Bolton robbed by Roberts

LIFE after Le Sulk was never supposed to be this painful for Bolton Wanderers. The post-Nicolas Anelka era began at the Reebok Stadium with defeat as Red Rose rivals Blackburn Rovers scored deep into stoppage time to seal a dramatic victory.

Even more painful for Gary Megson, the Bolton manager, to digest was the identity of Blackburn’s match winner.

Jason Roberts played under Megson at West Bromwich Albion but was sold to Wigan Athletic after the pair fell out.

Ironically, Roberts’ future is again up in the air with speculation that Blackburn could sell Roberts during the transfer window yet no-one would blame Mark Hughes, the Rovers manager, if he opted to keep the player after his terrific winner.

The arrival of Roque Santa Cruz in the summer relegated Roberts to the role of bit-part player, yet his exquisite finish to settle alively contest was every bit as good as anything Santa Cruz has produced so far.

“We had a bit of a girly tiff when we were together at West Brom,” said Megson, after a costly defeat which landed his side back in the thick of the relegation scramble at the foot of the table.

“But whatever our differences, I always knew he was a good player and he’s proved that today. We struggled to handle his pace and power.”

In a lively encounter, Bolton established a first-half lead after a wonderful right-foot volley by captain Kevin Nolan.

In a move made in Dublin and finished in Liverpool, Republic of Ireland international Joey O’Brien took advantage of Brad Friedel’s poor fisted clearance to lob the ball to Nolan whose perfectly executed finish from a tight angle left the Blackburn keeper rooted to the spot.

The quality of Nolan’s finish was as good as anything Anelka produced in his 18 months at the club, and re-established the Bolton number four’s popularity with the fans, who had booed him recently.

Blackburn had been restricted to a couple of long-range efforts from David Bentley in the first 45 minutes but it was a different story after the break.

It required the save of the match from Jussi Jaaskelainen to deny Santa Cruz his 15th goal of the campaign after Morten Gamst Pedersen’s defence-splitting pass had left Bolton exposed in the 48th minute.

But Rovers, who were protecting an eight-match unbeaten record at the Reebok, were level five minutes later through an unlikely source.

Christopher Samba’s defensive talents have been called into question this season but he proved in the 53rd minute he is still a powerful weapon from set-pieces as he leapt high above the home defence to level.

Suddenly Blackburn smelt victory. Morten Gamst Pedersen screwed a 70th-minute effort horribly wide after clever work by Benni McCarthy before Roberts had the final say after a powerful run.

“We’ve now collected 10 points from the last 12 available and that has put us right back into the mix,” said Hughes.

BOLTON (4-1-4-1): Jaaskelainen 6, J O’Brien 6, Michalik 5, A O’Brien 6, Gardner 6, Campo 5 (McCann, 56, 4), Giannakopoulos 6, Guthrie 6, Nolan 8 Cohen 5 (Wilhelmsson 61), Davies 6.

Subs Not Used: Al Habsi, Hunt, Fojut.

BLACKBURN (4-4-2): Friedel 6, Ooijer 6 (Khizanishvili 72, 5), Nelsen 6, Samba 7, Warnock 6, Bentley 9, Dunn 6, Reid 6, Pedersen 6, Santa Cruz 7 (Derbyshire 90, 5), McCarthy 6 (Roberts 76, 6).

Subs Not Used: Brown, Berner.

REFEREE: Mike Dean (Wirral) 6: Did reasonably well to keep a lid on a Red Rose battle which simmered without turning ugly.

MATCH RATING: *** Nolan’s goal was worth the admission price although Roberts’ stoppage time winner capped a dramatic Blackburn comeback.