by their midweek FA Cup fifth round replay victory over Arsenal at Ewood Park.

Benni McCarthy came off the bench to fire Mark Hughes' side into the quarter-finals with a late winner.

That somewhat unexpected cup success was just the tonic for the Ewood Park outfit as it came hard on the heels of last week's disappointment of being knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Bayer Leverkusen.

In the Premiership, the home side have also bounced back from a recent dip in form and won two of their last three games.

In their last outing, Rovers eased to a 3-0 win over Portsmouth courtesy of a Shabani Nonda brace and a first-ever goal for the club by January transfer window signing Stephen Warnock.

Hughes looks set to recall midweek goal hero McCarthy to the starting line-up, while Jason Roberts might be preferred to Matt Derbyshire in attack.

David Dunn could also step up from the substitutes bench in place of Tugay, with Hughes opting to use the midfielder sparingly this season in a bid to protect his veteran legs.

Bolton, on the other hand, are looking to bounce back from a 4-1 thrashing by Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.

Sam Allardyce slammed his side after they slumped to a dismal defeat at White Hart Lane last weekend and the Trotters boss will be demanding an improved showing this time out.

Bolton though have recent history on their side as in their last meeting, Ivan Campo's second-half strike was enough for Allardyce's men to make the short trip home with the points.


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Match Report

Benni McCarthy boosted Blackburn Rovers' European hopes with two penalties to sink Lancashire rivals Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium.

McCarthy took his season's tally to 18, with goals on 58 and 68 minutes, before Nicolas Anelka set up a rousing finale with what turned out to be just an 88th minute consolation.

And this was all from the man who missed one of two penalties in the last minute of the reverse fixture at Ewood Park.

Wanderers could even have snatched a share of the spoils in injury time of this game, when Abdoulaye Faye's fine header was ruled out because he was marginally offside.

However, the fine margins of top-flight football mean that Blackburn continue their unbeaten Premiership run at the Reebok that has prevented the hosts claiming a victory since 1998.

The last five contests between these two rivals have produced only three goals and two goalless draws.

And this one had all the makings of something similar from a very early stage, with both defences living on Easy Street as the game lacked any kind of fluidity in either final third.

Morten Gamst Pedersen fired an early free-kick high and wide, before El-Hadji Diouf saw a deflected shot trickle tamely wide too.

Blackburn's Ryan Nelsen and Bolton's Faye were the stand-out defenders, dealing with what very little action came their way.

Faye made his mark on Rovers' fledgling striker Matt Derbyshire midway through the half with a fair, but a crunching tackle that took both man and ball. Nelsen on the other hand, impressed in the air as Bolton tried to up the tempo later in the half.

And if you had to plump for a better side in the opening 45, the hosts just shaded it on weight of possession. But it was certainly Rovers winger David Bentley who had the best chance in the 23rd minute.

Derbyshire capitalised on Tal Ben Haim's weak clearing header to lay on Bentley, who fired just over from the edge of the box with only Jussi Jaaskelainen to beat.

The second half then actually began in a similar way to the first - dull and dire - before Bolton's ten minutes of penalty madness gifted McCarthy the chance to claim his side's second Reebok victory in three years.

On 58 minutes it was Gary Speed at fault for clipping the ankles of Bentley on the right side of the box and then exactly ten minutes later it was the otherwise faultless Faye to blame for recklessly hacking down the former Porto striker.

McCarthy expertly tucked away the first into the bottom right corner, but he was a bit more fortunate with his second, with Jaaskelainen getting a hand on the ball before it nestled in the same corner.

Bolton tried their best to respond immediately when both Henrik Pedersen and captain Kevin Nolan had shots cleared off the line.

Pedersen's drive was forced away by Bolton's former transfer target David Dunn, before Nelsen added to his performance by deflecting Nolan's volley wide.

Anelka then fired a fine left-footed strike beyond Brad Friedel with two minutes of normal time remaining, before Faye nearly redeemed his penalty blunder with his late header.

Bolton Wanderers

Blackburn Rovers

Corners

80

Fouls

148

Goal attempts

1512

Shots off target

58

Offsides

64

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