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MIDDLESBROUGH v BOLTON, PREMIER LEAGUE, 26th MARCH 2006
FULL-TIME MATCH REPORT
Boro have not lost three Premier League matches on the trot for almost two years going into this match and Bolton were favoured to win their third league match running today.
As expected, Steve McClaren opted for a 5-3-2 formation with Viduka and Hasselbaink up front. The bench contained no defenders at all.
Schwarzer, Queudrue, Davies, Ehiogu, Pogatetz, Parnaby, Morrison (Cattermole 62), Boateng, Rochemback (Downing 83), Viduka, Hasselbaink (Yakubu 73)
Jones, Mendieta
THE FIRST HALF
Jimmy nearly gave Bolton a kick up the Hass in the very first minute as he was played through by Morrison but the ball was intercepted by O'Brien. It was a goal all the way until the defender did his job well.
But it was Bolton who got the perfect start after a very long kick from Jaaskelainen that bobbled it's way into the Boro box. Franck Queudrue didn't get hold of it and Giannakopoulos nipped in to shoot past Skippy. The sound of a hundred betting slips with Jimmy's name on being torn up was heard all over the stadium.
MIDDLESBROUGH 0 BOLTON 1 (Nolan 3)
With eight minutes gone, Boro got the ball into the Bolton box for the first time in the game and a clear handball by O'Brien gave referee Webb an easy decision to make. Up stepped Jimmy to take the penalty and he sent the ball under Jaaskelainen's body to put Boro back in it.
MIDDLESBROUGH 1 BOLTON 1 (Hasselbaink 8)
Bolton were clearly rattled by Boro's equaliser and the reds started to take a little more control of the game. But Fabio Rochemback gave away a needless free-kick in a dangerous area as Bolton eventually broke and Skippy demonstrated his agility in tipping the ball round the post for a corner. Neither that one or the one they won immediately afterwards came to anything.
The Boro bench were not happy with the standrad of play and contemplated an early change. Lee Cattermole started to warm-up and so did the crowd as Boro got themsleves more and more into the game.
Boro had a great opportunity to take the lead on twenty-three minutes when James Morrison won the bal in a deep position and Boro swarmed all over the Bolton midfeild with Hasselbaink leading the line. Jimmy found Mark who shook off his two markers and he was incredibly unlucky to see his powerful shot saved by the legs of Jaaskelainen.
On the half-hour mark, Boro had the momentum and the beating of Bolton and were looking sharp on the attack, especially when Rochemback had the ball. Rocky once again picked up the ball in midfeild and played a superbly weighted pass to Mad-Dog who picked out Jimmy. Jimmy in turn found Mark Viduka and Boro had the lead.
MIDDLESBROUGH 2 BOLTON 1 (Viduka 30)
Bolton retaliated by creating forward movement of their own and quickly won three corners on the trot, none of which troubled Boro's defence at all.
But not to be discouraged, Bolton slowly but surely clawed their way back into the play as Boro seemed to slacken off the pace slightly. There was a scare on fourty minutes when a Gary Speed shot went narrowly over the bar but Boro woke up at that point and nearly added a third when once again Hasselbaink and Viduka combined superbly in the box but Jimmy's shot was also narrowly over.
Just before half-time, Boro had another superb opportunity to score a third as Viduka demonstrated why he is so highly rated with the best piece of skill seen in the game so far. James Morrison collected and will have been disappointed not to have converted. The half-time whistle went with Boro in the ascendancy and looking very good value for the lead.
FIRST HALF FAN REACTION
"A very pleasing performance for the most part. We don't need to sit on this lead and should try and extend it in the second half. It's enjoyable this is."
John White at The Riverside
THE SECOND HALF
Skippy was asked to change his shirt for the second half and came out after the interval wearing green but it was Big Sam who was looking envious after fourty-eight minutes when Viduka again did well to put a defender off and pick out Jimmy who slammed home to send the crowd into raptures.
MIDDLESBROUGH 3 BOLTON 1 (Hasselbaink 48)
So with Jimmy on a hat-trick, it was only a matter of time before he was replaced but there was no sign of that happening immediately as Boro settled into a comfortable groove and dealt easily with any Bolton intent.
The game turned bad tempered just after Boro's third as first Viduka was hit in the face by Gardner and then Jimmy was booked as the game descended into a heated affair. Bolton won a lucky penalty on fifty-five minutes when the ball hit Ugo's arm and Okacha stepped up to take it with a hostile Riverside crowd willing Skippy to save it. He did, in fine style but the lucky Okacha grabbed hold of the rebound and Boro's lead was down to one again.
MIDDLESBROUGH 3 BOLTON 2 (Okacha 56)
Jaaskelainen should have received his marching orders a couple of minutes after the penalty when he blatantly handled outside of the box but referee Webb considered that a yellow card was sufficient.
Boro made a change just after the hour mark with Lee Cattermole replacing James Morrison. The midfield needed shoring up as the pace of the game was increasing and Boro had a lead to protect.
The move worked a treat as Boro instantly became more composed and stopped the sparodic Bolton attacks that were threatening our lead.
In fact, Boro took control of the game again and started to threaten ourselves with one particular move lifting the crowd into premature celebrations but they ended up reaching for the ball instead as Rochemback sent his shot into the stands.
Both sides made substitutions on seventy-three minutes as Jimmy was inevitably replaced by Yakubu and Bolton took off their skipper Nolan and replaced him with Nakata.
INTO THE RED ZONE
Boro continued to press forward as the lead started to look a lot more secure than it done fifteen minutes previously. But with nine minutes to go, Bolton penned Boro back in their own half and with Kevin Davies playing wide now, Bolton won a corner and had Boro's defence in disarray as Jaidi got on the end of the set-piece and headed home.
MIDDLESBROUGH 3 BOLTON 3 (Jaidi 81)
Bolton sensed a win now and Boro countered that by making the formation more attack orientated with Fabio Rochemback coming off for Stewey Downing.
Mad-Dog Poagatetz took an elbow in the face from Kevin Davies when he was in full flight and as he lay on the ground bleeding, the Bolton players failed to stop play and allow Pogo to receive treatment. Davies was unbelievably not booked.
The clash may well have been accidental but even so it still warranted a booking and with the blood streaming down his face, Mad-Dog got the yellow card instead for losing his temper at the appalling way that he had been treated. The decision was laughable at best, bordering on the incompetent.
It took an eternity before Mad-Dog was allowed back on the field but Boro took the initiative with just two minutes of injury time left as Viduka, having his best game for months found Yakubu who played a dream ball to Stuart Parnaby who had strayed into the six-yard box. Parnaby collected and struck the ball first time, Viduka-esque, to put Boro back in front.
MIDDLESBROUGH 4 BOLTON 3 (Parnaby 90)
Steve McClaren ran onto the pitch to urge his side not to blow the lead again in the dying moments. They didn't and as the whistle went to signify three more points, Mad-Dog confronted Kevin Davies and the Riverside crowd celebrated a truly great and entertaining game.
FULL-TIME FAN REACTION
"You can't fault anyone at Boro today. A magnificent performance."
WestHam
Final Whistle: 1525 - Report Online: 1532
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