RSS
|
BOLTON WANDERERS WIN 1-0 ON AGGREGATE Bolton advanced to the last 16 of the UEFA Cup for the first time after earning a goalless draw against Atletico Madrid in Spain. El-Hadji Diouf's goal from the 1st leg at the Reebok was enough as Wanderers produced a stunning defensive performance to keep out their Spanish counterparts. Despite holding a one goal advantage, Gary Megson's side were still considered underdogs for the tie with the odds stacked against them. Atletico's home record in Europe had been second to none, winning their previous seven games at Vicente Calderon, averaging more than two goals a game and only conceding one in that exceptional run. However, it was Bolton who began the stronger and carved out the first chance of the game inside two minutes. Stelios Giannakopoulos found himself unmarked at the back post, but Christian Abbiati pushed his goalbound effort behind for a corner. It was Wanderers' only effort on target in the entire 90 minutes, with the hosts taking control of possession and trying to break down the visiting defence. Former Liverpool frontman Luis Garcia should have given Madrid the lead inside the opening 20 minutes, with Jose Antonio Reyes cutting back for the Spaniard who somehow fired over with only Jussi Jaaskelainen to beat. The next opportunity fell to former Manchester United striker Diego Forlan but he headed well wide after finding a good position for himself inside the area. At this stage, the home supporters behind Abbiati's goal began to cause problems. Fans seemed to seperate into two sections before throwing missiles and seats at each other, before a number of them met to exchange blows. Riot police were quickly on the scene to calm the trouble and restore order among the Madrid faithful. Crowd congestion in an area of the Wanderers fans was also a problem and some were left with no option but to sit in a segregate area. Concered about crowd violence, the police took needless action against some travelling fans and began to hit them with batons, injuring some innocent individuals. The police seemed to have taken the talking point of a fairly uneventful first half on the field as the two teams went in goalless at the break. The second 45 minutes started in a similar fashion to the majority of the first, with Bolton urging Atletico to attack wth Megson's side defending in numbers. Mariano Pernia tried a harmless effort from outside the area before Luis Garcia did the same. Forlan, Pernia and Jurado all saw shots blocked, with the latter hitting Andy O'Brien square in the face, earning credit from his fellow players. With the clock slowly counting down, Atletico had a penalty appeal turned down with Forlan's cross hitting Jlloyd Samuel, prompting handball shouts from mainly supporters, but Polish referee Jacek Granat signalled for a corner. The home side earned corner after corner in the closing stages and in stoppage time, goalkeeper Abbiati came forward to attack one, but Bolton were able to clear the danger and hold on for the aggregate victory. Bolton reach the last 16 for the first time and will now face Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon following their 5-0 aggregate victory over Basel. |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||