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  • Taylor (1), Gardner (3)
  • Crouch (20)
  • Date:2008-12-20
  • Kick-off:15:00
  • Venue:Reebok Stadium
  • Attendance:19884
  • Referee:Atkinson, M

Live Commentary

90mins

Full Time: BOLTON 2-1 PORTSMOUTH. Bolton collect the three points they thoroughly deserve having dominated the entire game while Portsmouth really never looked like battling their way back into the match.

90mins

So close! Hreidarsson flicks on and Defoe loops the ball over Jaaskelainen only to see the ball drop agonisingly wide of the far post. Bolton get away with it!

90mins

We are into injury time now and still Portsmouth fail to carry a threat and Bolton look set to collect all the points.

87mins

At the moment it looks as though Bolton are going to get away with wasting all their chances as Portsmouth continue to carry little to no threat.

84mins

Bolton have been unbelieavably on top and if Elmander and Davies had been as clinical as they can be then we could be looking at a cricket score here.

83mins

Bolton are making a change as Fabrica Muamba replaces Ricardo Gardner.

81mins

Despite the attacking change from Tony Adams' the game is still being played in the Portsmouth half and Bolton waste another chance as Davies heads straight at James from close range after another Steinsson cross.

78mins

Taylor cuts in off the right hand side and unleashes a rocket of a shot with his left foot that skips up off the knee of Distin, leaving James stranded, and flies onto the roof of the net - skimming the top fo the bar on the way.

75mins

David Nugent is on in place of Papa Bouba Diop for Portsmouth - a rare appearance for the striker.

74mins

Another chance goes begging! Gardner unselfishly lays it on a plate for Elmander but he can only hit James - however it rebounds back for Gardner again only for the Jamaican to chip into the side netting.

71mins

Portsmouth are edging themselves forward bit-by-bit and sooner or later they will begin to build pressure so Bolton need to take one of these chances soon, before Pompey can build momentum.

68mins

Steinsson ensures Hreidarsson can't start a counter-attack as he chops him down and collects a yellow card.

67mins

Could Bolton still be made to rue these missed opportunites? They have wasted countless openings again in this second period and could be vulnerable to a sting in the tail.

64mins

Another chance goes begging for the Trotters! A long ball is nodded down expertly by Davies for Nolan but he goes for it with the wrong foot and skews his effort well wide.

63mins

Lassana Diarra is reportedly bound for Real Madrid in the January window but he returns from injury for Portsmouth here in place of Richard Hughes.

61mins

Great clearance from Kranjcar! Taylor curls a corner into the box and Davies risest highest but Kranjcar is on the post to hack the ball off the line and Pompey survive.

57mins

Now Bolton survive a goalmouth scramble as O'Brien blocks Defoe's goalbound effort on the line and from the resultant corner Hreidarsson heads narrowly wide.

55mins

David James makes one of his trademark howlers, but Elmander somehow fails to capitalise as the England keeper dribbles a clearance to the Swede who rushes his attempt and squirms it wide. Big let off for James and Pompey.

52mins

Defoe barely touched the ball before the break but he gets onto it now and drives at the back four and fires past the post - but that was a sign of danger for Bolton.

50mins

Portsmouth still look sluggish at the start of this second half, just as they did before, and Bolton are again dominating proceedings with Taylor wreaking havoc.

47mins

...but this time he blazes it high and wide of the goal and Portsmouth survive without any alarm for once.

47mins

Taylor has a chance to make it 3-1 already with a free-kick from a dangerous position...

46mins

The second period is underway - will the game be as entertaining after the interval?

45mins

Half Time: BOLTON 2-1 PORTSMOUTH. The hosts could not have wished for a better start but Pompey have come back into the game slightly since Crouch got one back against the run of play.

45mins

Taylor curls a free-kick into the box and Steinsson rises at the far post to bullet a header against the post but it rebounds out and away from danger - will they live to regret these chances?

43mins

Defoe is the first player to go into the referee's notebook.

43mins

Should be all square! A diagonal ball in is chested down by Crouch for the onrushing Hreidarsson but he fails to control it quickly enough and Gary Cahill gets a block in.

40mins

Gavin McCann doesn't get many goals but he tries his luck here with a fizzing effort from long range that skids past the post.

38mins

Portsmouth are still trying to steal a foothold in this game as Bolton continue to pressurise regularly but Adams' men are still seeing themselves overrun in the wide areas.

35mins

Superb save from James and a horrible waste from Bolton! Gardner beats the offside trap but is too casual as he allows James to block with his legs but the ball drops for Taylor, who again is too casual and Hreidarsson is able to get back and block.

32mins

End-to-end stuff at the Reebok as Bolton create an opening for Elmander who leans back and fires over when he really should have hit the target from just inside the box.

30mins

Both sides are as hopeless as each other under the high balls and Portsmouth chuck one up to Crouch and it eventually falls for Defoe who sees his shot turned away superbly by Jaaskelainen.

27mins

The game is suddenly a lot more even as Bolton lose a bif of belief in themselves and you get the feeling that there are more goals to come in this one, but who will score them?

24mins

Could Bolton live to regret not putting Portsmouth out of sight when they had the chance? The goal has given the South Coast club a lifeline and they are starting to look like themselves for the first time.

20mins

BOLTON 2-1 PORTSMOUTH. A bolt from the blue! WIth their first attack of the game Portsmouth strike back as Kranjcar bends it in with the outside of his foot and CROUCH has the simple task of heading into the corner.

18mins

Sorry Portsmouth fans but it's all Bolton still. The men from Fratton Park are stuck in their own half still and Bolton are flying at them again.

15mins

Matt Taylor is heavily involved in everything that the Trotters are doing and again it is the former Pompey man that evades two challenges and bends a curling shot a fraction beyond the far post.

12mins

Portsmouth are all over the place and simply don't seem to know what they are doing. Tony Adams needs to sort them out before this gets beyond salvage.

10mins

It is like watching Brazil at the moment! Steinsson escapes down the right again and bends a superb cross to the far post where Gardner arrives and screams a right foot volley just past the post.

8mins

It is still a Bolton onslaught as Portsmouth continue to be on the back foot and only a superb stop from David James stops Johan Elmander getting in on the act from close range.

7mins

Matthew Taylor's opening goal was timed at just 48 seconds - not a bad start against your former club is it.

5mins

Is it game over already? Portsmouth have simply not started yet and Taylor should have a second as Steinsson flashes it across goal and somehow the former Pompey man fails to make contact.

3mins

BOLTON 2-0 PORTSMOUTH. The hosts are in dreamland! Pompey fail to clear another long ball and this time Ricardo GARDNER strides onto it and smashes his shot past James to make it 2-0 to Bolton.

1mins

BOLTON 1-0 PORTSMOUTH. Unbelievable start! The ball is launched forward and Davies knocks it down for TAYLOR who brings it under control before rifling a shot into the top corner.

1mins

Martin Atkinson is in charge of this one where both sides are looking to kick-start their festive periods.

0mins

Portsmouth: James, Pamarot, Campbell, Distin, Hreidarsson, Diop, Davis, Hughes, Kranjcar, Defoe, Crouch

0mins

Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Cahill, Andrew O'Brien, Samuel, Davies, Nolan, McCann, Taylor, Gardner, Elmander

0mins

Portsmouth were outplayed by Newcastle last time out so they come to Lancashire with a point to prove but it has not been a good start to Tony Adams' reign - although they are still in the European hunt.

0mins

Bolton had been in the middle of a very good run of form but have slipped to defeats in each of their last two games so they will be out to stop the rot.

0mins

Welcome to the Reebok Stadium where Portsmouth are the visitors to in-form Bolton Wanderers.

Match Preview

Gary Megson has challenged his Bolton Wanderers side to bounce back from a humbling defeat to Aston Villa last weekend when they host Portsmouth on Saturday.

The Trotters had been in a rich vein of form prior to running into a confident Villa side, who ran out 4-2 winners last Saturday.

Megson's side had pulled away from the relegation places following a run of four wins from their six previous matches and the Reebok Stadium boss wants his side to put the poor Villa Park display out of their minds.

"We're just below mid-table, in a group with everybody apart from five or six teams and we've got to kick-on again," he said.

"It's a tough, unrelenting league and you've just got to get on with it. We've got to try and put everybody else's issues aside and concentrate on our own."

Tamir Cohen and Joey O'Brien are the only fitness concerns for Wanderers, with both midfielders still hampered by thigh problems.

One win in five Premier League games has left Portsmouth needing a result at the Reebok Stadium to arrest their slide towards the bottom third of the table.

Tony Adams has won just two of the 11 games he has been in charge of the South Coast club in all competitions and could have done without the distraction of having to face Herenveen in the UEFA Cup on Wednesday evening despite already being eliminated from the competition.

Pompey's last league victory came against Blackburn Rovers in November and their inconsistent form was clear as they were comfortably beaten 3-0 by Newcastle United at Fratton Park on Sunday.

Adams was particularly critical of his side's defending against the Magpies and will be glad to welcome England right-back Glen Johnson back from a knee injury on Saturday.

However, he remains unable to call upon the services of injured duo Younes Kaboul (ankle) and John Utaka (thigh).


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Match Report

Two goals inside the first three minutes helped Bolton Wanderers overcome Portsmouth at the Reebok Stadium.

Pompey old boy Matty Taylor and Ricardo Gardner handed Gary Megson's side a dream start.

And despite Peter Crouch's 12th goal of the season on 20 minutes, Wanderers went on to claim three deserved points in a one-sided contest.

Taylor, who joined Bolton for £3.5million in January, handed his new club the perfect start after just 52 seconds with a brilliant finish after flicking the ball over Hermann Hreidarsson's head before firing past David James.

It got even better for the home side moments later when Gardner ran on to Taylor's header across the face of goal from Jlloyd Samuel's long ball to smash home number two.

The Jamaican nearly grabbed his second when he volleyed wide from Gretar Steinsson's cross.

But Portsmouth were back in the contest on 20 minutes with their first attack of the match.

Niko Kranjcar picked out Crouch at the back post with a delightful cross with the outside of his right foot and the England forward headed home his fourth goal in as many games.

Johan Elmander should have restored Bolton's two-goal advantage but the Swede blazed over after a neat exchange of passes with Taylor.

Jussi Jaaskelainen then denied Kranjcar with a fine one-handed stop before Wanderers wasted another superb opportunity to kill off the visitors on 35 minutes.

First James saved Gardner's weak shot after the winger raced through on goal before Hreidarrson cleared Taylor's follow-up effort off the line.

Pompey were indebted to their goalkeeper again when, in first-half injury time, he somehow manages to turn Steinsson's point-blank header onto the post and Gary Cahill could not convert the rebound.

Portsmouth were fortunate not to fall further behind 11 minutes after the restart when James sliced his clearance but, with Elmander poised to pounce, the keeper saved his own blushes with a last-ditch tackle.

Kevin Davies' header from Gavin McCann's corner was then cleared off the line by Kranjcar, before Real Madrid-bound Lassana Diarra, who is set to join the Spanish giants in January for around £20miilion, was brought on.

But the midfielder could make little impact as Bolton continue to dominate with Kevin Nolan, Davies, Gardner, Elmander and Taylor all going close to extending the home side's lead as visiting manager Tony Adams' problems continue to mount.

Bolton Wanderers

Portsmouth

Corners

63

Fouls

1416

Goal attempts

208

Shots off target

93

Offsides

31

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