BLACKBURN Rovers head to Charlton Athletic tomorrow on the back of their ‘best win of the season’.

That was the verdict of delighted Rovers boss Gary Bowyer after he saw his side snatch a last-gasp 1-0 derby win at home to Bolton Wanderers on Wednesday night.

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There was just 30 seconds of injury-time to play when Jordan Rhodes turned in his 14th goal of the season to take the roof of Ewood Park.

The victory was Rovers’ second in succession in the Championship – the first time they have done that since November – and came just 72 hours after their superb FA Cup quarter-final 0-0 draw at Liverpool.

And Bowyer, who lost Markus Olsson and Corry Evans to injury during the first half, said: “This is our best win of the season.

“This is our best win of the season by far because of the emotion, mental energy and physical energy that the players put in on Sunday.

“It was always going to be difficult this game for that reason alone let alone the pressure that Bolton would apply but we stood up to it well.

“I thought we should have been in the lead in the first half with Ben Marshall’s header and then we dug in so much and I’ve got nothing but praise for this group.

“They are getting stronger and they’re learning and getting better with age and like you say the majority of them are young and they are showing real character.”

Jason Steele was named Rovers’ man of the match for a series of crucial saves when Bolton, the fresher of the two teams having not played in eight days, enjoyed a sustained spell of pressure during the second half.

But Bowyer also paid tribute to home debutant Doneil Gray who, having impressed on his full debut in the 2-1 win at Sheffield Wednesday after getting on the wrong train to the ground, marked former England striker Emile Heskey out of the game.

“Jason Steele was magnificent but I thought him and the back four were terrific again,” said Bowyer, who has saw Rovers keep three clean sheets in their last four matches.

Bowyer added: “Young Doneil Henry had to catch another train to the game today but he came in and played an unbelievable performance against a very experienced striker in Emile Heskey.”