Benni strikes late to save Bolton

BENNI McCARTHY spared Sam Allardyce his first defeat as Blackburn boss as his former club Bolton threw away a two-goal half-time cushion.

Rovers were totally inept for the opening 65 minutes, with Matt Taylor and Kevin Davies on the scoresheet before half-time.

But after Stephen Warnock gave Blackburn a lifeline, McCarthy made amends for missing a penalty by poaching an 87th-minute equaliser to leave Big Sam unbeaten.

Given that run Allardyce would rightly have expected more than the woeful performance he received.

To say Rovers were not at the races would be an understatement and they were made to pay by a Bolton side who had lost their previous four league games — all without scoring.

Bolton grabbed the lead in the 15th minute via route-one football. From a booming punt upfield from Jaaskelainen, Ariza Makukula threaded a cross along the edge of the six-yard box for Taylor to slide the ball home at the far post as covering defender Warnock failed to intercept.

When the second goal came, Steinsson drove in a low cross from the right that was initially missed at the near post by Kevin Nolan, returning as skipper after serving a two-match ban.

Davies, though, was in close attendance behind, and although Paul Robinson superbly blocked the striker’s initial effort, he was helpless for the second as the 31-year-old tucked home the rebound.

Bolton looked on course for an easy three points until Allardyce’s side conjured something from nothing.

McCarthy, innocuous up until that point, was the instigator as he slipped a ball to the overlapping Warnock.

The left-back then measured his shot as he proceeded to place the ball into the roof of the net for his second goal of the season.

Five minutes later and Rovers should have drawn level when Roque Santa Cruz, thrown on in the 58th minute as Allardyce switched to a three-man attack, had his legs taken in the area by a yellow-carded Jaaskelainen.

But one minute a villain, the next a hero as the Finn comfortably saved McCarthy’s poor penalty low to his right before bravely blocking the rebound at the feet of Andrews.

McCarthy, though, had the final say as four minutes from time he made amends for his miss by tapping into an empty net from two yards after the ball had run kindly following another courageous stop from Jaaskelainen to deny Roberts.

BLACKBURN: Robinson, Ooijer (Roque Santa Cruz 58), Samba, Nelsen, Warnock, Emerton, Andrews, Grella (Mokoena 90), Pedersen (Kerimoglu 57), Roberts, McCarthy.

BOLTON: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Cahill, Puygrenier, Samuel, Kevin Davies, Muamba, Nolan, Basham, Taylor, Makukula (Mark Davies 74).

Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral).