Coyle stands up for Jaaskelainen

30 August 2010 09:00
Owen Coyle admitted Jussi Jaaskelainen was breathing a sigh of relief on Sunday night but claimed his Bolton team-mates still have much to thank him for. Bolton overcame the sending off of Jaaskelainen to recover from a two-goal deficit and claim a draw in a fiery Barclays Premier League contest at the Reebok Stadium. The Finn was dismissed after 37 minutes for appearing to slap Birmingham's first goalscorer Roger Johnson in the face. Without him Bolton fell further behind as Craig Gardner grabbed Blues' second but a Kevin Davies penalty and a stunning free-kick from Robbie Blake netted a point. Coyle said: "I'm not going to make excuses for him - Jussi is a grown man and he has been a top-class keeper all his days in the Barclays Premier League. He was beside himself at the end of the game but our strength has always been in the group. "Jussi saved us at West Ham last week time upon time, he made a great penalty save. We know all the squad can be called upon, we all have a part to play. It summed it up when Robbie Blake stepped up and fired a great free-kick. Obviously Jussi will be thanking Robbie this week but as a group we were thanking Jussi last week."

Source: PA