Spurs hold bright Bolton

Bolton missed out on a first home win of the season after they played out a breathless 2-2 draw with Spurs.

Croatian double thwarts Bolton's victory hopes

Bolton missed out on a first home win of the season after they played out an exciting 2-2 draw with in-form Spurs. The home side took the lead in the opening minutes as Ricardo Gardner slotted the ball home from close-range after Lee Chung-Yong had forced a save from Carlo Cudicini. The visitors remained on the back-foot but created an equaliser when Peter Crouch nodded a lofted ball down to Niko Kranjcar and the Croatian blasted in his first goal for Spurs. Kevin Davies put the hosts a goal up for a second time when he headed in a Tamir Cohen cross at the far post after a splendid move. But the scores were levelled again after Vedran Corluka headed home a corner from compatriot Kranjcar and despite many other chances for both teams, the spoils were shared. Bolton made the ideal start when the visitors failed to deal with a long throw from Jlloyd Samuel.

Pressure

Lee was unmarked at the back post and his shot was parried away by Cudicini and Gardner had an easy finish on the rebound. Bolton continued to come forward and Gardner made space for himself in the 13th minute before releasing Cohen with a neat through-ball. The Israel midfielder got a good touch inside the area but, much to Tottenham's relief, his effort was diverted to safety. Cohen was then booked in the 31st minute for a challenge on Wilson Palacios which left the Spurs player writhing on the floor. Palacios made a quick recovery, however, and had a hand in the visitors' equaliser. He delivered the ball to Crouch, who nodded it on and Kranjcar sent a stunning shot into the net. Bolton responded and Zat Knight met Matt Taylor's free-kick at the far post in the 38th minute but was off-balance and headed wide. Then Cohen clipped the ball wide after good link-up play involving Davies and Taylor. Tottenham were left badly exposed on the stroke of half-time when Taylor escaped the offside trap and homed in on goal but Cudicini was alert to the danger. The hosts carved out a good chance after 50 minutes when Davies got away from Tom Huddlestone down the right.

Chances

The tenacious striker played the ball into the path of Lee, who was lurking in the penalty area. However the Korean opted to try and release Taylor instead of shooting and his pass was easily cut out. Then Tottenham should have taken the lead five minutes later following a fine run from Aaron Lennon. The England winger fired in a shot that Jussi Jaaskelainen did well to beat away to Palacios but the Honduran sliced his effort well wide. Jermain Defoe, suffering from a hand injury, was then brought on in the 67th minute for Robbie Keane, who had been ineffective. Bolton took the lead when Cohen chipped the ball to the back post after a flowing move and Davies headed in his third goal of the campaign. Tottenham, however, almost drew level in the 72nd minute after Jaaskelainen spilled a shot from Defoe. The ball landed kindly at the feet of Crouch but his effort was deflected onto the bar. But only a minute later the visitors drew level for the second time in the game as an unmarked Corluka headed a Kranjcar corner into the corner of the net. Tottenham finished strongly, Lennon surging into the area after linking up with Kranjcar only to see his effort blocked by Sam Ricketts. The Bolton full-back again carried out his defensive duties in the 85th minute to make a timely challenge on Crouch.

Bolton Wanderers	Team Statistics	Tottenham Hotspur
2	Goals	2
1	1st Half Goals	1
7	Shots on Target	6
7	Shots off Target	7
3	Blocked Shots	2
5	Corners	6
16	Fouls	17
1	Offsides	2
2	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
65.2	Passing Success	74.4
16	Tackles	18
62.5	Tackles Success	77.8
37.8	Possession	62.2
52.6	Territorial Advantage	47.4