Bolton Wanderers 1-2 Aston Villa

Posted: Saturday 10th December 2011

Tags: Match Reports, Premier League, Aston Villa, Ivan Klasnic

Bolton have dropped to the foot of the Premier League table after a lacklustre 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Aston Villa.

Strikes from Marc Albrighton and Stiliyan Petrov had Alex McLeish's side two goals up at the break and despite Ivan Klasnic's reply ten minutes after the break, Villa held on to condemn Wanderers to their 12th defeat in 15 league outings.

Trotters boss Owen Coyle made two changes from the side which lost 3-0 at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, with Darren Pratley and Tuncay coming in for Fabrice Muamba and the injured Nigel Reo-Coker.

Tributes were paid to the late Gary Speed prior to kick-off and once the action began, Wanderers were the first to register an effort on target.

Chris Eagles' delivery was met by Gary Cahill, but he could only direct his header straight at Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan, who was deputising for the injured Shay Given.

Just after the ten minute mark, Klasnic freed Eagles inside the area, but he could only succeed in scuffing a shot at Guzan.

Five minutes later, Charles N'Zogbia raced away from Dedryck Boyata and crossed low into the box, only for Stiliyan Petrov to somehow prod the ball wide of goal from six yards.

Moments after that miss, Darren Bent was presented with an opportunity inside the box. He took a touch to compose himself but saw his strike stopped by the legs of Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Midway through the half, Wanderers were awarded a dubious free-kick for an apparent foul on Kevin Davies. Klasnic and Eagles stood over the ball and it was the latter who struck at goal, only to see Guzan gather at the second attempt.

Villa continued to make strides forward and it came as no surprise when they took the lead just after the half hour.

Just as they did earlier, Agbonlahor got away from Boyata on the left flank and crossed low into the middle. This time, Albrighton was the man in the box and he made no mistake in slotting past Jaaskelainen from close range.

Six minutes later, the visitors doubled their lead as Petrov took aim from 25 yards, only to see his strike deflect off the boot of Cahill and fly past Jaaskelainen.

Cahill and Klasnic both saw shots stopped by the Villa goalkeeper as the half drew to a close, with the Villains taking a comfortable 2-0 lead in at the break.

Bolton began the second period with a little more urgency, with Eagles and Klasnic both seeing attempts blocked.

On 54 minutes, a strike from Eagles seemed destined for the top corner, only to be tipped behind by a superb fingertip save from Guzan.

From the resulting corner, Tuncay played the ball in to the box and after Knight saw an effort blocked on the line, Klasnic reacted quickest to put the ball over the line and give Wanderers a route back in to the game.

Villa reacted well and should have restored their two goal lead moments after the kick-off. Petrov's ball from the right picked out Bent, who somehow failed to hit the target from six yards.

Kevin Davies and Mark Davies both saw shots fly over the crossbar and Petrov fired horribly wide of the target for Villa as the second half began to run out of steam.

Mark Davies tried his luck again as the game entered the final 20 minutes, but Guzan was alert to deny the Trotters midfielder low to his right.

Klasnic was replaced by David Ngog on 78 minutes, with the Croatia international limping off the field with what appeared to be a leg injury.

Boyata did well to prevent Villa from adding a third with six minutes remaining as he headed away from the danger-zone with Heskey ready to pounce.

Jaaskelainen reacted well to stop a low shot from Albrighton in stoppage time and that proved to be the last chance of the game as Bolton crashed to their seventh home defeat of the campaign.

Wanderers now occupy bottom spot in the Premier League and face two difficult away trips inside the next ten days. First up, a visit to Fulham next Saturday before the short trip to Blackburn Rovers the following Tuesday.

Bolton Wanderers: Jaaskelainen, Boyata, Cahill, Knight, Robinson, Tuncay (Kakuta 71), Pratley, M Davies, Eagles, K Davies, Klasnic (Ngog 78)
Subs Not Used: Bogdan, Steinsson, Muamba, Petrov, O'Halloran
Booked: M Davies
Goals: Klasnic 55

Aston Villa: Guzan, Hutton, Dunne, Collins, Warnock, Albrighton, Herd, Petrov, N'Zogbia, Bent (Heskey 81), Agbonlahor
Subs Not Used: Marshall, Ireland, Delfouneso, Clark, Bannan, Weimann
Booked: Agbonlahor, Albrighton
Goals: Albrighton 33, Petrov 39

Referee: Phil Dowd
Attendance: 20,285