Hull City were beaten 1-0 by Blackburn Rovers in a poor game of football at Ewood Park in the Barclays Premier League.

Martin Olsson's deflected shot early on was enough to earn the points for the home side while City had George Boateng harshly sent off just before half time.

Following last week's impressive performances against Chelsea and manchester City, the Tigers were unchanged once again after Andy Dawson and Boateng were both passed fit to play.

The day before his 36th birthday, Nick Barmby retained his place on an unchanged bench.

Ex-Tiger Keith Andrews lined-up in Rovers' midfield.

On a cold night, it was Boaz Myhill who was the first keeper to be troubled, tipping over Ryan Nelsen's header from a Morten Gamst Pedersen free kick.

City responded with Stephen Hunt firing over from Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink's nod-down.

Sam Allardyce's Blackburn went close again on 11 minutes when City failed to clear a free kick.

The ball eventually dropped for Steven Nzonzi at the far post, but he shot wide.

Some excellent approach work from City saw Hunt set up Vennegoor of Hesselink on 14 minutes, but the Dutch striker's low shot was well saved by Beverley-born Paul Robinson.

But it was Blackburn who took the lead in the 17th minute.

A strong run down the left from Martin Olsson carried him all the way to the byeline.

From the narrowest of angles, Olsson managed to beat Myhill with a shot that found the far corner of the net.

It was one for later review by the Dubious Goals Panel as the Press Association 'credited' the goal as a Myhill own goal.

Olsson, playing as a left back, fancied a second and saw a volley fly straight at Myhill on the half-hour.

Vennegoor of Hesselink went close to equalising from a Hunt corner, but his header deflected over.

City suffered a blow six minutes before half time when Boateng was sent off.

The midfielder went up for an aerial challenge with Pedersen and although he was late, it wasn't malicious.

It left both players needing treatment, but when Boateng regained his feet he was shown a straight red card by referee Lee Probert, who had been having a pretty poor half as it was.

It almost got worse two minutes later from a Blackburn corner, but the ball went all the way across the face of goal.

City made a change a minute before the break as Seyi Olofinjana came on to bolster the midfield. Vennegoor of Hesselink was the man sacrificed.

Half Time: Tigers 0-1 Blackburn

Paul McShane was booked five minutes after the break for a foul on El Hadji Diouf and after swatting the referee's card away, he was perhaps lucky not to see red.

Jozy Altidore was also shown a yellow card for allegedly failing to retreat ten yards at a free kick, although he clearly had gone back the required distance.

City made a double change on 67 minutes as Kamil Zayatte and Amr Zaki replaced McShane and Dawson.

That saw a brave switch to a 3-4-2 formation.

Blackburn missed a good chance to double their lead moments later when Brett Emerton picked up Diouf's pass inside the box, but he was denied a goal by Myhill's save.

Myhill produced an unbelievable save on 72 minutes, somehow pushing Michel Salgado's header onto the bar.

The referee finally gave City a decent decision on 75 minutes when Nelsen was penalised on the edge of the Blackburn box.

The defender was also booked. Zaki took the free kick, but fired over the bar.

Anthony Gardner was the next to be booked for barging Nikola Kalinic in the back.

City threw everybody forward during four minutes of added time, but the chance for a leveller never came.

Results elsewhere meant that the Tigers dropped back down to 17th in the Barclays Premier League.

Tigers (4-4-2) Boaz Myhill; Paul McShane (Zaki 67), Steven Mouyokolo, Anthony Gardner [captain], Andy Dawson (Zayatte 67); Craig Fagan, George Boateng, Tom Cairney, Stephen Hunt; Jozy Altidore, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (Olofinjana 44).

Subs: Matt Duke, Kamil Zayatte, Kevin Kilbane, Seyi Olofinjana, Nick Barmby, Richard Garcia, Amr Zaki.

Booked: McShane 51, Altidore 61, Gardner 77.

Sent-Off: Boateng 40 (violent conduct).

Blackburn Rovers (4-1-4-1) Paul Robinson; Michel Salgado, Ryan Nelsen [captain], Gael Givet, Martin Olsson; Steven Nzonzi; Brett Emerton (Roberts 70), Keith Andrews, Morten Gamst Pedersen, El Hadji Diouf; Nikola Kalinic (Reid 90).

Subs: Jason Brown, Jason Roberts, Steven Reid, David Hoilett, Franco Di Santo, Phil Jones, Pascal Chimbonda.

Booked: Nelsen 75.

Although marking the occasion as a potential own goal scorer, this evening Bo Myhill became the 29th player to have made 250 league appearances for the Tigers.

At an independent Regulatory Commission hearing on 12 February, George Boateng's claim for wrongful dismissal was upheld and the impending three-match suspension was withdrawn.