Bolton Wanderers 2-0 Osasuna

Posted: Friday 6th August 2010

Tags: Match Reports, Bolton Wanderers, Osasuna, Johan Elmander, Lee Chung-Yong

Bolton concluded their build up to the new season with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Osasuna at the Reebok Stadium.

Johan Elmander and Lee Chung-Yong were both on target before the break, finishing off fine team moves against a largely ordinary Spanish side.

Having experimented with various formations throughout the pre-season campaign, Wanderers boss Owen Coyle opted to play Elmander alongside Kevin Davies in attack, with the team adopting a 4-4-2 formation.

But it was to be Osasuna who created the first opportunity of the game, with former Birmingham City forward Walter Pandiani beating the offside trap, only for Jussi Jaaskelainen to race off his line to clear the danger.

Despite coming at such an early stage, it was a pivotal point as the hosts took the lead inside ten minutes. After Davies flicked on a clearance from Jaaskelainen, Elmander turned away from Miguel Flano before firing into the bottom corner of Asier Riesgo's net.

Wanderers took control of the game after the goal and they doubled their lead midway through the half.

After receiving the ball from summer signing Martin Petrov, Davies crossed into the area for Chung-Yong to head past Riesgo from the penalty spot. A rare headed goal for the South Korea international.

Elmander and Petrov both tried to add a third before the break, but both saw their efforts fly wide as Wanderers went in at the break with a comfortable two-goal margin.

Five minutes after the restart, Elmander should have got his second of the night. After beating the offside trap, the Sweden international opted to pass instead of shoot, but his lay-off was poor and the chance was gone.

Boosted by that moment of madness, Osasuna hit Bolton on the break and almost pulled one back with two chances within a matter of moments.

Kristian Vadocz, who could line up for Hungary against England next week, saw a shot parried by Jaaskelainen, only for the loose ball to fall to Fernando Soriano whose rebound flew narrowly wide of the target.

Soon after, Ion Echaide struck a post, before Soriano was denied once again by Jaaskelainen who made a superb reaction stop to deny the forward.

After a flurry of substitutions were made going into the final 20 minutes, the game lost its edge and faded away without mention of any further chances as Wanderers held on to a deserved win.

Wanderers will return to action next Saturday when they kick off the new Premier League campaign at home to Fulham, which will be Mark Hughes' first game as Cottagers boss.

Bolton Wanderers: Jaaskelainen (Bogdan 60), Steinsson (Ricketts 60), A O'Brien, Cahill (Samuel 61), Robinson (Alonso 60), Chung-Yong (Taylor 60), Holden (J O'Brien 70), Muamba (Cohen 70), Petrov (Blake 60), K Davies (Davis 70), Elmander (Gardner 60)
Subs Not Used: Riga
Goals: Elmander 10, Chung-Yong 25

Osasuna: Riesgo, Damia, Camunas, Sergio, Flano, Monreal, Nekounam, Pandiani (Sola 46), Soriano, Juanfran, Vadocz
Subs Not Used: Annunziata, Calleja, Delporte, Echaide, Lekic, Ruper, Ricardo, Punal, Roversio, Josetxo, Oier, Ekhi, Masoud

Attendance: 4,847