Great Dane Claus Jensen rescued a precious point for Bolton boss Sam Allardyce
after a spirited display from visiting West Brom had put Wanderers on the back
foot.
Albion skipper Daryl Burgess headed Brian Little's side into the lead on the
hour mark from a well-placed James Quinn cross.
But the home side refused to lie down and after piling on the pressure late on
they earned a free-kick on the edge of the Albion box, and Jensen stepped up to
chip everyone in the area with a pinpoint strike which curled under the
crossbar.
Until Burgess' goal both sides had struggled to find a route to goal.
The first half was uneventful in terms of goalscoring opportunities, but the
game had plenty of pace.
West Brom had an early injury scare when Enzo Maresca limped off after a
crunching tackle from Paul Warhurst.
The Italian teenager skipped back onto the pitch after responding to treatment
but on 38 minutes Warhurst's injury jinx struck again and he was replaced by
Franck Passi.
Both teams struggled to create goalscoring opportunities. Bolton went close
through Ricardo Gardner in the first minute of the game and Eidur Gudjohnsen
showed promise when he beat three men before Gareth Farrelly's strike was palmed
out by Alan Miller.
Bob Taylor created space on the edge of the Albion penalty area but his
ferocious effort hit strike partner Gudjohnsen.
West Brom constantly sprung Bolton's offside trap throughout the first half
while their best effort was wasted when Lee Hughes tamely headed a Richard
Sneekes' free-kick towards Bolton keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.
Wanderers emerged to dominate the opening few minutes of the second period,
Gudjohnsen firing a left foot strike to test Miller and Passi lobbing the Albion
keeper but rattling the crossbar on 74 minutes.
But it was the visitors who took the lead, arguably against the run of play,
when Quinn's right wing cross was nodded over Jaaskelainen on 60 minutes.
Wanderers stepped up their attack in the dying minutes and earned a
life-saving chance with eight minutes left on the clock.
Jensen worked his magic with the free-kick, levelling the scores whilst
leaving Albion with no time to strike back.
Teams
Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Holloway, Fish, Bergsson, Whitlow,
Farrelly, Warhurst (Passi 38), Jensen, Gardner,
Taylor (Hansen 90), Gudjohnsen.
Subs Not Used: Banks, Holdsworth, Ritchie.
Booked: Warhurst, Gudjohnsen.
Goals: Jensen 82.
West Brom: Miller, Raven, Sigurdsson, Burgess, Van Blerk,
Quinn, Sneekes, Townsend, Maresca (De Freitas 83),
Evans (Angel 83), Hughes.
Subs Not Used: Adamson, Oliver, Gabbidon.
Booked: Maresca, Quinn, Raven.
Goals: Burgess 60.
Att: 16,269
Ref: M Messias (York).
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