Bolton Wanderers 2 Aston Villa 2

Last updated : 10 April 2004 By Mark Heys
A goal four minutes from time by Kevin Davies earned Bolton Wanderers a share of the points in this exciting 2-2 draw against European chasing Aston Villa.

Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce gave first team recalls to Simon Charlton, Per Frandsen and the fit again French duo Youri Djorkaeff and Bruno N'Gotty and it was Ivan Campo, Nicky Hunt and Stelios Giannakopoulos who made way and dropped down to the substitutes bench.

The Villans had taken the lead twice in the game only to be denied in the opening and closing stages of the second half by the Wanderers strike duo Henrik Pedersen and Davies.

After just two minutes it was Djorkaeff who could have opened the scoring in the early stages of the game when he volleyed wide of the Villa goal after a poor punch by Villa keeper Thomas Sorensen and a poor follow up clearance from Olaf Mellberg gave the World Cup winner an opportunity.

Djorkaeff again and Bruno N'Gotty had half chances in the first quarter of an hour with a shot and a header apiece whilst at the other end Villa's first chance came from England international Gareth Barry who saw his long range effort dip over the Bolton crossbar from a good 30 yards out.

On 17 minutes Villa took the lead when a good move involving Darius Vassell and Barry was finished off at the far post by giant striker Peter Crouch who beat his marker Simon Charlton to the ball to head past Jussi Jaaskelainen despite brave attempts by the Finnish international to claw the ball off the line.

Bolton's Per Frandsen then tested Sorensen in the Villa goal with a curling drive from the edge of the area but the shot from the former Danish international lacked power and precision to beat his countryman.

After half an hour Nigerian international Jay-Jay Okocha then made space for himself before firing a stinging drive towards Sorensen's goal but try as they may Bolton where finding it hard to break down a Villa side who had been frustrating them for most of the afternoon.

Frandsen again had a chance for Bolton following a quickly taken free kick by Okocha and Sorensen did well to tip wide the shot which was heading for the bottom left hand corner.

Villa went in at half time leading the game much to the frustration of Bolton who had their fair share of possession and chances. Shortly after the re-start the hard work paid off for the home side with a little bit of good fortune to boot when a clearance from South American Ulises De La Cruz fell kindly for Henrik Pedersen who thundered the ball past Sorensen to bring the Wanderers level in the game.

However the celebrations where short lived as midfielder Lee Hendrie restored Villa's lead on 52 minutes when he latched onto a long ball by Gareth Barry to lob the ball over Jaaskelainen. The home support felt that the former England man may have been offside but either way referee Matt Messias allowed the goal to stand.

Jaaskelainen then saved well at the feet of striker Darius Vassell following yet another fine ball by Barry and the game looked to be favouring the Midlands side despite some hard work by the Bolton team.

On the hour mark a tangle between Wanderers substitute Nicky Hunt and Villa striker Peter Crouch meant that tempers boiled over a little bit and the referee booked both Crouch and Hendrie for their part in the melee.

Wanderers pushed in the final stages for an equaliser and Youri Djorkaeff was unlucky as he saw his header from a Jay-Jay Okocha cross dip over the crossbar whilst at the other end Jaaskelainen made another fine stop to deny German midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger from wrapping up the points for Villa.

With just four minutes remaining Wanderers brought themselves level at 2-2 after an inch perfect cross from Stelios Giannakopoulos was converted by striker Kevin Davies for his eighth goal of the season.

Wanderers will now face another Midlands team in the shape of Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux on Monday in what will prove to be a tough task as Dave Jones side are battling for their lives at the bottom of the Premiership table.