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Bolton and Fulham remain in trouble at the foot of the Premier League after an uneventful goalless draw at the Reebok Stadium. The visitors had the better of the first half, but Wanderers responded after the break and looked the more dangerous, but neither side could find a way through as they shared the spoils. Fulham had the first chance of the game inside eight minutes. Danny Murphy put Clint Dempsey clear of the Bolton defence, but the American could only shoot wide of Jussi Jaaskelainen's goal from a good position. Bolton responded well, with Gretar Steinsson hitting a volley over the bar and Danny Guthrie shooting wide after a good spell for the hosts. Joey O'Brien was next to shoot at the Fulham goal, but his shot was well saved down low by Antti Niemi. Jaaskelainen seemed to be beaten soon after, but Leon Andreasen's long-range effort just about cleared the Finn's crossbar. Neither side managed to carve out any further opportunities in a lackluster first half, as the visitors seemed happy to frustrate Bolton and pass the ball around comfotably inside their own half. With hope of seeing more attacking football after the break, Bolton boss Gary Megson replaced O'Brien with Tamir Cohen, a change which seemed to work. Just before the hour, Steinsson raced to the byline before cutting the ball back for Kevin Nolan who's flick almost found Matt Taylor at the back post waiting to steal his first goal in a Wanderers shirt. Niemi easily stopped a free-kick from Guthrie on 65 minutes, before the midfielder was replaced by Andranik, much to the disappointment of the home fans. But the Iranian international almost had an immediate impact, and Bolton almost took the lead. Niemi failed to deal with an Andranik free-kick, punching straight to Lubomir Michalik, but his attempted lob sailed just wide of the empty net. Moments later, the Slovakian again tested Niemi from close range, before putting another effort high over the crossbar. The game fizzled out into a dull draw, with both sides earning another point in their search for Premier League survival at the end of the season. |
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