Bolton Wanderers 3 Everton 2: match report

25 October 2009 15:57
t sums up Everton’s luck just now that despite being without 10 first-teamers through injury, they fought back from conceding two soft goals only for Ivan Klasnic’s first goal in English football to deny them a point against Bolton Wanderers. The 5-0 Europa League defeat in Benfica in midweek came after home draws with Stoke and Wolves and the manner of Everton’s performance in the opening quarter suggested that miserable run of performances would continue. They were fortunate that an unmarked Tamir Cohen headed wide and Kevin Davies also failed to hit the target after losing Sylvain Distin as Bolton made the make-shift Everton back-four wobble in the early stages. But the visitors paid for their looseness at the back with a quarter of an hour gone when Tony Hibbert failed to block Sam Ricketts’ cross and even though Ricardo Gardner swung at thin air, Chung-Yong Lee found the back of the net. After a Jo cross had bounced away off the bar and moments after the referee Phil Dowd gave David Moyes a stern telling-off, Everton gifted Bolton a second goal, with Matt Taylor swinging in a free kick and Gary Cahill brushing off a feeble challenge from Distin to head past Tim Howard. But even though their squad is stretched to breaking point, Everton still have the quality to keep them ticking over as they showed by pulling one back in some style. Lucas Neill clipped the ball in to Louis Saha and after Fabrice Muamba failed to intercept, Zat Knight backed off, allowing the Frenchman to curl into the top corner for his eighth goal of the season. Bolton’s inability to close down attackers saw them punished again 10 minutes after the restart when Neill picked out Marouane Fellaini and after Cahill backed off, the Belgian squeezed the ball into the top corner at the near post with a thumping shot. There were plenty more chances for both sides, before Jussi Jaaskelainen’s punt into the area was glanced on by a combination of Kevin Davies and Neill and on-loan Nantes striker Klasnic’s first-time shot flew low past Howard to earn Bolton victory and extend Everton’s winless run to four matches.

Source: Telegraph