In particular, the first goal was a glaring error by new goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic whose punch was simply not good enough. It fell to Pedersen on the edge of the box who half-volleyed in to give Blackburn the lead.
Gary Caldwell beat former Latic Pascal Chimbonda to net the equaliser ten minutes into the second half. He headed home from James McCarthy's corner.
However it wasn't enough to earn the Latics a share of the points as Nikola Kalinic grabbed his first goal in the Premier league to give Rovers the points.
There were reports of Maynor Figueroa going on striker before the game, and despite playing, it was the Honduran's lack on concentration that cost the Latics. He let Kalinic escape him to convert Blackburn's winner.
Here is the reaction of the two managers.
Roberto Martinez
Our first-half performance wasn't good enough. We weren't ourselves at all, and we couldn't understand what was needed. We made a few adjustments at half-time, and I was delighted with the reaction because we controlled the game and imposed ourselves more. You could feel after we scored we were going to be the team to win it, so to lose the game the way we did with a free header and lapse of concentration is very hard to take.
Sam Allardyce
We had numerous chances, scored two goals, and in the end we won the game comfortably. At times it was a bit scrappy, but it was a great, battling performance, and another three points. It's the second time we've managed to get back-to-back wins this season, and what a difference it makes in the Premier League. It has shot us up to 11th, and we've started 2010 really well, so let's keep it going, with everybody playing their part. It's looking good for us. If we can go on a little undefeated run now, starting at West Ham, then we're looking okay.
The table
| Latest match Wednesday, 27th January 2010 |
Pld | Home | Away | Overall | Pts | GD | |||||||||||||||||
| W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | |||||||||
| 1 | Chelsea | 22 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 18 | 10 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 55 | 18 | 51 | +37 | ||||
| 2 | Manchester United | 23 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 31 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 11 | 16 | 2 | 5 | 53 | 19 | 50 | +34 | ||||
| 3 | Arsenal | 23 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 34 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 25 | 14 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 59 | 25 | 49 | +34 | ||||
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 23 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 28 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 44 | 24 | 41 | +20 | ||||
| 5 | Liverpool | 23 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 28 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 15 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 40 | 26 | 38 | +14 | ||||
| 6 | Manchester City | 21 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 42 | 30 | 38 | +12 | ||||
| 7 | Aston Villa | 22 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 29 | 18 | 37 | +11 | ||||
| 8 | Birmingham City | 22 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 16 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 21 | 22 | 33 | -1 | ||||
| 9 | Everton | 22 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 18 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 32 | 34 | 29 | -2 | ||||
| 10 | Fulham | 22 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 20 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 0 | ||||
| 11 | Blackburn Rovers | 23 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 28 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 25 | 40 | 27 | -15 | ||||
| 12 | Stoke City | 21 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 19 | 26 | 25 | -7 | ||||
| 13 | Sunderland | 22 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 18 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 12 | 27 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 30 | 40 | 23 | -10 | ||||
| 14 | Wigan Athletic | 21 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 14 | 33 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 24 | 46 | 22 | -22 | ||||
| 15 | Bolton Wanderers | 21 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 17 | 23 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 29 | 42 | 21 | -13 | ||||
| 16 | West Ham United | 22 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 18 | 20 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 18 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 29 | 38 | 20 | -9 | ||||
| 17 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 22 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 21 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 38 | 20 | -21 | ||||
| 18 | Burnley | 22 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 8 | 35 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 22 | 44 | 20 | -22 | ||||
| 19 | Hull City | 22 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 30 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 20 | 46 | 19 | -26 | ||||
| 20 | Portsmouth | 21 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 15 | -14 | ||||
Next game
Next up for the Latics is the visit of Everton to the DW Stadium on Saturday. The Toffees beat Steve Bruce's Sunderland last night and will prove a tough task for the Latics.