Blackburn tripped up by Diouf's dubious penalty

Soccer English FA Premiership/Blackburn Rovers 0 Bolton Wanderers 1: El-Hadji Diouf wrote another chapter in his book of misdemeanours with a controversial winner to ruin Robbie Savage's Blackburn debut.

The Senegalese striker, who vies with Savage to be public enemy number one for rival fans, looked to have dived to earn a penalty 15 minutes from time in the Lancashire derby.

Television pictures showed Blackburn goalkeeper Brad Friedel had made no contact with Diouf, but referee Steve Bennett gave the penalty.

Friedel nearly had the last laugh by saving the spot-kick, only for the Diouf to fire home when the ball fell back at his feet.

It was hardly deserved by Bolton - they had not mustered an effort at goal until the 55th minute - but highlighted why Sam Allardyce's hard-bitten pros are top-half material in the Premiership while Rovers are near the bottom.

Blackburn really missed the suspended Paul Dickov and were generally toothless up front, while Bolton played - and won - a waiting game.

It was not quite the welcome Savage had been dreaming of and it took him less than a minute to stamp his mark - quite literally - on the game when with 35 seconds on the clock he caught Ricardo Gardner high and late, and was lucky to escape a booking.

Diouf, Bolton's contestant in the "most unpopular player in the Premiership" competition, managed to go one better by having his name taken for a petulant elbow on Andy Todd.

Savage's ball-winning prowess showed its value when the Welsh midfielder won a 50-50 challenge and in doing so set Jay Bothroyd free down the left flank.

That move fizzled out but Bolton never cleared the ball properly and it finally dropped to the excellent Morten Gamst Pedersen who lashed in a fierce shot that cannoned back off goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen's chest.

With 17 minutes gone Savage was finally booked for testing Bennett's patience once too often.

There was precious little invention by either side and when there was as often as not it was halted by a niggly foul.

The second half followed the same pattern with precious little to please the connoisseur.

BLACKBURN: Friedel, Neill, Todd, Mokoena, Matteo, Emerton, Savage, Thompson, Pedersen, Bothroyd (Johnson 62), Gallagher (Stead 62). Subs Not Used: Enckelman, Johansson, Reid. Booked: Savage.

BOLTON: Jaaskelainen, Hunt, Ben Haim, N'Gotty, Gardner, Nolan, Okocha (Davies 52), Campo, Speed, Giannakopoulos (Pedersen 67), Diouf (Fadiga 78). Subs Not Used: Poole, Hierro. Booked: Diouf, Giannakopoulos, Nolan, Davies. Goals: Diouf 77.

Referee: S Bennett (Kent).