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Bolton Wanderers 1 - 1 Aston Villa
Ground: Reebok Stadium | Attendance: 18,413 | Referee: Martin Atkinson
- [22] Anelka - Bolton
- [57] Moore - Villa
New Bolton boss, Gary Megson, admitted to leaving the dressing room as late as possible to avoid the jeers, chants and boos of the home support.
Although there was some anger being expressed about Bolton’s current predicament the atmosphere inside The Reebok was certainly friendlier than that of the UEFA Cup match against Braga.
Anelka’s superb free-kick took The Wanderers ahead in the 22nd minute despite Stuart Taylor’s effort to keep a clean sheet. Much like the attendance figures, team spirit has been falling steadily this season but Anelka’s great goal certainly boosted the spirit of his team-mates and fans alike.
Bolton began to play with greater confidence and could have extended their lead but Anelka chose to control and curl Diouf’s direct pass rather than shoot first time, alas his tactic sent the ball just the wrong side of the upright.
Bolton were in control for much of the first half, the only threat of an equaliser came just a minute before half-time when panic reigned in Bolton’s box momentarily while defenders scurried to clear a parried shot by Villa’s Shaun Maloney.
Martin O’Neil made a double substitution after the break, obviously not impressed with his team’s efforts in the first 45 minutes.
Another chance arose for Anelka early in the second half when Laursen’s feeble passback caused Tayor to rush out to block Anelka’s inevitable opportunistic shot.
A couple of minutes after the French striker’s chance Villa drew level though an odd goal which was scored by substitute Luke Moore who used his chest to direct team-mate Agbonlahor’s cross to the edge of Jussi’s six yard box. The opening for Villa started with what the home team thought was their throw-in, as signalled by the linesman - sorry, referee’s assistant. Although the referee correctly overruled his assistant Bolton were caught out as those closest to the incident clearly did not see the referee’s signal and the throw-in was taken quickly enabling a quick run and cross from the right by Agbonlahor.
A decision like that ought to be signalled clearly by the ref, a quick blast on the whistle to get the players’ attention in such a situation ought to be standard when overruling an assistant.
Bolton battled on after the contriversial equaliser most notably Nicolas Anelka who showed total commitment and determination to regain the lead. When he wasn’t shooting he passed to better placed players, most notably Kevin Nolan who really should have scored from one such pass but somehow missed the target from 6 or 7 yards out.
Anelka also pulled back when needed to help defend as Villa attacked more when The Trotters slowed after an hour’s higher than usual pace. Not that Bolton gave up having lost the lead. The last five minutes of the match saw Gardener produced a fine save from Taylor who could not hold on to the ball which fell to El-Hadji Diouf who simply failed to keep his hurried shot below the crossbar, much to the relief of the visitors who seemed to be content with the single point.
Bolton could have earned an extra two points against Aston Villa but with Nolan and Diouf still lacking the skill to get their shots on target Bolton were perhaps lucky to have gained the solitary point. More target practice for Bolton’s forwards and attacking midfielders is urgently required, perhaps Anelka can provide the encouragement and tuition necessary.
Bolton’s new manager was encouraged by Bolton’s performance despite the draw:
When asked if Villa’s equaliser upset him Megson replied:
“The nature did. I thought it was our throw-in but the referee overruled the linesman.”
Megson may struggle to save The Wanderers from relegation if the team continue failing to keep the ball out of their own net.
Tags : avfc draw home martin atkinson martin oneil Match Reports
