Blackburn 1 - Bolton 0: Rhodes leaves it late to deny dogged Wanderers

JORDAN RHODES displayed the clinical quality that has made him one of the most sought-after strikers in the Championship as Blackburn Rovers edged to victory over rivals Bolton Wanderers.

Jordan RhodesGETTY

Jordan Rhodes struck in added time to gift Blackburn the win

Rhodes, 25, prodded home the winning goal in the fourth-minute of stoppage time to keep alive Rovers’ faint promotion hopes.

Rhodes is rated at £10m and wanted by Premier League hopefuls Middlesbrough and Derby but for long periods of the match it was hard to see why. He had done little other than head tamely at Ben Amos from six yards before his late winner.

Middlesbrough’s proposal is to loan Rhodes for the rest of the season before completing a permanent deal if they seal promotion, but Blackburn manager Gary Bowyer said there was no chance of that happening.

“If it was a maths equation question, it just wouldn’t add up - why would we loan him out?” Bowyer said.

“My five-year-old nephew could work that one out.

“He just handles the speculation enormously well.

“The summer window, he was supposed to be off and he scored against Bournemouth and I was quietly confident he’d score today.”

Rhodes’s strike, from six yards, was almost the last kick of the game and came after Doneil Henry headed Tom Cairney’s corner towards goal.

Victory keeps Blackburn’s eye on the top-six and means the FA Cup quarter-final replay against Liverpool on April 8 is not the only thing they have to look forward to.

It was telling that the two goalkeepers were the best players on display.

Bolton had Ben Amos to thank for keeping Bolton level as the on-loan Manchester United keeper made smart stops to deny Chris Brown from close range and then Cairney from the 20 yards.

At the other end, Jason Steele dived bravely at the feet of Craig Davies to thwart the substitute after Adam Le Fondre’s  flick-on.

When Amos saved from Rhodes’ header, it looked like Bolton had done enough but they switched off in the closing stages and Rhodes punished the visitors.

Bolton manager Neil Lennon was not pleased.

“It’s unacceptable,” he said.

“If we can’t defend a set piece in the last 30 seconds of the game then we’ve got to be asking questions.

“They’re not learning and they have a bit of work to do to be mentally stronger.”

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