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A second half goal from Nicolas Anelka proved to be a mere consolation as Newcastle stormed to a 3-1 victory. The visitors scored three goals inside the opening 27 minutes at the Reebok, thanks to Charles N'Zogbia and a brace from Obafemi Martins. Sammy Lee gave full debuts to five of his summer signings, with Gerald Cid, Jlloyd Samuel and Gavin McCann given starting roles, before Heidar Helguson and Mikel Alonso were introduced as second half substitutes. After a poor start to the game, Bolton found themselves behind in the 11th minute when a Charles N'Zogbia free-kick glanced past everybody in the area and nessled into the corner of Jussi Jaaskelainen's goal. The hosts hit back immediately and when Kevin Davies flicked on a Jaaskelainen goal-kick, Anelka's header was tame and Steve Harper made a comfortable save in the Magpies goal. Newcastle doubled their lead on 22 minutes when Obafemi Martins was picked out by Alan Smith's cross, the Nigerian brought the ball down on his chest before executing a scissor kick which beat Jaaskelainen to make the game 2-0. Wanderers had a strong penalty appeal turned down soon after, Gary Speed struck a volley from the edge of the area, and with Harper beaten, Smith appeared to handle the ball on the line before clearing from danger, but referee Chris Foy waved play-on, much to the disappointment of the Bolton player's and fans alike. Two minutes later, Newcastle increased their lead again. Martin's picked the ball up and ran at the Bolton defence before unleashing a shot from 25-yards which deflected off Abdoulaye Faye and beat a stranded Jussi Jaaskelainen. Despite the scoreline, Bolton still gave it a good go, and efforts from Kevin Nolan and Gavin McCann showed a sign on intent. El-Hadji Diouf came on for Ricardo Vaz Te at half-time and had a big impact in terms of attacking play for the hosts. Kevin Nolan and Gary Speed had good efforts, with the latter forcing Harper into a good save to force a corner. Then, on 50 minutes, a Newcastle corner was cleared by McCann, his clearance found Nolan advancing over the halfway line and his pass picked out Nicolas Anelka who beat Harper to score his first goal of the season. In a bid to settle with what they had, Sam Allardyce decided to play with one up front and keep Bolton out and it seemed to work as nothing got past the Newcastle rearguard. Substitutions were made later on, with Kevin Davies limping off to be replaced by debutant Heidar Helguson, before former Newcastle favourite Gary Speed was replaced by Mikel Alonso, another debutant. Despite all their late attempts, Newcastle held on for the victory which sees them sit on top of the Premier League table and gives Sam Allardyce a happy return to the Reebok. |
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