AN experienced Blackburn Rovers reserve side completely overpowered Bolton Wanderers in this mini derby at Lancashire FA headquarters last night.

First half goals from Adam Nelson and Matt Jansen put Rovers in the driving seat and Jemal Johnson then completed the rout with a late penalty to put the gloss on an excellent night's work for Alan Murray's men.

Rovers fielded a side packed with first team stars and their superior quality proved too much for Wanderers in a one-sided contest.

Paul Gallagher and Lorenzo Amoruso both stepped up their comebacks from injury while Jansen staked a claim for a first team return with a neat headed goal in the 32nd minute.

Dwight Yorke also came through a full 90 minutes and there were run-outs too for Nissa Johansson and Vratislav Gresko.

Rovers started brightly and a shot from Gary Harkins grazed the crossbar in the fifth minute.

Bolton then hit back with a chance of their own when former AC Milan star Ibrahim Ba bulldozed his way through the middle only to shoot straight at Peter Enckelman.

However, it was Rovers who deservedly broke the deadlock in the 25th minute.

Yorke whipped over an inviting cross from the right and Nelson rose majestically at the far post to power home a header.

Seven minutes later Jansen made it 2-0 when he soared to meet Nelson's corner with a glancing header at the near post.

And Gresko could have grabbed another in first half stoppage time but Wanderers keeper Donovan Ricketts got a hand to his low drive.

With the points firmly in the bag, the game fizzled out as a spectacle in the second half.

Johnson, who was on as a substitute for Jansen, had a strong appeal for a penalty turned down when he went to ground in the box in the 79th minute.

However, three minutes later the referee did point to the spot after a Bolton defender had handled in the area and Johnson confidently dispatched the resulting penalty to give the scoreline a more realistic feel.

Bolton: Ricketts, Shakes, Talbot, Comyn-Platt, Moran, N'Diwa, O'Brien, Ba (Thach 61), Pezzarossi, Ostemobor (Kribib 61), Johnson. Subs not used: Ashton, Buval, Whitehead, Jones

Rovers: Enckelman, Fitzgerald, Gresko, Douglas, Johansson, Amoruso (Donnelly 84), Harkins, Gallagher (Watt 70), Yorke, Jansen (Johnson 64), Nelson. Subs not used: Morgan, Yelldell

BOLTON RES 0

ROVERS RES 3