Bolton Wanderers 2 Hull City 2: match report

29 December 2009 22:08
Gary Megson no doubt views Ivan Klasnic as a blessing, a crucial component in his attempts to help Bolton avoid relegation. [LNB]In hindsight, though, he may see him as a curse. It was when Megson, now unbeaten in four games, removed the man who had opened the scoring here that the Reebok crowd turned against him. Megson, the man who provided the darling of the fans, simply cannot win. [LNB] Related ArticlesPremier League actionPremier League tableTelegraph player raterPremier League fixturesTransfer TalkSport on televisionFew would have noticed when Klasnic agreed to join Bolton on loan this summer. The move smacked of late-August desperation, of Megson taking a minor risk on a striker, once full of youthful promise, but who had found his edge blunted, perhaps, by two life-saving kidney operations. [LNB]There was hardly a rush of clubs competing with Megson for his signature. Bolton's fans probably did not hope for much. First impressions are always misleading. [LNB]Perhaps they thought that, physical strength aside, he does not, perhaps, readily fit the Bolton prototype. [LNB]He is not the typical workaholic over-achiever this club thrives upon, but, equally, he is not in the mould of a Youri Djorkaeff, a Jay-Jay Okocha or a Guti, the Real Madrid player Megson is believed to be trying to tempt to the Reebok. [LNB]His manager has admitted in the past that inculcating the idea of diligence and defensive discipline in Klasnic is very much a work in progress. [LNB]He sees himself as a striker, not just first and foremost but utterly and completely. His job is to score goals, not to track back. Lucky, then, that he is so good at it. [LNB]His strike here, opening the scoring and providing an almost unique moment of excitement in a first half hardly rich in entertainment, was a case in point. [LNB]Andy Dawson's clearing header, under pressure from Lee Chung-Yong, fell to the striker's feet, 25 yards out. One touch to set himself, a low, fierce drive with his left foot beyond the reach of Boaz Myhill. [LNB]Six in seven starts since his move to Lancashire, and that almost priceless quality to sides condemned to a life of toil at the foot of the Premier League table, an ability to score goals out of absolutely nothing. [LNB]For all Megson's ongoing work in transforming Bolton into a side someone might pay to watch, the Reebok has never boasted a regular, 15-goal a season front man. [LNB]Kevin Davies is more effective as accomplice, Johan Elmander, all £9 million of him, has flattered to deceive at best. Bolton, like all of their relegation rivals, need someone who can conjure a lead at the drop of a hat. [LNB]Certainly, had it not been for Klasnic, the stalemate here may never have been broken. [LNB]It was the sort of game where the first foul came within the opening five seconds, where the only other chances crafted by the hosts were of the speculative sort from Tamir Cohen and Fabrice Muamba and where the visitors, without a goal in open play in five games, rarely looked like breaking down a team that has not kept a clean sheet all season. [LNB]Indeed, it was only through Bolton's carelessness that Hull had a first half chance at all. [LNB]Jussi Jaaskelainen, usually the most reliable of goalkeepers, misjudged a Richard Garcia cross and Gretar Steinsson could only clear the ball on to Stephen Hunt's head, five yards out. Somehow, the Icelander recovered to divert the Irish international's effort wide. [LNB]Even the first chance Phil Brown's side created for themselves, a Kamil Zayatte header which drifted wide, proved a portent of doom. Within a minute, Kevin Davies shrugged off Bernard Mendy to meet a Paul Robinson free-kick, Myhill found himself stranded on the edge of the six-yard box and the game was safe. [LNB]Hull's attempts at a comeback were sporadic, at least until Craig Fagan's perfectly-weighted cross picked out Hunt to head home from six yards. It sparked the visitors into life, forcing Megson to withdraw Klasnic in search of defensive solidity, much to the displeasure of the Reebok crowd. [LNB]When Hunt's shot, deflected by Steinsson, squeezed past Jaaskelainen and over the line to gift the visitors a scarcely-warranted equaliser, the discontent grew louder, Klasnic cheered *in absentia*, Megson jeered. But then Megson does not score the goals. [LNB]Match details:[LNB]Bolton (4-3-3): Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Cahill, Knight, Robinson, Lee, Muamba, Cohen, Taylor, Kevin Davies, Klasnic (McCann 75). Subs: Al Habsi, Elmander, Gardner, Mark Davies, Ricketts, Andrew O'Brien. Booked: McCann [LNB]Hull City (4-3-2): Myhill, Mendy, Zayatte, Gardner, Dawson, Garcia (Vennegoor of Hesselink 64), Boateng, Olofinjana (Geovanni 75), Hunt, Fagan, Altidore (Barmby 54). Subs: Duke, Kilbane, Mouyokolo, Ghilas. Booked: Dawson, Mendy [LNB]Referee: P Dowd (England) [LNB]

Source: Telegraph