Ivan Campo marked his first start of the season with the equaliser as Bolton drew 1-1 at home to Spurs.
Tight encounter at the Reebok
Ivan Campo marked his first start of the season with the equaliser as Bolton Wanderers drew 1-1 at home to Tottenham Hotspur.
It was a tight encounter which neither team could afford to lose, although Spurs showed more ambition to win.
Robbie Keane opened the scoring but Campo - on his first start of the campaign under Sammy Lee - replied with a commanding header.
Keane was the man-of-the-match, with his goal sealing a performance which was full of running.
Wanderers boss Lee brought in Campo for his first start and it proved to be a shrewd move.
The Spaniard not only grabbed the equaliser but also helped galvanise a struggling side.
He was given a rousing reception by the supporters, who cheered his name from all corners of the ground.
Campo soon got into his stride and delivered a marvellous angled ball to Kevin Davies in the fifth minute. The Bolton striker squared it into the area only for Michael Dawson to make a hurried clearance.
Tottenham nearly took the lead, however, in the 26th minute when Keane picked out Dimitar Berbatov at the back post. He rattled in a shot from an acute angle which goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen did well to parry.
Tottenham took the lead in the 33rd minute through Keane's first league goal of the season.
It was poor defending by Bolton after Jaaskelainen got a hand to Jermaine Jenas' close-range effort. The ball broke to Campo but he only succeeded in setting up Keane, who took advantage from close range.
Campo made amends five minutes later by grabbing the equaliser with a thumping header into the corner following a free-kick from El-Hadji Diouf.
Joey O'Brien, however, almost handed Tottenham the lead on the stroke of half-time when he sent Teemu Tainio's cross narrowly past his own post.
Bolton's struggles in the early part of the season were reflected in the attendance with a crowd of only 20,308 present.
Tainio then came close to restoring Tottenham's lead with a rasping 20-yard drive. However Jaaskelainen was equal to it and turned the midfielder's effort around the post.
Bolton won a free-kick in the 58th minute when Dawson barged into Davies. However Anelka sent his effort straight into Paul Robinson's arms.
Tottenham looked dangerous on the break and Malbranque narrowly cleared the bar three minutes later after a weak punch by Jaaskelainen.
However there was a moment of danger for the visitors in the 63rd minute when Davies flicked on a throw in from Campo but Anelka just failed to get a vital touch.
Davies again got clear of his marker in the 70th minute when Campo floated in a free-kick but his header failed to test Robinson.
Tottenham boss Martin Jol decided to switch things around and brought on Darren Bent and Aaron Lennon in the space of six minutes for Berbatov and Tainio.
Keane came close to restoring their lead in the 86th minute but Jaaskelainen made a marvellous block.
Jaaskelainen then had a heated disagreement in stoppage time with Abdoulaye Meite as Tottenham pushed forward.
Fingers were pointed and words exchanged but Bolton secured a point and their display was a marked improvement on the one against Rabotnicki Kometal in the Uefa Cup on Thursday when they salvaged a draw after a poor performance.
| Bolton Wanderers |
Team Statistics |
Tottenham Hotspur |
| 1 |
Goals |
1 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 2 |
Shots on Target |
5 |
| 1 |
Shots off Target |
6 |
| 3 |
Blocked Shots |
4 |
| 4 |
Corners |
11 |
| 14 |
Fouls |
15 |
| 4 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 0 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 62.7 |
Passing Success |
80.8 |
| 21 |
Tackles |
24 |
| 85.7 |
Tackles Success |
75 |
| 38.9 |
Possession |
61.1 |
| 49.8 |
Territorial Advantage |
50.2 |
|
