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  • Puygrenier (32), Davies, K (64), Davies, K (87)
  • Bent (73), Bent (75)
  • Date:2009-01-31
  • Kick-off:15:00
  • Venue:Reebok Stadium
  • Attendance:21575
  • Referee:Dowd, P

Live Commentary

90mins

FULL-TIME: BOLTON 3 - 2 TOTTENHAM. The final whistle sounds and Bolton clinch all three points, what a game! We wanted an entertaining match here and my oh my we got one at the Reebok!

90mins

Mark Davies skips past three - he's had a fine debut - before playing the ball back to a colleague, it's all about keeping possession at this stage for Bolton.

90mins

Lennon, left footed into the box, brilliant work by Davies and Samuel as they bring the ball away, another goal could be in this match you know!

90mins

Steinsson tries to get the crowd going late on as the fourth official adds to the drama by indicating a minimum of FOUR minutes added on at the end of this corker!

89mins

Bent, on the edge of the area unleashes a shot but the boot of Cahill denies him, what an end to this match!

88mins

Spurs hearts are broken here, they did so well to bring themselves back into the match and now it seems that their good work will be undone.

87mins

Corner swung in and KEVIN DAVIES is there once more, launching himself at the ball and scoring with a diving header!

86mins

Steinsson goes down here, he's a tough cookie - as they say - so when he goes down you know there is a problem.

84mins

Ball played in and it finds Dawson at the back stick, he heads towards goal but straight into the side netting, that was a real chance in the midst of call for hand-ball.

83mins

Tottenham have a corner kick and for once the travelling support are actually in full voice.

82mins

Scrappy bit of play here as both sides try to battle for the winner, it's going to get tasty in the closing stages!

80mins

Andy O'Brien heads onto the pitch for goal-getter Puygrenier who you imagine must have picked up a nock here.

79mins

Mark Davies with a chance here! He makes room for a shot and fires agonisingly wide of the Spurs goal!

77mins

The Bolton lads cannot believe it and look shell shocked, 10 minutes ago they were home and dry, now they are staring at throwing a two goal lead away for the second time in a week!

75mins

Palacios finds BENT inside the box and he makes no mistake, slipping the ball between Jaaskelainen's legs.

73mins

It's there, flowing football from Tottenham and Chimbonda cuts the ball back for BENT who slips the ball home, could Spurs be back in this?!

70mins

Tottenham just seem to be getting back into this match and there may be a glimmer of hope for Spurs yet.

68mins

Corluka comes off and is replaced by Pascal Chimbonda as Tottenham try to throw anything at all in the shape of attack at Bolton!

66mins

Samuel plays in a great ball for KEVIN DAVIES who takes the ball down with his chest and smashes the ball into the roof of the net, no chance for Cudicini.

65mins

The same man hits his free-kick into the box, poor shot really.

64mins

Taylor loops up a ball but Benoit Assou-Ekotto handles the ball and Bolton have a free-kick on the edge of the area.

62mins

Makukula comes off to be replaced by Ebi Smolarek.

61mins

Bentley - still on the pitch - whips a ball into the box but only finds Cahill again who gets up and heads out of the box.

60mins

Lennon curls a ball into the penalty area but Gary Cahill manages to get a touch on it and out for a corner.

58mins

Vedran Corluka finds himself as the unlikely candidate for a shot but he hits one none-the-less, straight at Jaaskelainen who holds on with ease.

57mins

There have been a few strong challenges going in from both sides, we have a proper game of English football on our hands here and fortunately a referee who is letting the game flow.

55mins

There is a distinct lack of atmosphere here in the North West, the Reebok not known for this but you would have thought that the travelling fans would support the struggling Spurs side.

54mins

Palacios sends a high searching ball looking for the path of Bent but he was never going to make that ball.

52mins

This has been a livelier start to the second half than the first, we could be in for an interesting 38 minutes or so here.

51mins

Dawson is handed a yellow card for his foul on Gardner.

50mins

Gardner goes tumbling after a strong challenge by Michael Dawson and it looks as though the former Nottingham Forest man might be about to see the first card of the afternoon.

49mins

Davies fires one off but it rolls out harmlessly for a goal kick.

47mins

Jenas has a crack at goal almost immediately but his volley is high, wide and not at all handsome and is met by ironic cheers from the home fans.

46mins

Double substituton for Tottenham as Darren Bent who replaces Modric.

46mins

Didier Zokora comes off to be replaced by Jermain Jenas.

45mins

The second half is underway, will Spurs be able to up their game in this half?

45mins

HALF-TIME: BOLTON 1 - 0 TOTTENHAM. And there it is, the half-time whistle blows and Bolton have a deserved lead here at the Reebok.

45mins

Yet again Bentley lets the side down with his shot which flies off the wall and away, Redknapp may bring him off at the break.

45mins

Ricardo Gardner gives away sloppy free kick and gives Tottenham an opportunity to level things up just before the break.

45mins

The fourth official indicates a minimum of TWO minutes to be added on at the end of the half.

45mins

Taylor swings in a corner, it's punched away by Cudicini and the fourth official makes his way to the touchline, how long will be added on at the end of this half?

44mins

Closing in on half time here and Bolton will be extremely happy with the way things are going at the minute, neither side can drop into the relegation zone thanks to superior goal difference but a loss for either side could see them teetering over it

42mins

Long ball over the top and Pavlyuchenko is onto it, he decides to fire one goalwards but it is dealt with brilliantly by Jaaskelainen.

41mins

There hasn't really been any tempo from the North Londoners here and Harry Redknapp will no doubt be having stern words with his men at the break.

39mins

Muamba flicks the ball on but it is straight into the arms of Cudicini who takes his time with the goal kick.

39mins

Palacios brings down Taylor and Puygrenier steps up to take it.

37mins

Another shoddy delivery is easily cleared by the Bolton defence, after all of that early pressure from Tottenham they will be kick themselves after conceding.

36mins

Lennon hits a fizzer which takes a deflection and runs out for a corner kick, can Spurs hit back?

35mins

Bentley goes down dramtatically and Mr Dowd waves play on, it's funny how many commentators praise players for 'winning' penalties but get on their back for 'diving' anywhere else isn't it?!

34mins

Bentley sees the ball break to him and he unleashes a real pile-driver which Jaaskelainen has to batter away! Fantastic shot!

32mins

Modric is at the heart of Spurs' play and it is looking more and more likely that he may be the key for the visitors today.

31mins

Mark Davies whips a great ball into the box and Sebastien PUYGRENIER is there to nod past Cudicini and send the home fans wild!

30mins

Steinsson curls the ball into the box and Mark Davies is onto it, he gets up, heads the ball goalwards and it only just misses Cudicini's far post! Great play by the home side!

29mins

Nope! Jlloyd Samuel miss-kicks his clearance but finally gets the ball away at the second attempt and Bolton look to break...

28mins

fifth corner for Spurs, will Bentley make anymore of this ball than his previous four?

26mins

His cross is poor once more but luckily the ball finds team-mate Palacios who plays another ball into the box but it's not coming to anything and rolls out of play.

26mins

Spurs win yet another corner, which Bentley will take.

25mins

Englishman Fabrice Muamba is penalised for a high foot on midfield oponent Modric who has really been in the wars this afternoon!

23mins

The match so far is bogged down in the centre of the park, it's going to take someone to take the game by the scruff of the neck, interestingly Palacios has been incredibly quiet so far.

22mins

Luka Modric is sent crashing to the ground... by team-mate Pavlyuchenko and is holding his head. He looks as though he will be okay though, which is always good to see!

20mins

Makukula has an effort from the edge of the box; header into his path from Kevin Davies but the striker can't get his shot on target and Cudicini sees the ball wide.

19mins

Gretar Steinsson comes in with a great interception to nick the ball off of Aaron Lennon who was looking to run onto a long ball from midfield.

17mins

Spurs have had much of the ball early on here but are failing to make much headway at all, the game is yet to find a telling tempo with 17 minutes gone.

15mins

Slight bit of angst on the touchline as Gary Megson has a few words to say to the fourth official, some travelling fans are calling for the Bolton boss to be sent to the stands but it is highly unlikely that he will be.

14mins

Cross comes in from the left hand side, aimed for the head of the Russian Roman Pavlyuchenko who gets up but his effort is way wide and rolls out for a throw-in.

12mins

The ball is rolled back to stopper Carlo Cudicini, who takes his time before launching the ball high into the Northern sky, after so many years on the bench at Chelsea you have to wonder if he may still be missing a bit of match sharpness.

11mins

With former captain Kevin Nolan now at Newcastle, the midfield mantle has been handed to youngster Mark Davies, will Tottenham look to exploit his inexperience of will Davies prove his worth as a replacement to the former Bolton stalwart?

9mins

Matt Taylor lines up a free kick, he whips it into the far post with Kevin Davies lurking but his header is put wide! That was a half chance for the hosts early on.

8mins

A long throw-in taken into the Tottenham box looking for the head of new Trotters skipper Kevin Davies but good work from Michael Dawson removes the danger.

6mins

Kevin Davies tries a through ball looking for team-mate Ariza Makukula but the flag is raised and the strike is offside.

5mins

Wilson Palacios is of course making his first start for Spurs and could be one of the main attacking influences for the Londoners this afternoon.

3mins

The corner kick is taken by Bentley but it is too deep and the ball is cleared by the Bolton defence.

2mins

Game just finding it's feet, David Bentley receives the ball way out and tries and audacious shot which has Jussi Jaaskelainen scrambling, he manages to palm it round the post for a corner kick.

0mins

And were off, Bolton get the game underway, let's hope for a cracker!

0mins

Tottenham XI: Cudicini, Corluka, Dawson, Woodgate, Assou-Ekotto, Bentley, Zokora, Palacios, Lennon, Modric, Pavlyuchenko.

0mins

Bolton XI: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Cahill, Puygrenier, Samuel, Taylor, Mark Davies, Muamba, Gardner, Kevin Davies, Makukula.

0mins

Today's referee will be Phil Dowd; the offical has dished out 46 yellow and two red cards in his 15 games this season.

0mins

Tottenham are locked on 24 points with their hosts today and Harry Redknapp will be hoping his team concentrate on the football following his recent comments regarding a possible re-signing of striker Robbie Keane at White Hart Lane.

0mins

Bolton entertain Spurs today knowing that a defeat could see them sink as low as 17th, it is also the Trotters first game since the transfer of captain Kevin Nolan to Newcastle on Friday.

Match Preview

Bolton Wanderers have not tasted victory since defeating Portsmouth before Christmas and find themselves level on points with Tottenham, dangerously close to the Premier League's bottom three.

Gary Megson's side blew a 2-0 lead at neighbours Blackburn on Wednesday to draw at Ewood Park, while it could have been worse if Jussi Jaaskelainen had not saved Benni McCarthy's penalty.

Megson will be hoping to recall record-signing Johan Elmander to his line-up after a hamstring injury, but Ricardo Vaz Te (knee) and Gavin McCann (ankle) face lay-offs.

New signing from Wolves, Mark Davies, made a late appearance in Wednesday's game and the midfielder will be hoping for a full debut this weekend.

Harry Redknapp's Spurs are somewhat of a Jekyll and Hyde-type quantity at the moment but make the trip to the Reebok Stadium on the back of a 3-1 win over Stoke.

Redknapp has hit out at his players in public over recent weeks, going as far as to say: "We need stronger players in here because we're not mentally or physically strong enough."

The outburst came after Tottenham's near-exit from the Carling Cup when his side lost 3-0 after 90 minutes at Burnley, only to fire late extra-time goals to save their blushes.

Spurs are three points ahead of the Premier League's bottom club West Brom, with Tuesday's victory propelling them away from the relegation zone.

Ledley King (hamstring), Jamie O'Hara (groin) and Alan Hutton (broken foot) are all set to miss out for the visitors, while £14million signing Wilson Palacios will have to wait longer for a debut due to suspension.


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Match Report

Kevin Davies' 87th-minute winner eased the pressure on under-fire Bolton manager Gary Megson in a thriller at the Reebok Stadium.

The Wanderers boss had called sections of his own club's supporters pathetic after they abused him following the midweek draw at rivals Blackburn.

It looked like Megson's side had thrown away a two-goal lead for the second time in four days when substitute Darren Bent struck twice in two second-half minutes.

Goals from Sebastien Puygrenier and Kevin Davies had put Bolton, who had also led 2-0 at Ewood before drawing 2-2, prompting the travelling fans to turn on their own manager, on course for their first win of 2009.

But Spurs hit back through substitute Bent before the new captain Davies headed home late on to seal Bolton's first win in seven attempts.

Kevin Davies, who was handed the captain's armband following Kevin Nolan's shock £4million departure to Newcastle, nearly gave the hosts a dream start on nine minutes but he headed Matt Taylor's free-kick just over.

Roman Pavlyuchenko flashed a header across the face of goal at the other end before Ariza Makukula should have given Wanderers the lead.

Kevin Davies flicked on Jussi Jaaskelainen's long clearance but the Portugal international slashed his shot wastefully wide.

The impressive Mark Davies was next to go close but the midfielder, making his first start in a Bolton shirt, headed just wide from Gretar Steinsson's deflected cross.

The former Wolves youngster was involved in the opening goal on 32 minutes when his superb free-kick was flicked past Carlo Cudicini by Puygrenier for his first goal for the club - and Wanderers' 4,000th in top-flight action.

Bent and Jermaine Jenas were introduced at half-time for the ineffective Luka Modric and Didier Zokora.

Spurs' hopes of taking anything from the contest looked to be over on 64 minutes when Kevin Davies struck.

But Bent handed the visitors a lifeline when he turned in Pascal Chimbonda's low cross nine minutes later.

And Tottenham were level moments later when Jaaskelainen could not hold Wilson Palacios' volley and Bent fired home the rebound between the goalkeeper's legs.

Mark Davies then blazed over after a fine move involving Kevin Davies and Ebi Smolarek before Kevin Davies rose highest to head home Taylor's corner with just three minutes left.

Bolton Wanderers

Tottenham Hotspur

Corners

28

Fouls

1114

Goal attempts

1213

Shots off target

63

Offsides

12

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