Bolton happy as Manchester United held off to 2-2 draw at Reebok
Manchester United dropped 2 crucial points on a weekend where they had great chance to close the gap on their title rivals, Chelsea, at the top of the table. The fighting Bolton team kept United at bay and held them off to a 2-2 draw at the Reebok Stadium.
The first half of the match saw United making the early work. There were plenty of early breaks and some swift moves from the visitors but it was the home side which had the first big blow as in the 6th minute, Bolton scored from a corner. Former
Fulham man, Zack Knight found a space in the box and the unmarked defender headed in the opener.
Manchester United seemed shocked at first but the only good thing about conceding a goal if there is one is letting it in early. United replied with a series of attacks and there was wave after wave of red attack on Bolton goal. The home side, however, stood
firm and held on to their lead till the 24th minute. The Portuguese winger, Nani seemed to be finally coming off age as the right footer made a surging run down the midfield centre, making his way into the Bolton box while beating 4 defenders and
slotting the ball in the left corner to get his side leveled.
Rest of the first half saw United make a number of good moves but the final ball was lacking and the first 45 minutes ended at 1-1.
These had been some decent first 45 minutes at the Reebok, when Bolton had given United plenty to think about. United emerged for the second half determined and the visitors were immediately on the attack.
Patrice Evra crossed from the left and found Wayne Rooney, who didn’t make proper contact with the ball at the near post and saw it bounce harmlessly wide. Rooney hadn’t had a great time till then.
Bolton seemed to be trying to find Kevin Davies whenever they got possession, with Johan Elmander feeding off his flicks. The Swede wasn’t getting much to go on at the moment though. The first change for United came when Ryan Giggs tweaked a hamstring and
Ji-Sung Park was on instead.
United were still having the lion's share of possession but they were struggling to do anything meaningful with it. Evra had just drilled in a dangerous cross from the left but Bolton, via a couple of ricochets. The home side though survived once again.
Minutes later, there was a loud cheer from the Bolton fans greeting the announcement that Rooney was coming off. He had a frustrating and unproductive afternoon. Could Federico Macheda do any better? He had around half-an-hour to make an impact.
Jussi Jaaskelainen's first save for a little while came when Dimitar Berbatov exchanged passes with Macheda and had a pop from the edge of the box. Despite plenty of power behind the shot, it still was near the Bolton keeper, who pushed the ball away.
Then suddenly the roof at the Reebok seemed to have come off as Wanderers retook the lead with a superb counter-attacking move. From a United corner, Bolton cleared and Chung-Yong Lee fed Johan Elmander on the edge of the box.
Elmander held up play and then fed Martin Petrov to his left. The Bulgarian cut inside before firing in a shot that deflected off Darren Fletcher and flew just inside Edwin van der Sar’s near post. United brought in Michael Owen to salvage this one. He replaced
Fletcher with 20 minutes or so still to go.
Seconds after Elmander wasted a great chance to make it 3-1, blasting over after making space for a shot with clever flick, United were level. Nani bent in a deep free-kick while Owen rose at the front of a crowd of players to glance a header into the far
corner, via a post. This was his 200th club goal. It appeared as if the change had instantly worked for Ferguson.
From then on, there was this feeling that United would go all out for a winner. The Red Devils threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Bolton defense. The home side, however, showed resolve and were up to the challenge. The match ended at 2-2 with 2
points lost for United, who are now at the 2nd spot in the table trailing Chelsea by 3 points. Bolton, on the other hand, would be delighted to hold off the former champions to a well earned draw.
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