Megson put on spot - Bolton are rocked by McCarthy penalty

Jussi Jaaskelainen saved two spot-kicks in Bolton's fiery win last season, but there was no respite this time and Megson's UEFA Cup heroes stand only three points clear of thirdbottom Reading.

Middlesbrough reached an FA Cup Final 11 years ago but were relegated the same season, and that bittersweet possibility will concentrate minds as Bolton tackle Sporting Lisbon for a quarterfinal UEFA Cup place.

Blackburn, buzzing after a Florida break, were happy to take Mark Clattenburg's grievous error in giving the first penalty against Gretar Steinsson, with Mark Hughes launching a late push for sixth place.

David Dunn, Steinsson's 24th-minute 'victim', went on to take the match honours, an irony hard to take for Bolton, who were on the verge of signing the midfielder last season when Rovers stole in for him.

Megson said: "The first penalty was certainly not a penalty, as the replays show. It's not even close, to be honest. Our players are angry with the way the game was officiated. We've had to bite our tongues.

"No complaints about the second one, just a lorry-load about the first. At 1-1 we looked the likelier winners. It's hard to take. But we caused our own downfall by being too easy to play against."

Hughes said: "Florida meant we weren't frozen out here, it wasn't a jolly. We hope this gives us the impetus through to the end of the season — it's going to take more points than ever for a European place."

Inspired as that performance was at Atletico Madrid, Wanderers needed something more in the light of what Megson describes as their 'precarious' Premier League position.

El-Hadji Diouf had a golden chance to put Bolton ahead early on but fired his volley too close to keeper Brad Friedel.

When both captains became the first players in the referee's book it said everything about the tension that surrounds this game. Steven Reid might have felt he was unlucky for a yellow card after bringing down Ivan Campo from behind while Kevin Nolan simply lost his cool, taking out Roque Santa Cruz with a high challenge, but then Bolton's captain was still fuming over the penalty award a minute earlier that gave Blackburn the lead.

Bolton were defending as resolutely as they had on Thursday, with restored Andy O'Brien dealing superbly with Morten Pedersen's most threatening cross of the match.

But Clattenburg then gave Rovers their spot-kick, even though Steinsson made contact with the ball well before Dunn tumbled over him.

Nolan had to swallow his anger and remind himself that he was sent off at Ewood Park last season for losing his temper over two penalty awards.

He was given the chance of righting the injustice after 38 minutes when Chris Samba's error led to Diouf's shot being parried but not cleared. Nolan's rising shot came back off the bar to spare Rovers.

Substitute Gregorz Rasiak thought he had levelled just after half-time — Megson claimed he was onside — but Kevin Davies snatched an equaliser on 50 minutes from Matt Taylor's lofted free-kick. Zurab Khizanishvili's halfclearance from Davies' first effort fell kindly for the striker.

Nolan then fired in a great shot that tested Friedel before the roof caved in on Bolton.

There could be no argument about the second penalty after 65 minutes — Gary Cahill's tackle just inside the area caught Dunn from behind and McCarthy stepped up to do the business.

Bolton's desperation to pull one back left them open as Dunn slung over a 71st-minute cross for England winger David Bentley to celebrate a rare headed goal.

And just to rub in Bolton's misery, Pedersen swooped for his first League goal in a year.