North West rivals share spoils

Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers had to settle for a point apiece in a lively 0-0 draw at the Reebok.

Both managers rue missed chances

Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers were left to rue missed opportunities as neither side managed to break the deadlock in a lively Lancashire derby stalemate. Matt Taylor went close with a left-footed free-kick in the first half, quickly followed by Andy O'Brien's header which flashed across the face of goal, before Carlos Villanueva threatened to edge Blackburn in front with a snap-shot which sailed just a yard over. And while O'Brien and Taylor went close with further efforts after the break, in truth neither side looked capable of securing all three points in a game that finished 0-0.

Bright start

The hosts started the brighter of the two sides, with Johan Elmander particularly lively as he forced Blackburn into conceding two early corners which were subsequently dealt with. Robbie Fowler was given little time on the ball when he found himself in possession, with Gary Cahill and then O'Brien bringing him down with stern challenges, and at the other end Paul Robinson almost put his team-mate Ryan Nelson under pressure with a sloppy pass as three Bolton players advanced towards him. The Blackburn goalkeeper was then forced into a superb save from Taylor's crossed free-kick, with all the players in the penalty area failing to connect with the ball which appeared to disorientate Robinson. The unlikely figure of O'Brien was the next in line to threaten to break the deadlock, the defender connecting with another Bolton corner and seeing his header flash across the face of goal. Villanueva, attempting to earn a regular place in Paul Ince's plans, went close to firing Blackburn ahead as he controlled Brett Emerton's lay-off and aimed an audacious effort towards Jussi Jaaskelainen's goal, but the effort flew just a yard over the crossbar. Jason Roberts then added a collection to the Premier League's worst misses as he headed over the bar from two yards out having looked a certainty to head home, and the sides went in level at the interval.

Endeavour

It was much of the same in the second half, with both sides endeavouring to find the opener without carving too many real chances. O'Brien again found himself with the opportunity to head the ball home, but he failed to connect with Taylor's corner and watched as the ball flew agonisingly across goal. Bolton were enjoying the lion's share of the openings, and Taylor went within inches of nudging his side in front with a curling left-footed effort which flicked off the outside of the post. After 72 minutes and a fairly unnotable full debut, Fowler made way as Bolton continued to press, Gary Cahill needing to be on full alert to stop Matt Derbyshire latching on to a ball in towards the visitors' danger zone. When Benni McCarthy eventually got on to the pitch, he almost found am immediate way through with a deft flick at the near post from Danny Simpson's cross, but the presence of Cahill once again was enough to force the South African away from goal. That was to be last act of an end-to-end encounter, and while Ince will have been the more satisfied of the two managers, Megson was reminded of last season as he watched his side fail to convert several chances.

Bolton Wanderers	Team Statistics	Blackburn Rovers
0	Goals	0
0	1st Half Goals	0
1	Shots on Target	0
8	Shots off Target	6
2	Blocked Shots	1
11	Corners	8
16	Fouls	15
2	Offsides	5
1	Yellow Cards	3
0	Red Cards	0
63.7	Passing Success	73.9
25	Tackles	12
76	Tackles Success	66.7
42.7	Possession	57.3
47.3	Territorial Advantage	52.7