Bolton Wanderers – Blackburn Rovers

1. You've (possibly )nibbled on Sunderland Portsmouth, now get stuck in to Bolton Blackburn. It's a two course footballing feast as appetising as a month of turkey sarnies with no pay day in sight.

2. It is a Lancashire derby now shorn of the delightful skills of Mr Anelka, currently plying his ever shifting trade amongst the bright lights of London once more. Bolton will be looking at Kevin Davies to supply goals up front. Blackburn will be hoping this is not Mark Hughes last game in charge for them.

3. Bolton start the game in their kit of all white. Blackburn are in red and black. Should be no confusion as to who's who then.

4. 2'

   A few firm tackles go in from Blackburn. Bolton are probing around looking for a way through. They have a throw which is launched deep in to the Blackburn penalty area. Confusion reigns for a moment but is dethroned by a calm clearance.

5. 3'

   Tamir Cohen, son of Avi, is fortunate to escape a yellow card and is a benificiary of the lack of minutes on the clock.

6. 5'

   Another couple of long throws from Campo, the second of which is flicked on nicely by Davies but nobody in a white shirt can reach his header.

7. 6'

   A big hoof up the park from Samba in the general direction of his forwards but Jaaskelainen beats Santa Cruz to it easily enough.

8. 8'

   Best bit of football so far as Blackburn move it across their midfield until Bentley receives the ball, goes on a run and has a shot which Jaaskelainen does well to get down to.

9. 9'

   Almost a superb ball over the heads of the Bolton defence from McCarthy as he seeks out his strike partner but it is slightly overhit and Santa Cruz is unable to get to it.

10. 11'

    Heavy challenge from Dunn on Campo and the ref has a word in his shell-like.

11. 12'

    Davies is totally unmarked as the free-kick reaches him in the Blackburn six yard box but he is beaten by the angle. He gets his effort on target but Friedel blocks.

12. 13'

    Campo has the time to steady himself for a long-range shot which makes the poverty of his effort even less excusable.

13. 15'

    Pedersen crosses from the left but Jaaskelainen stretches his lengthy frame to take the ball.

14. 16'

    Free-kick to Blackburn after O'Brien goes up for a challenge. David Bentley is going to take it.

15. 17'

    He curls the effort from twenty-six and a half yards out. He gets it up alright but, once up, is unable to get it down. A pity and he is now running around embarrassed with players pointing and asking 'what is that'.

16. 19'

    Some odd defending from Bolton but Blackburn can't gain an advantage from some interesting clearances.

17. 20'

    Stephen Warnock, unable to pick up a team-mate, elects to pass to a Bolton player. Better than nobody I suppose and at least it keeps the ball in play.

18. 21'

    This time O'Brien is the wronged party and Bolton have free-kick wide right of Blackburn's goal. It's long and high and Friedel thinks to himself 'I'm having that'. And he does.

19. 22'

    Terrible defensive header from Gardner who is under no pressure but sill concedes for a corner.

20. 23'

    Corner comes over and this time Jaaskelainen looks nervous, flapping at a ball he should have caught. Throw-in to Blackburn on the far side and McCarthy tries a spectacular which doesn't really work out.

21. 25'

    Campo has another couple of long throw ins to the penalty area but Blackburn are wise to his ways and get both away. After this he is a little careless on the edge of his penalty area when in possession but gets away with his dithering.

22. 27'

    Lovely lifted ball over the head of Stelios from Bentley. Flash, but effective.

23. 28'

    Corner to Blackburn. And another. Campo gets his head to the second one and eventually Bolton get the goal-kick.

24. 30'

    Bolton knock the ball around in a rather haphazard manner and seem unsure of what to do with it and, if they are, unable to actually do it. Then Blackburn get it back.

25. 31'

    Not a classic so far. But a corner to Bolton. Maybe something exciting will happen here. Well, players clambering over each other followed by an overhit Ricardo Gardner cross out of play is not really the most riveting passage of play we will see, but it is something.

26. 33'

    Foul by Ryan Nelsen on Kevin Davies. The big men make their way from the back but it is Davies who wins the knock down. He can't find one of his own men though and Blackburn clear.

27. 36'

    O'Brien handles under pressure from McCarthy. Is in in range for Bentley?

28. 36'

    No, but it is in range for Stephen Reid. At least he thinks so. He shoots low and hard but straight at Jaaskelainen who has no trouble collecting it.

29. 37'

    Davies fouls Nelsen this time. To me it just looked like two muscular men enjoying the physicality of the beautiful game in a fair sporting manner but one man's firm challenge is another's free-kick.

30. 39'

    Great tackle from Warnock on Davies. Yet another Campo special on the near side comes in but this time Dunn clears with his back to goal.

31. 40'

    Nelsen fouls Kevin of the Nolan thirty yards out. Campo is going to shoot from the free-kick. Doesn't he know he can't throw this one??? He might have been better off doing so though as his shot makes it about as far as the Blackburn wall whose laughter rebounds the ball away from Friedel's goal.

32. 42'

    GOAL: Kevin Nolan has bit a beauty!! Friedel punches a cross out and when the ball is hooked back over to Nolan he keeps his eye on it before hitting a cracking volley over Friedel's head. No booing for Nolan from the Bolton fans now. Superb stuff.

33. 44'

    Campo is booked for a late challenge and he will now miss Bolton's match against Fulham.

34. 44'

    The free-kick comes in from the right and Santa Cruz is up highest amongst a scrum of players but he is under pressure and can't get the direction he needs. His header just over the crossbar.

35. 45'

    The battle of Nelsen V Davies continues with the Bolton man getting the free-kick this time.

36. 45'

    HALF-TIME: A marvellous goal to light up a dreary game at the Reebok. It deserves to win the match but if it does that probably means we are going to get served up more of the same mainly mediocre fare in the second half.

37. 45'

    Hi. Sorry about that but we thought the game was so rubbish it was a waste of our time commentating on it and that we would do you a favour.

38. 45'

    Nah, only joking. There have been some problems of a technical nature at Soccernet towers which have prevented me from delivering the rest of today's commentary to you in a timely fashion.

39. 45'

    I won't dazzle you with the specifics of these problems, mainly becaure I don't know what they were. Suffice to say that everything is working now and nobody got hurt. Although as well as preventing us from working, temporary loss of internet access meant I was unable to send someone I care for a fake fish.

40. 45'

    And if you have been sitting there for the past three hours anxiously waiting for my next piece of lurid description on today's match then bless you and here is a(very)brief synopsis of what you missed in the tale of Bolton Blackburn:

41. 53'

    Santa Cruz had an effort saved from close range. Soon after this, man mountain Chistopher Samba sent a poor header bouncing in to the Bolton goal over Jaaskelainen to equalise for the visitors. Joy unconfined.

42. 55'

    A couple of minutes after that O'Brien put in an important block on Pedersen as he steadied himself before letting fly from six yards out.

43. 62'

    Tamir Cohen was substituted and replaced with Christian Wilhelmsson after 62 minutes.

44. 64'

    At some point, Gavin McCann came on sporting a fetching Rab C Nesbitt style headband.

45. 70'

    Gardner cleared a long cross in with his head. Good stuff Ricardo.

46. 72'

    Ryan Nelsen put in another in a long line of decent blocks on Kevin Davies.

47. 73'

    Andre Ooijer made way for Zurab Khizanishvili.

48. 76'

    Benni McCarthy looked pretty out of sorts with his passing; Santa Cruz plodded away gamely with not much joy for his efforts. Jason Roberts came on after 76 minutes to replace the ineffectual McCarthy. David Dunn had a decent long range effort from twenty-five yards out but one which was always going slightly wide of the goal.

49. 85'

    Bentley came closer with a free-kick but still it skimmed past Jaaskelainen's far post. Jason Roberts seemed to get the better of Andy O'Brien after a long ball from the back but the Irishman just managed to curl a foot around to block the substitute's effort.

50. 89'

    He had better luck in the 89th minute after a powering run. Roberts had one thing on his mind as he bore down on goal after running from his own half and firing home a slightly deflected shot from eighteen yards for the winner.

51. 90'

    And that was that. Rovers won the game at the death. Sorry for technical hitches.

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