Bolton 2 Hull City 2: Pressure point - Brown and Megson draw no comfort

30 December 2009 02:08
It was a night and a performance which could get a manager the sack. So take your pick who is under the greater pressure after a scrap at the Reebok ended all square and with both teams still sitting unhappily in the relegation zone.[LNB]At half-time, with his side a goal down and in complete disarray following one of the worst displays of his reign, Hull boss Phil Brown was clinging to his job and dreading tomorrow's meeting with chairman Adam Pearson.[LNB]By the final whistle, after making an unpopular substitution in an attempt to preserve three points, Gary Megson had to endure yet more jeers and derision from Bolton supporters.[LNB] Double delight: Stephen Hunt celebrates after earning Hull City a vital point at Bolton[LNB]Results are bad enough for a team who have won only one in nine, but chairman Phil Garside cannot be immune to the anger from the stands.[LNB]Croatia striker Ivan Klasnic took his season's tally to six with his 21st-minute goal to give the home side a comfortable lead. Chung-Yong Lee was the unlikely provider and Brown will be wondering how the South Korea winger managed to win a header against towering centre backs Kamil Zayatte and Anthony Gardner to supply Klasnic, who was then given time and space to finish past Boaz Myhill.[LNB]Relief: Hull manager Phil Brown shows how much the result means to him[LNB]Bolton's long-suffering supporters had to wait until the hour for Myhill to gift them a second goal after the lively Lee, Gary Cahill and Zat Knight had squandered opportunities from close range.[LNB]The City keeper failed to deal with a routine Paul Robinson free-kick launched high into his area and on to the head of Kevin Davies, although he was perhaps unnerved by the further indecision of Zayatte and Gardner.[LNB]Brown, who admitted he may have been wrong to leave his team unchanged from Sunday's exertions against Manchester United, threw on Nicky Barmby, Geovanni and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink to lift a side which was clearly jaded.[LNB]They provided the inspiration but it was Republic of Ireland midfielder Stephen Hunt who scored the two second-half goals to earn Hull a vital point and preserve Brown's job for a further fortnight at least.[LNB]Amonth which brings contests with Chelsea, Tottenham and Aston Villa will test the Hull boss to the limit. Brown said: 'We're all in a scrap and it was important for us to get something from this game.[LNB]'I'm here to be criticised for keeping the same team and I probably deserve that, but if you look at people like George Boateng running the game in the last minute, maybe it was the right team.[LNB]'It was a deserved point in the end but it could have been three. The togetherness of the team has shown and after one of their team-mates has dropped a clanger, they have all shown commitment to get back into the game. The substitutions worked but they could have gone the other way.'[LNB] Perfect start: Bolton's Ivan Klasnic is congratulated after his opener[LNB]Hunt's first goal came in the 71st minute when Craig Fagan's deep cross split the hosts' defence and the midfielder, who almost joined Bolton from Reading last season, forced his way between Cahill and Knight to bury the ball past goalkeeperJussi Jaaskelainen.[LNB]His second was scored within seven minutes and it was another route one goal. Bernard Mendy, whose dreadful first-half performance had set the tone for the visitors, launched a high ball into the area, Vennegoor of Hesselink got the slightest touch and Hunt scrambled it over the line.[LNB]He was aided by Jaaskelainen's weak attempted fisted clearance and scored despite Robinson's efforts to clear off the line.[LNB]The equaliser also came just three minutes after Megson had decided to replace striker Klasnic with midfield enforcer Gavin McCann, who quickly marked his return from injury with a booking.[LNB]Megson's plan was to preserve his lead but his decision to make a substitution provoked a furious reaction from the stands.[LNB]When asked about it, Megson said: 'Do I think I've been given a fair crack of the whip? No. They're having a go for me substituting Klasnic, but who signed him in the first place?'[LNB] Bolton boss Megson eyes stunning January swoop for Real legend GutiUnder pressure Brown still believes as struggling Hull City put up a fightBOLTON WANDERERS FC

Source: Daily_Mail