Lucas aid for Rovers

Neill, a £600,000 signing from Millwall two weeks ago, spared his team-mates blushes with a last-gasp equaliser on his home debut.

But instead of being the hero he could so easily have been the villain after later admitting responsibility for allowing Rod Wallace to head Wanderers in front on another bizarre night at Ewood.

Once again, Rovers carved out enough chances to have won three games never mind one against a Bolton side boasting one of the meanest defences in the Premiership.

But by the time Neill popped up to atone for his earlier error nerve ends were frayed and finger nails non-existent as Rovers' old failings came back to haunt them.

"I thought we were excellent and absolutely mullered them," said manager Graeme Souness.

But what wouldn't Souness give right now for an instinctive goal-poacher in the mould of former German ace Gerd Muller the man they nicknamed 'Der Bomber'?

Wanderers, the Premiership's surprise package so far, came to Ewood with a game-plan designed to bore Rovers into submission.

And for the opening 45 minutes it looked like working as Souness's patched-up team struggled to get out of second gear.

But as Turkish midfield ace Tugay became increasingly more influential in the centre of the park, the chances began to flow only for the men at the sharp end to fail to administer the knock-out blow.

Twice Damien Duff cut through Wanderers' ageing defence like a knife through butter only for his finishing touch to let him down.

If that was frustrating, though, then the moment when Ciccio Grabbi nearly broke the crossbar in two was pure torture -- especially as Bolton rubbed further salt into the wounds with a goal of their own two minutes later.

Souness's new £6.75 million signing simply cannot buy a goal at the moment.

Short of match fitness after a stuttering start to his Ewood career, he looked desperately short of confidence in the opening 45 minutes.

But the way in which the Blackburn End brilliantly got behind him after his miss will have given the 26-year-old a massive shot in the arm.

And, if he and Matt Jansen can start firing together upfront, then Rovers stand a far better chance of securing the results their performances deserve -- a point re-enforced by man-of-the-moment Neill.

"I thought we made more than enough chances to win but we're just not clinical enough infront of goal at the moment," said the Aussie.

"The way we are playing, though, is fantastic and I can't see any reason why we still can't finish in the top half of the table.

"I believe we've got a very talented squad here and, if the boys stick together, then there's no reason why we can't go a long way.

"I, personally, got off to a very shaky start tonight and I was very disappointed because I was supposed to be marking Rod Wallace for their goal.

"So it was just a relief that I managed to cancel that out with a goal of my own.

"Unfortunately, it didn't get us the win we wanted. But they will come."

Robbed of Martin Taylor and Keith Gillespie through injury, Rovers made a hesitant start and Wanderers nearly capitalised as Bo Hansen and Henrik Pedersen both tested Brad Friedel.

But, as Tugay began to come into his own, they gradually got a grip of proceedings.

Alan Mahon missed the best chance of the half when he blazed over from 10 yards after Grabbi had cleverly dummied a Duff cross.

And an audacious effort from Tugay nearly caught Jussi Jaaskelainen with his trousers down but his speculative 40 yarder flashed agonisingly wide of the post.

The mercury rose after the break as Mahon fired over again and Grabbi failed to get enough power on his header from a Damien Johnson cross.

Bolton, in contrast, rarely threatened as an attacking force aside from a couple of efforts from the muscular Michael Ricketts.

But the chances continued to flow at the other end.

Duff looked odds on to score when he burst through the centre after a clever ball from Jansen but he fired wide of the near post.

Then three minutes later he got in again, this time being denied by the razor-sharp reflexes of Jaaskelainen.

By now, the Blackburn End was starting to sense it might not be Rovers' night but the cruelest twist of all came in the 67th minute.

Everyone in the stadium suddenly rose to their feet as Grabbi sent two defenders the wrong way with a brilliant drop of the shoulder but as Ewood held its breath his shot from 16 yards bounced back off the bar.

As often happens after a moment like that, Wanderers then hit back with a classic sucker punch within two minutes and the goal was simplicity itself.

Friedel failed to stop a sliced clearance going out for a corner and from Ricardo Gardner's pinpoint delivery, Wallace somehow gave Neill the slip to plant a firm header inside the far post for his first goal since signing on a free.

After that, Souness had no option but to go for broke, throwing on Marcus Bent and Mark Hughes in one last throw of the dice and it paid dividends.

With three minutes left, Jansen thought he had pulled a point out of the fire when he lunged at a lay-off from Duff only to see his close-range effort brilliantly saved by Jaaskelainen.

But from the resulting corner, Rovers finally did get their just rewards as Neill arrived to power home a towering header -- a fitting end to a dramatic night.

"Being one down with 10 minutes to go, I suppose I should be pleased with a point," said Souness.

"But right now I'm feeling a touch frustrated because that was a game we should have won easily."

"They came with a formation which made it hard for us to break them down.

"But I'd bet that no team who has played against Bolton so far this season has created as many chances against them as we did."

RESULT: ROVERS...1 BOLTON WANDERERS... 1

Neill 87. Wallace 69.