EVERTON got the new Premier League campaign off to a losing start as they went down 1-0 to Blackburn.

A Tim Howard mistake gifted Rovers the points at Ewood Park as the Toffees failed to reproduce their pre-season form when it mattered most.

The Blues won six of their seven build up matches and looked in great shape coming into the new season.

That is until they faced a resilient Blackburn side who fought tooth and nail to guarantee a winning start for Sam Allardyce.

What you see is what you get with Blackburn and what they lack in invention they make up for in industry.

In truth, though, Everton did not do enough to trouble their hosts.

Prior to a fantastic double stop from Phil Jagielka and then Jack Rodwell right at the death, the only notable save Paul Robinson had to make came from Steven Pienaar towards the end of the first half.

Instead it was Howard among the headlines for a nightmare slip he will want to forget in a hurry.

Always favourite to get to El Hadji Diouf’s hopeful flick on ahead of Nikola Kalinic, Howard somehow managed to drop the ball at the Croatian’s feet, gifting the home side a 14th minute lead.

The hope was that there was plenty of time for Everton to retrieve something from this game, but as Blackburn got men behind the ball and attempted to hit the visitors on the counter, David Moyes’ side struggled to break them down.

While Everton’s garish away shirts stood out, it was Blackburn who made the brighter start when Martin Olsson clipped the ball over Howard onto the roof of the net after being played in by David Dunn in the second minute.

Dunn lasted just seven more minutes; the Rovers playmaker forced to withdraw holding his groin to be replaced by Steven Nzonzi.

With Rovers in front, the first real threat from Everton came after 20 minutes – nice link up play with Saha bringing Phil Neville into play on the right. The skipper’s cross found Tim Cahill inside the area, whose knock down picked out Leon Osman’s run.

Under pressure, Osman’s snatched effort was blocked by Samba before the danger was cleared.

The next Everton attack of any purpose came 10 minutes before the break when Osman was fouled five yards away from the penalty area.

Arteta’s curling freekick was deflected for a corner from which Steven Pienaar forced Robinson into his first save, the Blackburn keeper gathering at the second attempt.

A breakdown in communication between Neville and Jagielka at the start of the second half allowed El Hadji Diouf to steal between the pair and get a cross in.

Fortunately for Everton Leighton Baines was there to block Nzonzi but once again the Blues were the architects of their own problems.

A powerful burst forward from Baines broke down when Louis Saha’s misplaced pass failed to find Cahill.

With Everton producing little in the final third, Moyes opted to shake it up on the hour, introducing Jermaine Beckford for his Premier League debut.

The striker replaced Osman with Cahill switching to the right and Beckford spearheading the attack with Saha dropping deeper.

A minute later, Allardyce did likewise and handed loan signing Mame Diouf his Blackburn debut in place of scorer Kalinic.

It took just five minutes for the Manchester United man to issue a warning. Latching on to another long ball up field, Diouf forced a good save from Howard – the Everton keeper diving at the feet of the striker to smother his shot.

Blackburn then stepped up the pressure when Ryan Nelsen, up for a corner, blazed a half volley over the cross bar from 10 yards out.

Diniyar Bilyaletdinov replaced Saha with 17 minutes remaining as Moyes paired Cahill and Beckford in attack.

Jack Rodwell came on for Fellaini in the 77th minute but it was Blackburn who threatened when Nzonzi missed a gilt edged chance to double the lead when he headed El Hadji Diouf’s cross over the bar.

A fine double save by Robinson with just minutes to spare thwarted Jagielka from long range before Rodwell tried his luck with an acrobatic overhead kick.

Blackburn: Robinson, Olsson, Samba, Givet, Nelsen, Dunn (Nzonzi 9), Kalinic (Diouf 60), Diouf, Gamst Pedersen, Salgado, Jones Subs: Bunn, Emerton, Andrews, Hoilett, Chimbonda

Booked: Gamst Pedersen 42

Everton: Howard, Baines, Jagielka, Saha (Bilyaltedinov 73), Arteta, Distin, Cahill, Neville, Pienaar, Osman (Beckford 59), Fellaini (Rodwell 77) Subs: Mucha, Hibbert, Heitinga, Gueye,

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