• Saturday, November 28, 2009
• Venue: Craven Cottage
• Attendance: 23,554
• Referee: Steve Bennett

• Kevin Davies [2!]
• Gretar Steinsson [23]
• Jonathan Greening [33]
• Ivan Klasnic [35]
• Ricardo Gardner [50]
• Gavin McCann [53]
• Jussi Jaaskelainen [64]
• Jlloyd Samuel [72]
• Damien Duff [75]

Bolton Wanderers desperately needed a win and a trip to Craven Cottage could have (should have) been a perfect opportunity to earn 3 valuable points.

Early signs of pressure which almost gave Fulham the lead were well defended — just. A prime example was Gretar Steinsson’s save off the line. I’m not even sure how he saved the point blank shot (I bet he’s not either) but nonetheless he made the save and that is what is important. Matt Taylor and Gavin McCann also defended well and are worthy of an honourable mention. (Come to think of it the whole squad deserve an honourable mention seeming they have to serve under the mismanagement of Gary Megson.)




With just 10 minutes to play before half time Ivan Klasnic took The Wanderers ahead following a poorly defended long Bolton throw–in which was headed into the box twice by Gary Cahill. Cahill’s second header reached Klasnic who deftly movement controlled, turned and scored.

While Bolton had hardly ventured forward before scoring they looked less likely to do so afterwards and seem to be content with defending their single goal lead. This was, of course, a mistake and doubtlessly a tactic that Gary Megson had promoted. Fulham were allowed to attack more frequently while Bolton assaults into the final third were not only rare but simply ineffective. Bolton on the whole defended well and goalkeeper Jussi Jaakelainen was force to make a few spectacular saves.

The somewhat inevitable equaliser came in the 75th minute with a powered shot by Damien Duff. A slight deflection by Gary Cahill may have caused helped Duff’s shot into the net and without it the ball may have sailed wide or hit the post.

Only when Fulham had equalised did Bolton really apply the pressure that had been lacking since Klasnic’s goal. Bolton proved that they could create chances but with just a quarter of an hour to go it was too little, too late. The clearest chance came during injury time with the aforementioned Stiensson heading Matthew Taylor’s perfectly weighted free kick just over the bar.

A draw away from home should not disappoint, yet it did. Defending a flimsy lead for an hour is a fallible tactic. Bolton ought to have been bolstered by Ivan’s goal and showed determination to get a second early in the second half. Instead Fulham’s determination grew and grew and ultimately proved to be fruitful.

The single point was not enough to lift The Wanderers out of the bottom three. We can hope that Megson’s Christmas comes early and a slew of wins throughout December sees The Trotters into a prosperous New Year.

Full match report on the Bolton Wanderers official website
Full match report on Fulham’s official website

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League Cup, Fourth Round

Chelsea Give Wanderers The Blues

• Tuesday, Ocotber 28, 2009
• Venue: Stamford Bridge
• Attendance: 41,538
• Referee: Andre Marriner

• Salomon Kalou [15]
• Florent Malouda [26]
• Deco [67]
• Didier Drogba [89]

It was never going to be easy for The Wanderers to get a result at Stamford Bridge but who would have known that it was going to so easy for Chelsea.

Bolton boss, Gary Megson, had made a few changes to the side that eventually beat Everton last Saturday. The most notable change was that Ali Al-Habsi was chosen over Jussi Jaaskelainen to face that could have been easily predicted as a barrage of shots. It is almost as Megson had already resigned to the fact that Bolton’s cup run would be halted.

Chelsea goalkeeper Henrique Hilario had to be substituted halfway through the first half leaving Ross Turnbull in goal for the majority of the 90 minutes, but this had little affect on the game as Bolton rarely threatened to score.

Although Bolton Wanderers did manage a sizeable portion of the game’s possession (41%) what they did with it was mostly pitiful. Chelsea ruled much of the game and stroked the ball to and fro with ease — it was an impressive display of one touch passing. Chelsea only weakness was in regaining possession and careless tackles resulted in a number of free kicks. However, Bolton seemed content to squander many of these referee awarded opportunities, all too often hoofing the ball too close to Chelsea’s goalkeepers or even out of play.

To be fair, Bolton did have their chances but only three were memorable.

Gretar Steinsson’s free-kick shortly after Kalou’s goal found Matt Taylor but his shot was blocked by Hilario.

At half–time Steinsson was replaced by Johan Elmander whose smart pass to Mark Davies could have given The Wanderers a chance to get back into the game shortly after the restart. Unfortunately Elmander’s vision was not matched by Mark’s finishing, his shot was straight into the welcoming arms of Turnbull.

Up front for The Trotters, and often looking lonely, Ivan Klasnic failed to make an impact until it was too late to do so. Bolton were 3–0 down with just 10 minutes left when Klasnic fired a vicious shot which sadly hit the post. However, Chelsea found time for Drogba to score in the dying minutes of the match to preserve Chelsea’s run of unbeaten games at Stamford Bridge so far this season.

Chelsea travel to The Reebok Stadium this weekend and hopefully this hefty loss will inspire The Wanderers enough to give Chelsea’s third defeat of the season.

Too harsh? Would Jussi have made the difference? Share your opinions in the comments section below.

Official BWFC Match Report
Official CFC Match Report

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