Bolton v Birmingham City: full time report
Bolton 2 Birmingham City 2
A stunning Robbie Blake free-kick earned 10-man Bolton a precious point in an enthralling Premier League match against Birmingham City.
The home side managed to come back from 2-0 down to secure an admirable draw, despite having goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen sent-off in the first half for slapping Roger Johnson.
The visitors got off to the perfect start when Johnson put the home side ahead on the third minute. Good work from James McFadden on the left allowed Lee Bowyer to get to the byline, and his neat cutback across the face of goal was flicked on by Cameron Jerome and poked home by the centre-back.
The whole dynamic of the match was shifted 10 minutes before half time, though, when Jaaskelainen inexplicably slapped Johnson in the face.
It initially appeared that the scorer of Birmingham's first goal had attempted to apologise for colliding with the Bolton keeper, but the former Finland international failed to see past the red mist and proceeded to strike his opponent.
Referee Kevin Friend was left with no choice but to dismiss the usually-reliable Bolton shot-stopper, and the hosts were subsequently left with a daunting mountain to climb going into the second half.
It didn't take long for Alex McLeish's side to capitalise on their man advantage. Five minutes after the break, the visitors found their second goal of the afternoon through Craig Gardner.
A perfect ball from McFadden found Jerome inside the penalty area, and the striker's clever knockdown was bundled over the line by the 23-year-old midfielder for his third goal of the campaign.
For Bolton, it appeared that there was no way back from this latest blow. But shortly afterwards, Elmander was presented with a glorious chance to pull a goal back for the home side, only for the Swede to mis-hit his close-range volley, allowing Foster to gather comfortably.
Owen Coyle's men continued to pile on the pressure despite only having 10 men on the field - and their persistence soon paid off. The man at the centre of all the afternoon's action, Johnson, went from hero to villain after he fouled Davies inside the box 20 minutes before full time.
The stocky Bolton striker won the penalty after backing into the Birmingham central-defender and drawing the foul. And the tireless forward brushed himself down and dispatched a perfect spot-kick past Foster for his 100th league goal.
The home side now had the momentum, as well as the vocal support of their fans.
Still, few would have given Coyle's side a hope of salvaging something from this match. But 10 minutes before the full time whistle, substitute Blake struck a tremendous free-kick past Foster to complete a quite remarkable comeback.
It was Blake's first goal since arriving at the Reebok Arena in the summer from Burnley, and a goal made all the more sweeter by the fact it came against his former employers.
Substitute goalkeeper Alan Bogdan then pulled off a brilliant save from Jerome in injury time to ensure his valiant teammates escaped with a share of the spoils.
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