Bolton Wanderers 1 Stoke City 1: match report

19 September 2009 17:17
Bolton were spared the embarrassment of a third successive defeat at the Reebok Stadium when Matt Taylor’s 89th-minute penalty provided vital breathing space for Gary Megson. The Bolton manager has been under pressure after home defeats to Sunderland and Liverpool and he was jeered off at the conclusion of an encounter in which Stoke were clearly the better side. While a first point on home territory was clearly welcome for Bolton, Stoke felt aggrieved that they had not taken all three after Dave Kitson had secured a second-half lead with his third goal of the season, his second in the Premier League. Tony Pulis, the Stoke manager, said: "No one would have complained had we won. It was important to bounce back after the Chelsea game, but to come here and concede a penalty so late in the game was very disappointing because our back four were smashing and we controlled the midfield." Megson begged to differ. "In the second (half) we were much livelier but went a goal down because of woeful defending. Once they scored we took the game to them and a draw was the least we deserved after our second-half performance." Stoke had clearly learned much since losing 3-1 here on their Premier League debut 13 months ago and their front two of Kitson and Ricardo Fuller caused problems for Bolton. Stoke stated their intentions early although Rory Delap shot wide and Sam Ricketts twice came to Bolton’s rescue with good defending. Bolton might have scored in the first half had Gary Cahill not wastefully headed over from Tamir Cohen’s cross. Jussi Jaaskelainen was the busier of the goalkeepers, the pick of his saves a 33rd-minute scoop to keep out Glenn Whelan free-kick. Stoke resumed the second half in a positive manner and Kitson evaded two Bolton challenges before driving beyond Jaaskelainen. But Bolton levelled when Croatian striker Ivan Klasnic was brought down by Danny Collins and Taylor saved Bolton’s blushes.

Source: Telegraph