Bolton Wanderers 3 - 0 Birmingham City

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Saturday Dec 22 2007 03:00

Nicolas Anelka edged Bolton towards safety but could have hastened his exit from the Reebok Stadium.

Wanderers' record signing netted his ninth and tenth Premier League goals of the season in the last 14 minutes as Birmingham committed defensive suicide.

And with skipper Kevin Nolan having another 'good' goal disallowed for offside, Bolton eventually won at a canter.

But they will miss Anelka and Senegal sidekick, El Hadji Diouf, if both ever leave the club, temporarily or permanently.

Diouf is definitely absent for a spell due to African Cup of Nations duty in January.

And Anelka's latest double will have pushed up his value for potential suitors like Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City.

However, for all Bolton deserved their victory, they received a helping hand from their opponents. Alex McLeish's side gifted each goal to their hosts to leave the new boss cursing his team.Stephen Kelly's failure to clear Anelka's cross led to Diouf netting his third of the season. Anelka then seized upon Johan Djourou's throw to round keeper Maik Taylor for his 100th goal with English clubs.

And in stoppage time Cameron Jerome's wayward pass was picked off by Nolan and the midfielder's great pass sent Anelka clear to finish off a great afternoon.

Bolton have not lost in the league at the Reebok under Gary Megson. And a third successive home win had the fans chanting for the 'Ginger Mourinho.'

The start to the match gave hope that he rest of it was going to continue in the same vein. Within the opening minute Ivan Campo whipped in a free-kick which Taylor did well to push away for a corner.

Unfortunately, apart from a few exceptions, the rest of the half was instantly forgettable. And most of the openings came from individual errors including Bolton's best moment when Anelka was denied.Rafael Schmitz and Radhi Jaidi made a hash of clearing Diouf's cross and Taylor did well to block Anelka's close-range left-foot shot.

Nolan fired into the side-netting after more Birmingham defensive hesitancy while Jussi Jaaskelainen was a spectator at the opposite end.

The Finnish keeper didn't have a shot to save in the opening 45 minutes and only Sebastian Larsson caused the home defence any concern with a cross that Ricardo Gardner prevented reaching Jerome at the expense of a corner.

And in the context of a passionless contest, Nicky Hunt was foolish to collect his eighth yellow card of the season for a poor challenge from behind on Gary McSheffrey.

Birmingham, at least, showed some endeavour when the game resumed. Olivier Kapo replaced left-back Mathew Sadler and, within three minutes, Jaaskelainen was called into action.

McSheffery's free-kick was headed towards his own net by Campo but Jaaskelainen stuck out a leg to rescue the situation.

That was as good as it got for Birmingham as Bolton took charge with their three-goal blitz in the closing 18 minutes.

Live Commentary

90
The final whistle goes, and Bolton secure all 3 points with 3 goals against a very poor City side, though Megson does deserve credit for applying his tatics well to the game.

90
Anelka scores! The Frenchman runs through on goal, one-on-one, and he hits a great finish to seal the game.

89
City have given up the ghost on this game as the game seems to have become very predictable now.

88
Damien Johnson is booked for a bad foul on Ricardo Gardner.

85
Alex McLeish wont be happy with his sides performance today, from the very first minute, Bolton have been on top, and most observers would say that they deserve the win.

82
This will be a huge win for Bolton if they hold on, 3 points against relegation rivals City could be a massive boost come the end of the season.

81
Diouf is booked for time-wasting.

80
Kapo rounds Jussi Jaaskelainen but his shot is blocked by Meite on the line, and then cleared by Hunt.

79
Jlloyd Samuel replaces Kevin Davies.

78
Anelka scores! On his 50th appearance for Bolton, Anelka scores his 100th goal in English football with a great clinical strike from 12 yards.

75
Bolton have taken control of this game now, and City are once again on the back foot with not much hope of getting anything from this game.

74
Garry O'Connor replaces Gary McSheffrey.

72
Diouf scores! Anelka supplied the pass to Diouf, who took a good first touch, and then with his second, fired home a great shot to give Bolton the lead.

68
Ricardo Gardner is cautioned for foul play.

65
Bolton put the ball into the back of the net, but the flag is up! Bolton put in a free-kick, and McCann is flagged offside as he flicked on to Nolan.

64
Radhi Jaidi is booked for fouling El Hadji Diouf.

60
An hour gone and at 0-0, both sides are still very much involved in the game, however you would have to say that City would be happier with the draw than Bolton would.

58
Gavin McCann replaces Ivan Campo.

56
Good build-up play from City, however Larsson wastes the move as he blasts the ball high over the bar.

53
Cameron Jerome is flagged offside, he protests, but as the rules state, there was clear daylight between him and the defence.

50
Sebastian Larsson has the chance to do something special from a City free-kick, but he wastes the chance and it goes harmlessly over the bar.

48
Jussi Jaaskelainen makes a great save, McSheffery whipped in a free-kick, the ball deflected off Campo, and a great reaction save from the Bolton keeper keeps the scores level.

45
Olivier Kapo replaces Mathew Sadler as a half-time substitute.

45
The second half gets underway, and Bolton will be looking to continue their dominance from the first half while City will be hoping for a much improved performance.

45
The whistle goes and it is indeed all square at the break. Bolton have certainly been on top for the half, but having failed to score, City will be much the happier of the sides.

43
Campo fires over the bar, a shot which is greeted by heavy moans from the home fans, and it looks like it could well be all level going into the break.

41
City will be encouraged if it stays like this by the break, having weathered the Bolton storm, Birmingham will feel that second half they can improve and take the lead.

39
Davies puts in a good cross into the box, and Radhi Jaidi mis-kicks the ball which ends up hitting a team-mate and going off for a corner.

37
Nicky Hunt is cautioned for a late challenge on Gary McSheffrey.

34
Gardner defends well and ends up putting the ball out for a corner from a dangerous Sebastian Larsson cross.

32
After a bright start, Bolton are still on top, but they are however, failing to produce real danger efforts in front of goal.

29
Almost 30 minutes on the clock and with Bolton still on top, the Trotters will be thinking that they'll need a goal to show for all their dominace.

26
A good effort from Kevin Nolan, it was on the turn, but the shot ends up hitting the side-netting.

23
Megson deserves some credit as his tatics appear to be working at the moment with Birmingham failing to provide any danger in front of goal.

20
20 minutes played and its been all Bolton so far, as Birmingham fail to provide any aerial threat, and with Jussi Jaaskelainen hardly even touching the ball.

16
Anelka is making his 50th Bolton appearance today, not only that, he's also on 99 goals scored in English football, can the Frenchman celebrate his 50th game with his 100th goal?

12
Jerome has a shot on goal, and it's deflected by O'Brien, it looks like its going in but it goes just wide, hearts in mouth time for Bolton fans there.

11
After a bright start, the game has slowed in tempo, and City will be looking to gain the upper hand for the first time in this game

8
It's been all Bolton so far, with the home side already having 2 great chances, and thankfully for City, Maik Taylor is on fine form at the moment.

5
Taylor makes another great save, Anelka hits a snap shot in the City box, and Taylor does well to stop it, and what a start from Bolton.

4
Bolton have started the brighter as already, the Wanderers have exposed space in the heart of the City defence.

1
Maik Taylor does well to push Campo's free-kick past the post, the resulting corner comes to nothing as a foul is given in the box.

0
Referee Chris Foy gets the game underway, and with both sides so close to the relegation zone, Bolton and City will be looking for nothing but all 3 points.

0
Johan Djourou starts and Nafti returns to the bench, however, Liam Ridgwell is suspended as City begin with: Maik Taylor, Kelly, Jaidi, Schmitz, Sadler, Larsson, Johnson, Djourou, Muamba, McSheffrey, Jerome

0
Andy O'Brien and Kevin Nolan both play after overcomming a bout of food poisoning and a foot injury respectively as Bolton start with: Jaaskelainen, Hunt, Meite, Andrew O'Brien, Gardner, Nolan, Campo, Guthrie, Davies, Anelka, Diouf

Statistics

Bolton Wanderers

Shots on target	6
Shots off target	4
Shots off bar/post	0
Fouls	14
Offsides	6
Corners	7

Birmingham City

Shots on target	1
Shots off target	3
Shots off bar/post	0
Fouls	18
Offsides	3
Corners	2

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