Bolton Wanderers 0 — 4 Chelsea
A Much Improved Bolton Suffer Heavy Defeat
- Tuesday, Ocotber 31, 2009
- Venue: The Reebok Stadium
- Attendance: 22,680
- Referee: Peter Walton
- Jlloyd Samuel [45+1]
- Frank Lampard [45+2]
- Paul Robinson [57]
- Deco [61]
- Paulo Ferreira [80]
- Zat Knight (og) [82]
- Didier Drogba [90+1]
It was going so well until the stroke of half–time, a clipped heel took Drogba down, Chelsea ahead and The Wanderers down to 10 men.
Jussi Jaaskelainen returned between the sticks having been rested during the midweek clash with Chelsea in the League Cup. Kevin Davies made his 500th appearance of his career while Chris Basham made his first start of the season.
Bolton made a lively start and Johan Elmander almost took The Wanderers ahead by heading Chung–Yong Lee’s corner goalward for Petr Cech to save comfortably. After this early chance Chelsea started to bombard The Wanderers’ net. Jussi Jaaskelainen was alert to the threat and made a series of great saves. Former Wanderer, Nicolas Anelka combined well with Didier Drogba to create a number of opportunities and generally pester Bolton’s back four.
Chelsea had a goal disallowed after a poor clearance by Gary Cahill allowed Drogba to cross back into the penalty area. Branislav Ivanovic’s shot was blocked by Basham but rebounded back to the Serbian whose second attempt beat Jussi but two Chelsea players were adjudged to be offside. Bolton were lucky perhaps and continued to create a few chances of their own.
Kevin Davies needs to sharpen his shooting accuracy. A great goal scoring opportunity was created by a long ball from Sam Ricketts which Elmander headed perfectly into Davies’ stride whose unchallenged shot from the edge of the penalty area should have troubled Cech but, alas, was struck wide.
Much of the first half was end to end the only difference being that Jaakelainen was forced to continue making fine saves while his counterpart had little to worry about as shots were rarely on target. If the crossbar was slightly higher then Cahill and Elmander would have certainly scored.
As the end of the first half beckoned a fine pass from Ballack released Drogba through the middle of Bolton’s defence. Jlloyd Samuel chased after the West African and just clipped his heels. Drogba went down to writhe and there no other action for referee Walton to take other than point to the penalty spot and send Samuel off.
Chelsea’s mascot Stamford the Lion sprinted to join Lofty the Lion behind the Bolton goal, it was a tense moment but the claws remained retracted as Frank Lampard struck the ball to his left, sending Jussi the wrong way and Chelsea ahead moments before the break.
The Bolton squad looked dejected as they headed off the pitch for a half–time cuppa after 45 minutes that should have seen them on level terms. A half–time Ricardo Gardner replaced Korean Lee and Chris Basham was replaced by Paul Robinson.
Despite being a man down Bolton started the second half with as much passion and determination as they had started the first but were on the defensive much of the time. There were a few forays deep into Chelsea’s half and spurred on by 20,000 fans The Trotters seemed to be looking for an elusive equaliser.
Robinson was booked despite making a great tackle on Drogba who fell as if he had been the subject of a sniper’s head shot and Bolton were having to defend a free kick level with the penalty spot out to Jussi’s left. Drogba’s free kick was passed out to Anelka whose shot was blocked and out for a corner. Lampard nearly snapped the crossbar with a thunderous shot from 20 yards and Bolton had been let off again.
With only 10 men Bolton’s attacks left them struggling when Chelsea counterattacked.
Chelsea’s second goal was a display of great teamwork and individual skill. The passes that led to Deco were accurate and speedy, Deco took three touches to score. One to create space, two to deceive Robinson and a fine curled shot beyond Jaaskelainen.
After Chelsea’s second goal Bolton’s aims should have shifted from seeking an equaliser to damage limitation, yet they still seemed to push for goal. This only made it easier for Chelsea to build on their lead as they continued to show off their passing prowess, which resulted in two further goals before the final whistle.
Ricardo Carvalho took on Kevin Davies on the left wing and delivered a superb cross to the near post. Whether Chelsea’s Ivanovic got a touch of the ball is arguable but the final touch seemed to come off Zat Knight who scored his second own goal of the season.
The final goal was akin to a playground knock about with Bolton playing the part of the lesser gifted schoolboys. Anelka’s dink into the penalty area was met by Deco, Lampard skilfully flicked the ball on for Drogba to volley beyond helpless Jaaskelainen.
Chelsea remain at the top of The Premier League while Bolton will be glad that October is over even though their first match of November will be no easier. A trip to Villa Park beckons and Bolton have not beaten Aston Villa there since New Year’s Day, 2003.
Gary Megson told the BBC:
“I feel the complete opposite of how I did in midweek. We had a real go – we weren’t on top at any stage, but we weren’t as flimsy as we were at Stamford Bridge.
“We had some chances, and for 43, 44 minutes we competed all over the pitch.
“Their first goal was a poor one to concede, though Didier Drogba has done well to engineer the penalty.”
Bolton’s performance and work-rate were much higher than they had been midweek at Stamford Bridge but Jlloyd Samuel’s sending off proved to be a pivotal moment and despite their gutsy conviction Bolton could not find a way back into the game.
Official BWFC Website Match Report — Manager’s Review
Official Chelsea Football Club Website Match Report
What are your thoughts about the match? Do lions retract their claws? As always your comments are welcomed below.
