Yakubu goal not enough for Blackburn

Bolton won 2-1 at Blackburn on Tuesday to move above its opponent at the bottom of the Premier League and heap more pressure on Rovers manager Steve Kean. Blackburn fans jeered almost from the first whistle as Bolton took the lead in the fifth minute and was 2-0 up after half an hour. Mark Davies and Nigel Reo-Coker scored for Bolton before Blackburn striker Ayegbeni Yakubu got a goal back in the 67th. Blackburn will now spend Christmas at the foot of the table, a position from which only one side has avoided being relegated. That was West Bromwich Albion in 2005. Any hope Kean had of winning over the fans in a match that offered the chance of a rare three points disappeared early when Blackburn defender Christopher Samba failed to clear the ball and allowed it to fall to Bolton’s David Ngog. Ngog regained his feet and passed back to Davies, who shot into the bottom corner for his first goal in more than a year. The home fans immediately began jeering and things got worse for Rovers when Ivan Klasnic found Reo-Coker charging forward. The midfielder exchanged passes with Martin Petrov, meeting his teammate’s cross with another shot to the bottom corner past goalkeeper Paul Robinson. Yakubu got a goal back midway through the second half as Rovers improved upon a listless first-half showing but Samba missed a chance to equalize. With trips to Liverpool and Manchester United ahead, Blackburn’s predicament looks bleak.