[Archived] News Article -> 2012/13 Match Report: Bolton Wanderers 1 Rovers 0

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Bolton Wanderers	(0) 1 – 0 (0)	Blackburn Rovers
Eagles 90 + 3
Referee: R. Madley		Attendance: 19,063

For supporters of a certain age a meeting between Bolton Wanderers and the Rovers was always an eagerly awaited Lancashire derby. Be it in the old First or Second Division or, indeed, even in the Third, it usually provided a fiercely competitive affair. Looking at the sparsely populated stands last night — although 19,063 still tops any attendance at Ewood Park this season — one couldn't help but think back to that wonderful night in March 1973 when over 33,000 saw Derek Fazackerley give the Rovers a narrow 1–0 win at Burnden Park in a Third Division match. Admittedly, both sides were then going for promotion and today both these sides seem to be going nowhere in particular. Bolton may still harbour thoughts of gate-crashing the play-offs, whilst the more pessimistic of Rovers fans may be looking over their shoulders at the relegation zone, but the truth is that both these sides are likely to be playing Championship football next season. Indeed, on the evidence of this mundane affair, one would think that they are likely to be playing at this level for some time to come.

True to his word, Michael Appleton made a number of changes to the team that had performed so poorly on Saturday and was rewarded with a much-improved performance. Sadly, the old Achilles' heel of conceding late goals returned to haunt the Rovers and, to rub salt into the wound, it was former Claret Chris Eagles who delivered the late knockout blow. Nonetheless, despite the result, there were at least some positives to take away from the Reebok Stadium with the midfield in particular, although far from perfect, at least looking more combative than it has in previous matches.

Appleton swung the axe with Danny Murphy being left out of the squad altogether, whilst Bradley Orr, Karim Rekik and David Bentley all dropped down to the bench. Adam Henley and Markus Olsson formed a new full-back partnership, whilst Morten Gamst Pedersen, David Jones and Cameron Stewart comprised a new-look midfield alongside Jason Lowe. Leon Best also made a welcome first appearance on the bench this season after his long battle with injury.

Although not the biggest of crowds, there was a decent atmosphere inside the Reebok Stadium as both sides slugged it out during the first forty-five minutes. There was nothing pretty about much of the football with the centre of the park being fairly competitive as both sides struggled to take control.

Bolton's Darren Pratley struck a volley wide in the opening minute, but the main threat to the Rovers came from the pace of David Ngog and the power of Kevin Davies, whose sheer physical presence was sufficient to unsettle defenders.

The pace of Bolton's counterattacks caused problems and from one such break Pratley played a decent ball into the area which Ngog could only deflect wide of Kean's goal.

In truth there was little in the way of goalmouth action during the first half as both sides became locked in a battle for supremacy in the middle of the park. Whilst this may not have been enthralling to many, it was good to see the Rovers actually competitive in this area of the field.

However, goalscoring chances were at a premium. Stewart fired wide and Jake Kean dealt with whatever Bolton could muster in terms of a shot. Ngog might have found the net, but a superb tackle by Jason Lowe denied him converting a decent opportunity.

On forty minutes the Rovers almost broke the deadlock from another set-piece. Pedersen, who had delivered some decent balls into the area from corners and free-kicks, sent in a low cross from a free-kick which was met by the boot of Grant Hanley, but sadly the ball crashed against the crossbar before going behind.

It was Hanley who came closest to opening the scoring at the start of the second half when he met a cross from Markus Olsson and his looping header seemed destined for the net until Andy Lonergan touched it onto the crossbar.

Kean was called into action when he saved a long-range free-kick from Marcos Alonso which beat the wall but, fortunately for the Rovers, not the 'keeper.

The home side had another good chance shortly afterwards, but Ngog fired his effort over the bar when he really ought to have at least got it on target.

However, much like the first half the game settled down into a midfield battle. Whilst Bolton tried to use the flanks to mount their attacks, the Rovers opted for a more direct approach with a number of long balls hit towards Rhodes and Campbell.

Having made little impression on the home defence, Appleton opted to make a change up front and gave Leon Best his long-awaited league debut in place of Campbell. His physical presence began to cause Bolton one or two problems and when he pressurised Alonso into playing the ball back towards his 'keeper, Rhodes was able to pounce and Lonergan was forced to get down quickly and make an impressive stop.

As the game moved into the closing stages, both sides became more adventurous in terms of efforts on goal. Bolton almost snatched a goal on 85 minutes when Kean could only push out a shot from Medo Kamara and Henley was on hand to clear off the line when Lee picked up the loose ball and seemed a certain scorer with a well-drilled shot. The corner that followed ended with Kean having to make a block as Craig Dawson moved in to finish.

The action then moved to the other end when Lonergan tipped a goalbound header from Rhodes over the bar.

As the game moved into injury time, the Rovers almost snatched a winner when Jones spotted Lonergan off his line and chipped a delicate little lob shot which just flew narrowly over the bar and onto the roof of the net.

The ball was then moved quickly into the heart of the Rovers half and Chris Eagles picked it up, ran past Olsson and then fired a shot back across goal which struck the far post and entered the net. It was rough justice on the Rovers as neither side really deserved to win the game such was the lack of quality on view. It was a dour, hard-fought struggle in midfield, but most fans were pleased with the improvements made in this area of the field.

Defensively the Rovers looked far better, with Adam Henley and Markus Olsson doing well at full-back while Grant Hanley and Scott Dann had a better game in the centre. Kean again produced several good saves and commanded his area even when electing to punch rather than catch crosses.

The midfield had far more energy than of late and provided more aggression in the centre of the park. David Jones and Jason Lowe combined well, although Jones, as expected, seemed to tire a little towards the end. Nonetheless, it was another impressive performance by the Wigan man, who looks far more suited to the Championship than Danny Murphy. Morten Gamst Pedersen worked hard on the right and provided Henley with cover so that the young full-back could get forward to support the attack. Pedersen also delivered some decent balls into the area from set-pieces and one or two that were rather poor. Cameron Stewart had one or two runs at the Bolton defence but without producing much in the way of end product. When Martin Olsson and Joshua King are fit, it will be interesting to see who gets the nod on the wings, particularly once Bentley gets back to full match fitness.

In attack the Rovers struggled to make much headway. Both Jordan Rhodes and DJ Campbell struggled to deal with the long balls from defence, but Rhodes did manage to carve out a couple of opportunities. The introduction of Leon Best provided Rhodes with the sort of physical presence that he has missed this season and it will be interesting to see how the two combine over the coming weeks.

Teams

Bolton Wanderers

Andrew Lonergan; Sam Ricketts, Zat Knight, Craig Dawson, Marcos Alonso; Darren Pratley (Chris Eagles 71), Medo Kamara, Jay Spearing, Chung-Yong Lee; David Ngog, Kevin Davies (Craig Davies 76)
Subs not used: Jay Lynch (gk), David Wheater, Stuart Holden, Marvin Sordell, Oulwasanmi Odelusi
Manager: Dougie Freedman

Blackburn Rovers

Jake Kean; Adam Henley, Scott Dann, Grant Hanley, Markus Olsson; Morten Gamst Pedersen, Jason Lowe, David Jones, Cameron Stewart; Jordan Rhodes, DJ Campbell (Leon Best 80)
Subs not used: Grzegorz Sandomierski (gk), Bradley Orr, Gael Givet, Nuno Gomes, Karim Rekik, David Bentley
Manager: Michael Appleton

Bookings

Bolton Wanderers – Chris Eagles

Blackburn Rovers – Jason Lowe, Grant Hanley


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