BWFC24

Fulham 1 - 2 Bolton Wanderers (After Extra Time)

Ground: Craven Cottage | Attendance: 10,500 | Referee: Steve Bennet

• [57] Guthrie - Bolton
• [78] Healy - Fulham
• [112] Stelios - Bolton

Stelios took The Wanderers trotting into the final 16 of the Carling Cup in extra time.

Key players made way for an unfamiliar Bolton line-up that would make you think that Wanderers boss Sammy Lee was not overly bothered if The Trotters were slung out of the cup competition with a familiar defeat away from home. The changes gave four members of the squad their first start for the club, these being goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi, midfielders Danny Guthrie and Christian Wilhelmsson and striker Daniel Braaten.

Despite the nine changes from the side that drew with Spurs Bolton proved to be more organised and looked full of confidence and commitment. They also proved to be a lot better in defensive than previous outings this season.

The Wanderers threatened early on with a long free-kick taken by Alonso which a leaping Bratten headed forcing Fulham’s ‘keeper Kasey Keller to pluck the ball from under the crossbar.

Keller was not alone in having to make impressive saves and Ali Al Habsi was alert enough to save Bouazza’s sizzling shot from 20 yards after Bratten forced a free-kick. A few minutes later Ali made another impressive save when Simon Davies struck.

Even Gerald Cid impressed with a succession of good defensive blocks (either that or Bouazza and Simon Davies just wanted to hurt him). Not only that but the French defender even made Keller struggle to make a save with an skilful header.

It was not until the second half that Danny Guthrie (on loan from Liverpool) took The Wanderers ahead with a stunning super-strike from 25 yards. Just five minutes later Bolton should have extended their deserved lead as Daniel Braaten took Nicky Hunt’s well weighted pass in his stride only to miss by a whisker.

It was a shame that BWFC could not hang on to their single goal lead. The Cottagers fought back and equalised after introducing David Healy who scored after just 6 minutes after replacing fellow Irishman Chris Baird with a masterly shot through a swathe of Bolton defenders.

The equaliser eventually led to a further 30 minutes and with the clock ticking down to penalties on came Stelios Giannakopoulos to replace a tiring Braaten. Stelios took a minute less than Healy to score, the Greek midfielder ensured progress into the Fourth Round of The Carling Cup with a grass-cutting shot from the right into the far corner.

The last three results in all competitions have been favourable to The Wanderers, when compared to previous results this season. The next two fixtures, away to Derby and home to Rabotnick (UEFA Cup), will give the squad an opportunity to prove that it is time for a spate of success.

The draw for the Fourth Round of The Carling Cup will take place on Saturday, September 29th.

Starting 11

• Ali Al Habsi
• Gerald Cid
• Nicky Hunt
• Abdoulaye Meite
• Lubomir Michalik
• Mikel Alonso
• Danny Guthrie
• Gavin McCann
• Christian Wilhelmsson
• Daniel Braaten
• Kevin Davies

Substitutes

• Ian Walker
• Ricardo Gardner
• Stelios Giannakopoulos
• Kevin Nolan
• Andranik Teymourian

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 27th, 2007 at 9:16 am and is filed under Cup Competitions, Match Reports.


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