ACTUALITE |
04.11.2002
Okocha off the mark
Nigerian midfielder Jay-Jay Okocha scored his first goal for his new club Bolton Wanderers, but his side still lost 3-1 to Birmingham City in the Premiership.
Okocha`s sublimly-taken effort temporarily cancelled out Birmingham`s opener from Darren Purse, but ultimately goals from Robbie Savage and Geoff Horsfield signalled Bolton`s demise.
The club are now firmly rooted to the bottom of the English Premiership.
It was Okocha`s best performance in a Bolton shirt so far, and he was unlucky that another shot hit the bar and bounced out.
In a torrential downpour the first half was a largely uninspiring and damp spectacle.
Bolton were denied an early chance when Blues defender Purse blocked Youri Djorkaeff as he was set to unleash a shot.
Birmingham keeper Nico Vaesen`s reprieve turned quickly into a call to arms for Bolton stopper Jussi Jaaskelainen.
He was forced to save from point-blank range off Stan Lazaridis following Clinton Morrison`s cross from the right.
But Purse soon made a second crucial intervention when Michael Ricketts threatened.
The home side`s fans were frustrated at the scarcity of openings but they were treated to a brief thrill when Stern John hit the post, though the offside flag had been raised.
But the St Andrews faithful suffered further ignominy when they thought they had won a penalty after Mike Whitlow appeared to catch Morrison but referee Chris Foy waved play on.
Birmingham began on the front foot immediately after the break when John and Aliou Cisse threatened.
Neither side looked much like taking the initiative but they were getting closer as Bolton`s Okocha hit the woodwork on 54 minutes.
Seven minutes later Purse stepped out of the mire to give Birmingham the lead, driving low past Jaaskelainen from Savage`s pass.
Bolton`s afternoon took a further turn for the worse when Gardner was shown red for a foul on Birmingham substitute Horsfield - who had replaced Lazaridis.
But Okocha`s equaliser gave them at least the hope of a remarkable comeback.
The dream was short-lived, though, when Savage struck for Birmingham`s second minutes later and Horsfield added the third after Morrison`s shot had rebounded off the post.
Birmingham: Vaesen, Kenna, Purse, Cunningham, Sadler, Devlin, Savage, Cisse, Lazaridis, John, Morrison. Subs: Bennett, Horsfield, Hughes, Kirovski, Powell.
Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Mendy, N`Gotty, Campo, Whitlow, Farrelly, Frandsen, Okocha, Gardner, Djorkaeff, Ricketts. Subs: Poole, Nolan, Dean Holdsworth, Charlton, Tofting.
Referee: C Foy (Merseyside)
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Hits: 1 | Source:BBC | |
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