Kevin Davies was back in the Bolton attack following a ban - taking the place of Nicolas Anelka who left on Friday for Chelsea. Tamir Cohen was handed his first Premier League start by manager Gary Megson, who brought in Lubomir Michalk for Abdoulaye Meite.
Blackburn manager Mark Hughes had Roque Santa Cruz fit again and available to partner Benni McCarthy in attack, while Ryan Nelsen and Morten Gamst Pedersen were back in the starting line-up after sitting on the bench in Blackburn's last game.
Hughes was asked in the tunnel at The Reebok about the chances of his being offered - and accepting - the Newcastle job now that Harry Redknapp has declined the opportunity. Hughes replied: "There's a lot of speculation, but I don't want to be talking about something that's got nothing to do with me."
What has got something to do with him is Blackburn, though he is unlikely to remember this game for long. For a local derby it was strangely muted, lacking in passion and incident. And ominously, for a derby, it attracted a mere 18,351 through the turnstiles - 13,000 fewer than made up the next lowest Premier League crowd this weekend, and lower than six Championship attendances as well.
Perhaps the stay-aways knew something because this was a poor, scrappy affair, though it was illuminated by a truly majestic goal. And to be fair, the second-half improved dramatically, mainly thanks to Blackburn, who scored twice after the break - the second another excellent goal.
The game started unpromisingly when debutant Tamir Cohen crudely hacked down speedy David Bentley. The challenge owed more to lack of quality than excess malice but Cohen was still lucky to escape with a ticking off from referee Mike Dean rather than a yellow card (or worse).
Goalmouth action was limited, though Kevin Davies jumped unmarked beyond the far post to send in a header against Brad Friedel's legs, and a moment later, Ivan Campo skied an effort, which seemed to sum up the proceedings to that point.
So it was a shock when Bolton scored just before half-time, and the quality of the strike from Kevin Nolan made it even more astounding. Nolan hooked in a volley from 20 yards out and the tightest of angles, Marco van Basten-style.
Brad Friedel punched clear Danny Guthrie's left-sided free-kick, but only as far as Joey O'Brien on the right, and he sent it back to the unmarked Nolan on the opposite side of the pitch. With his back to goal, Nolan spin and hooked a stunner into the top left-hand corner.
Santa Cruz had a decent chance early in the second-half, taking the ball on his chest and whipping in a right-footed shot that Jussi Jaaskelainen palmed away.
Then Blackburn equalised, and again it was a bit of a shock, because scorer Christopher Samba had moments earlier tried a shot from distance that was embarrassingly tame. But now he met Bentley's corner as it sailed over Jaaskelainen to reach him at the far post, where he glanced it into the ground and up into the roof of the net.
The equaliser lifted the match, but in particular it lifted Blackburn, who improved significantly on their first-half showing. After David Dunn nearly put the ball into his own net, Pedersen had a fierce shot blocked by Joey O'Brien.
Cohen was booked for clattering into Steven Reid , then promptly withdrawn for Christian Wilhelmsson to come on.
Pedersen was fed by Benni McCarthy but his cross-shot zipped past the far post, Nolan half-volleyed wildly wide from 20 yards, then blazed another long-distance well wide, before Bentley fired in a free-kick from 25 yards that Jaaskelainen did well to claw away.
Then Blackburn won it at the death, with another superb goal. Substitute Jason Roberts powered through from the halfway inside Bolton's half and fired in a low shot which deflected off Andy O'Brien's lunge and flew past the wrong-footed Jaaskelainen. It was Roberts' first Premier League goal of the season.
And it won the match 2-1 for Blackburn.
Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Joey O'Brien, Andrew O'Brien, Michalik, Gardner, Guthrie, Nolan, Campo (McCann 57), Cohen (Wilhelmsson 63), Giannakopoulos, Davies. Subs Not Used: Al Habsi, Hunt, Fojut.
Blackburn: Friedel, Ooijer (Khizanishvili 73), Samba, Nelsen, Warnock, Bentley, Dunn, Reid, Pedersen, McCarthy (Roberts 77), Santa Cruz (Derbyshire 90). Subs Not Used: Brown, Berner.
Blackburn manager Mark Hughes had Roque Santa Cruz fit again and available to partner Benni McCarthy in attack, while Ryan Nelsen and Morten Gamst Pedersen were back in the starting line-up after sitting on the bench in Blackburn's last game.
Hughes was asked in the tunnel at The Reebok about the chances of his being offered - and accepting - the Newcastle job now that Harry Redknapp has declined the opportunity. Hughes replied: "There's a lot of speculation, but I don't want to be talking about something that's got nothing to do with me."
What has got something to do with him is Blackburn, though he is unlikely to remember this game for long. For a local derby it was strangely muted, lacking in passion and incident. And ominously, for a derby, it attracted a mere 18,351 through the turnstiles - 13,000 fewer than made up the next lowest Premier League crowd this weekend, and lower than six Championship attendances as well.
Perhaps the stay-aways knew something because this was a poor, scrappy affair, though it was illuminated by a truly majestic goal. And to be fair, the second-half improved dramatically, mainly thanks to Blackburn, who scored twice after the break - the second another excellent goal.
The game started unpromisingly when debutant Tamir Cohen crudely hacked down speedy David Bentley. The challenge owed more to lack of quality than excess malice but Cohen was still lucky to escape with a ticking off from referee Mike Dean rather than a yellow card (or worse).
Goalmouth action was limited, though Kevin Davies jumped unmarked beyond the far post to send in a header against Brad Friedel's legs, and a moment later, Ivan Campo skied an effort, which seemed to sum up the proceedings to that point.
So it was a shock when Bolton scored just before half-time, and the quality of the strike from Kevin Nolan made it even more astounding. Nolan hooked in a volley from 20 yards out and the tightest of angles, Marco van Basten-style.
Brad Friedel punched clear Danny Guthrie's left-sided free-kick, but only as far as Joey O'Brien on the right, and he sent it back to the unmarked Nolan on the opposite side of the pitch. With his back to goal, Nolan spin and hooked a stunner into the top left-hand corner.
Santa Cruz had a decent chance early in the second-half, taking the ball on his chest and whipping in a right-footed shot that Jussi Jaaskelainen palmed away.
Then Blackburn equalised, and again it was a bit of a shock, because scorer Christopher Samba had moments earlier tried a shot from distance that was embarrassingly tame. But now he met Bentley's corner as it sailed over Jaaskelainen to reach him at the far post, where he glanced it into the ground and up into the roof of the net.
The equaliser lifted the match, but in particular it lifted Blackburn, who improved significantly on their first-half showing. After David Dunn nearly put the ball into his own net, Pedersen had a fierce shot blocked by Joey O'Brien.
Cohen was booked for clattering into Steven Reid , then promptly withdrawn for Christian Wilhelmsson to come on.
Pedersen was fed by Benni McCarthy but his cross-shot zipped past the far post, Nolan half-volleyed wildly wide from 20 yards, then blazed another long-distance well wide, before Bentley fired in a free-kick from 25 yards that Jaaskelainen did well to claw away.
Then Blackburn won it at the death, with another superb goal. Substitute Jason Roberts powered through from the halfway inside Bolton's half and fired in a low shot which deflected off Andy O'Brien's lunge and flew past the wrong-footed Jaaskelainen. It was Roberts' first Premier League goal of the season.
And it won the match 2-1 for Blackburn.
Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Joey O'Brien, Andrew O'Brien, Michalik, Gardner, Guthrie, Nolan, Campo (McCann 57), Cohen (Wilhelmsson 63), Giannakopoulos, Davies. Subs Not Used: Al Habsi, Hunt, Fojut.
Blackburn: Friedel, Ooijer (Khizanishvili 73), Samba, Nelsen, Warnock, Bentley, Dunn, Reid, Pedersen, McCarthy (Roberts 77), Santa Cruz (Derbyshire 90). Subs Not Used: Brown, Berner.
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