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  • Date:2008-03-22
  • Kick-off:15:00
  • Venue:Reebok Stadium
  • Attendance:22633
  • Referee:Marriner, A

Live Commentary

90mins

Full time at the Reebok leaves both sides with a result they didn't really want as bolton remain in the drop zone and City's push towards Europe faulters again.

90mins

Stelios takes the corner sending it towards the near post where it's headed towards goal and Petrov does well to scrap it off the line.

90mins

The fourth official indicates their will be two minutes of added on time.

87mins

Elano whips in a cross which finds Benjani unmarked in the box but the strikers header is put just inches over the crossbar, frustration again for City.

82mins

Bolton make another change with Matt Taylor going off and Stelios Giannakopoulos coming on.

81mins

Its City now who should have taken the lead after Elano's effort is parried away by Al-Habsi but Bolton fail to clear and Castillo's effort is then cleared off the line with a combination of O'Brien's head and Al-Habsi's hand.

80mins

Chaos in the City penalty area where the ball is ping-ponging around the box the ball eventually finding its way to Hart who gratefully collects the ball.

77mins

Diouf manages to get behind the City defence and finds himself with a clear sight of goal but Hart does well to rush out and save it at full stretch.

75mins

McCann whips in a low cross which bounces all the way across the face of goal, a cross that just wanted a touch from somebody to turn in.

74mins

Bolton are really pushing City back now but the Trotters look fragile when City launch a counter-attack so it could be an interesting last 15 minutes.

71mins

Diouf whips in a corner which is sent towards the near post where the ball bounces off a collection of shirts before Garrido can turn it behind, scary moment for City.

68mins

Diouf takes a freekick, fizzing it in towards the near post where Corluka gets his head on it to clear but only as far as McCann who tries his luck but the former Villa man is off balance and can only hammer it over the bar.

64mins

Taylor tries his luck again from wide on the left but its neither a cross nor a shot with the ball drifting high and wide of the City goal.

62mins

Bolton make a change with Ivan Campo stomping off looking very unhappy with Gavin McCann coming on.

62mins

Taylor tries to curl a shot in which bends nicely towards goal but doesn't curl enough in time and Hart can watch the ball float wide.

59mins

Another breakaway chance for City lead by Benjani who slides it to Elano, the Brazilian's shot pushed behind by Al-Habsi.

57mins

City make their second change in quick sucession with Nery Castillo coming on for Darius Vassell.

56mins

City make their first change of the game with Stephen Ireland coming off and Elano coming on.

54mins

City break away towards goal with Petrov who sends in a low cross towards the far post lookin for Ireland who just can't quite reach the ball and a good chance goes beginning.

53mins

Diouf takes the corner which Cahill gets a touch on with his head but can only flick it on to Vassell who lumps it upfield.

52mins

Taylor gets in a good cross which Nolan nearly reaches and Dunne is forced to turn it behind for a corner.

50mins

The second half has pickedup where the first left off with both sides lacking any creativity to unlock the opposition's defence.

45mins

Ricardo Gardner doesn't return for the second half after being stretched off, Joey O'Brien comes on to replace him.

45mins

The secnd half gets underway with both sides needing the three points but for for different reasons, as we get underway again here at the Reebok where the snow is falling heavily now.

45mins

All square at the break after a frantic first half which saw both sides have good chances, Steinsson hitting the bar for Bolton while Ireland had one cleared off the line for City.

45mins

A break in play after Vassell inadvertantly caught Gardner with an elbow to the ribs and is stretched off looking like he won't be returning for the second half.

44mins

Taylor now with a corner for Bolton, the former Portsmouth playing playinng it to Guthrie who then loses it and Bolton waste a good oppurtunity.

42mins

Petrov takes yet another corner for City which is chipped into the penalty area but Al-Habsi comes off his line to catch it with ease.

41mins

Petrov takes the corner which causes confusion in the Bolton box, Cahill and O’Brien getting in a tangle before Gardner can clear it upfield.

35mins

Guthrie picks out Diouf on the edge of the penalty area who works himself some space and hammering a low shot towards goal but can only send it straight at Hart who gathers it well.

33mins

Kevin Nolan gets himself a booking after launching himself into a challenge with Corluka but missing the ball and catching the man, bad tackle.

28mins

Guthrie tries a long range shot but it takes a deflection off Dunne and launches a City counter-attack ending in City winning a corner,end-to-end stuff at the Reebok.

25mins

Davies tries his luck from the edge of the penalty area after Diouf's freekick was cleared but Davies' effort is a poor one and ends up high in the stand behind the goal.

23mins

Nolan makes himself some room for a shot which he hammers towards goal with his left foot but it takes a deflection which takes all the pace off the ball, making it esay for Hart to gather.

21mins

Petrov takes a corner for City which he sends to Ireland on the edge of the penalty but this time Ireland can only volley it high over the bar with a terrible effort.

19mins

Taylor takes the corner which is headed up and out but only as far as Diouf who sends in another cross, this time Onuoha can clear it up field.

18mins

Guthrie floats in a freekick which Hart comes to deal with but can only push it behind for a corner.

15mins

Petrov whips in a corner which Benjani misses and the ball comes all the way to Ireland who takes the shot on the volley and its headed off the line by Gardner as Bolton survive their first scare.

12mins

Campo delivers a great ross towards the far post which Davies manages to flick on towards goal at full stretch, putting it behind when he might have been better leaving it for the on-rushing Nolan.

11mins

Diouf swings in another corner for Bolton which Hart manages to get a fist on and punch it out of play for a throw-in.

9mins

Petrov whips in a good cross which Benjani manages to head down but only succeeds in heading it to the feet of Guthrie who manages to clear.

6mins

Great chance for Bolton from Diouf's corner Steinsson drifting in and getting his head on the corner and sending it crashing against the underside of the crossbar with Hart beaten.

6mins

Diouf chips a cross towards the far post looking for the run of Taylor but Corluka does well to stab the ball out of play for a corner.

2mins

A frantic start from the gamw which see's City piling the pressure on Bolton but Nolan does well just to intercept and then hammer the ball up field and away from danger.

0mins

Poor throw from Hart nearly gifts Bolton a golden oppurtunity but a good tackle from Dunne denies Davies.

0mins

Todays referee Andre Marriner, who did this fixture last season, gets the game underway with Bolton knowing a win could lift them out of the drop zone.

0mins

Man City XI: Hart, Corluka, Dunne, Onuoha, Garrido, Johnson, Fernandes, Ireland, Petrov, Vassell, Benjani

0mins

Man City make two changes from the side that beat Tottenham last weekend with Elano and Castillo dropping to the bench as Vassell and Petrov return for this north-west derby.

0mins

Bolton XI: Al Habsi, Cahill, Taylor, A O'Brien, Steinsson, Campo, Gardner, Guthrie, Nolan, Davies, Diouf.

0mins

Bolton make three changes from the side that was beaten at Old Trafford in mid-week with Kevin Nolan, Gary Cahill an Ivan Campo all returning to the side as they search for their first win in 7 games.

Match Preview

Manchester City travel to Bolton Wanderers on Saturday, with their hosts desperately needing a win to help pull them out of the relegation zone.

Five straight league defeats have sent the Trotters back into the bottom three and, with Sunderland and Birmingham two points above them, victory over eighth-placed City could still leave them trailing.

Their latest defeat, 2-0 away to Manchester United, left boss Gary Megson looking for some positives to take forward.

He commented: "If we can replicate our second-half performance then there is optimism.

"We had more shots in this game than probably any away game we have played and we need to keep it going in every game until the end of the season."

More bad news came Megson's way earlier this week, when it was announced by the club that goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen will be out for the rest of the season with a back problem.

"Jussi needs six weeks of rest to try to resolve this problem and he needs some form of surgery. Either way, his season is over," Megson explained.

Oman international Ali Al-Habsi is expected to continue as the first-choice goalkeeper until Jaaskelainen returns.

Captain Kevin Nolan issued a rallying cry this week, calling on players and fans to do all they can to lift the team over the next few weeks.

"It's now up to us to stand up and be counted. We'll get together and make sure we go on from here. We have got eight games to go to get ourselves out of this," Nolan told the club's official website.

Nolan himself remains the club's main injury concern as he recovers from a sore back. Gary Cahill has also yet to prove his fitness following a foot problem, though he could well be given a starting place anyway.

In contrast the Citizens have no short-term injury problems - though Dietmar Hamann is suspended - and, having beaten Tottenham 2-1 last Sunday, are full of confidence.

"We have a good team. We had some weeks where we were a little bit flat but I hope this is a turning point," Man City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson said after the game.


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Match Report

Bolton Wanderers stopped the rot after five successive Premier League defeats but stay deep in trouble after this bore draw.

It was never going to be pretty and that's the way it turned out with Manchester City hardly enhancing their chances of European football next season.

The Intertoto Cup looks Sven Goran Eriksson's best option, after talk of Champions League action just a month ago.

In contrast, Bolton are staring at the Premier League trapdoor after again failing to resolve their goalscoring problems.

Full-back Gretar Steinsson hit the post early on from an El Hadji Diouf corner and Kevin Davies almost poached a late winner, only to see Martin Petrov clear off the line.

City also had their moments, but Ali Al-Habsi didn't have much to do to keep his first ever Premier League clean sheet.

Wanderers had to re-shuffle their defence at half-time as full-back Ricardo Gardner suffered a rib injury just before the break.

Gary Megson, gradually losing his cult status reputation with the Wanderers fans, asked for a frenzied performance and his team answered his plea from the kick-off.

Diouf forced Joe Hart into a first-minute stop and the Senegal star was his team's best player in the opening exchanges.

Spaniard Ivan Campo attempted an optimistic shot as Wanderers strove for their first league win since beating Reading 2-1.

City, who won their last outing against Spurs, again took time to settle and Stephen Ireland finally managed a worthwhile shot after 17 minutes.

Kevin Nolan, back in the side after injury forced him to miss the humiliating defeat at Wigan, was booked for a bad challenge on Croatian Vedran Corluka.

Referee Andre Marriner showed leniency when a red card wouldn't have been out of place.

And Corluka certainly didn't deserve the subsequent barracking from the home fans in a disappointingly low crowd of 22, 633.

The challenges continued to fly in, but Mr Marriner kept his cards in his pocket for the rest of the game.

The arrival of Elano in anything but Brazilian style weather perked up the Blues.

However, Elano was guilty of going for goal when Petrov was better positioned and Al-Habsi made a comfortable stop.

Icelander Steinsson was proving a menace from set-pieces while Javier Garrido blocked a header from the hard-working Davies.

Bolton had the better openings and Diouf should have done better after racing onto Davies' flick, Hart came to City's rescue.

Benjani nearly snatched all three points in the 88th minute, but the ex-Portsmouth man headed over from Corluka's centre.

Then came Davies' injury- time near miss, but City hung on and Bolton wondered what might have been, especially with Arsenal next up at the Reebok.

Bolton Wanderers

Manchester City

Corners

1212

Fouls

914

Goal attempts

177

Shots off target

93

Offsides

41

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