WANDERERS have hit a slump, and it seems all the hard work in the world won’t get them out of it.

One win in eight, two goals in six games, this weekly war of attrition is starting to test the patience of the most saintly Bolton devotee.

Phil Parkinson needed a moment of inspiration to turn second-half dominance into at least a share of the points but quality, and at times luck, deserted his team completely in the final third.

Blackburn were little better. Ahead courtesy of an opportunistic Bradley Dack strike midway through the first half they seemed to retreat deeper with every passing moment, the game turning into a team who couldn’t attack with purpose against a side who plain wouldn’t.

Tony Mowbray no doubt drove away on Saturday night a happy man. His team got what they came for, even though they systematically withdrew every attacking component on the field.

Parkinson, however, found himself in that awkward position of praising his team’s effort but knowing they had not been good enough to claim a reward.

Fans have questioned whether the manager’s natural conservatism has limited results at home, at least against sides who are happy to surrender a measure of possession. Here their argument was reinforced as Blackburn controlled the ball until they forged ahead then, as if a switch had been flicked, sat back and protected their lead.

Bolton looked uncomfortable forcing the issue. Neither Will Buckley nor Craig Noone delivered anything especially effective from the wider positions while Erhun Oztumer – playing behind front man Josh Magennis – retreated so deep to find possession he was picking the ball up front centre-backs David Wheater and Jack Hobbs.

Wanderers scrapped in midfield, Rovers old boy Jason Lowe and Joe Williams both dogged and determined, but this was a day which required a moment of magic, and none was forthcoming.

Solving the problem is by no means easy. Parkinson is continually aware of leaving his team too open and when asked about whether more strikers on the pitch would make a difference, he argued Oztumer was, in fact, a striker.

“Oztumer is a striker. We had two strikers,” he said. “So should I play three strikers? We put Doidge on (as a substitute) and already had two strikers on the pitch. As you know, you can go absolutely gung-ho and lose absolutely all semblance of shape from the team.

“I could go five up top and then lose a goal on the break but you have to have some cohesion in your play.

“We got in enough good areas to score a goal but we weren’t good enough to do it. That wasn’t a tactical thing, it’s just a bit of quality that we lacked in the final third.”

In Sammy Ameobi’s absence, Oztumer remains the man capable of something different but fans must be desperate to see him collecting possession around the penalty box, rather than from his own back four, as was so often the case against Rovers.

Wanderers were not quite as timid as they had been against QPR but the quality of the final ball or decision was so often lacking, it was no wonder such a constant swirl of frustrated murmuring circled the stadium.

It did not help, of course, that Bolton offered their visitors a one-goal lead to sit back upon. And though it seems course to single out an individual, Jonathan Grounds will know his standards slipped in the build-up to Dack’s winner.

Found hopelessly out of position on halfway, Grounds was turned by Kasey Palmer and was unable to drag the winger down for a free-kick. Harrison Reed saw one shot saved by Matthews, another effort was superbly blocked by Williams, but Dack was there to tuck home the third attempt.

Wanderers had chances, most notably for Magennis, whose hard work up front did not go unnoticed once again from the home supporters.

David Raya pushed one effort just over the bar while Charlie Mulgrew also got back to divert another effort from the Northern Irishman off the line.

The early part of the second half seemed the ideal time to strike. Home fans grew louder in their encouragement and with some better decisions around the penalty box a result was there for the taking.

Yanic Wildschut, on for Buckley at half time, had one of those afternoons where nothing went right. He had a good glimpse of goal just after the restart but ended up meekly passing a shot to keeper Raya.

Pawel Olkowski nearly got a slice of luck when a block tackle on the edge of the box threatened to loop over the Rovers keeper, but for all Bolton’s possession, they once again failed to convince the home support.

Lloyd Dyer came on for his debut on the left side of attack and looked busy, albeit he arrived too late in the game to really affect the result.

Right at the end it appeared the footballing gods had smiled, Christian Doidge was tripped right in front of goal and referee Darren Bond pointed to the spot. The joy was only momentary, however, as the referee’s assistant Andrew Fox ruled the striker had been in an offside position.

Fans filed steadily out of the building from that point on, another frustrating night at home – this one magnified by the fact defeat was at the hands of a local rival.