So, this is a game that will be very interesting seeing as how Fulham are now without their best asset. This was a team that was very much a product of Hodgson’s system, so I wonder how exactly they will do in the absence of said system. Mark Schwarzer is not in the team, but Pascal Zuberbuhler isn’t in either…it’s some kid named David Stockdale. Meanwhile, Bolton are Bolton. And we’re off!
FIRST HALF
1 min – With their first kick, Bolton sends a long ball all the way out past the goalline. Yep, they’re still Bolton.
3 min – Zat Knight slides into Zoltan Gera from behind…that was a bit of a reducer, that one. Dangerous free kick for Fulham, Danny Murphy to take. Bobby Zamora goes offside, and the danger passes.
8 min – Nothing is happening.
9 min – Simon Davies sends a searching cross into the box, which is cleared. Damien Duff does likewise, again it’s cleared. A third is collected by Jussi Jaaskelainen. Up the other end, a neat back-flick between Stuart Holden and Johan Elmander leads to a shot that goes just wide of the post.
11 min – Some neat interplay between the Fulham midfield leads to a shot from distance. It doesn’t unduly trouble Jaaskelainen’s net.
14 min – Kevin Davies hits a lovely chipped pass to Martin Petrov, but John Pantsil does well to defend in the penalty area. It results in a corner, but Stockdale collects.
17 min – Paul Robinson is pushed from behind by Murphy, leading to a free kick 35 yards or so out on the right. The defense deals with it easily, however.
18 min – Petrov collects a loose ball outside of the area and hits a nice left-footed shot. It’s rising, but it’s at a comfortable height and Stockdale dives and catches with little fuss. Nice catch, but one you’d expect him to make.
21 min - Out of nothing, Zamora spots Jaaskelainen off his line from about 40 yards out, and his chip goes just inches over the crossbar. More than a little ambitious, but he almost pulls it off. Nice effort.
25 min - A long punt from Jaaskelainen goes into the opposing area. Stockdale goes to catch, and is barged off the ball by Kevin Davies. I thought it was a foul, but Stockdale collects on the second attempt before Elmander can poke it in.
28 min – Murphy barges ahead on the counter, and lays it off to Duff. His cross is good, but the Bolton defense holds. The corner comes to nothing.
30 min – I guess Holden is learning the Bolton way…he scythes down Duff on the right touchline. He doesn’t get a card, but it’s another set-piece for the visitors. It’s headed away and out for a corner. Gera gets a glancing header, but it’s miles over the bar.
34 min – Elmander picks the pocket of Dickson Etuhu (who was risibly not paying attention) and takes a quick shot, but it’s right into the grateful arms of Stockdale. That needed a better shot.
37 min - If nothing else, Stockdale is proving to be calm and capable when it comes time to make a decision. Lee Chung-Yong sends a swerving ball into the top of the area, but Stockdale is out quickly to snuff out the danger. Good goalkeeping from the kid.
40 min - Fabrice Muamba gets the first yellow card for a tackle from behind as Simon Davies was trying to clear the ball out from defense. Needless booking from the Bolton midfielder.
44 min - Jaaskelainen drops a back-header from Robinson in an obvious bit of miscommunication, leading to some words between the two. Luckily for Bolton, it’s recovered on the second attempt. I have a feeling that was Jaaskelainen’s fault more for coming off his line than anything else, though it could have been Robinson ignoring the keeper’s call.
45 min - And, there’s the half. It’s not Spain vs. Brazil out there, but it’s been a reasonably entertaining match between two evenly-matched sides.
SECOND HALF
47 min – Holden takes a lash from 35-40 yards out. Well, it’d be a point in hurling.
48 min – Stockdale makes a great save! Holden’s run down the wing comes in to Elmander, who’s turn and shot was brilliant. Stockdale leaps high to fist it over the bar. They may not miss Mark Schwarzer at all if this keeps up.
52 min – Bit of a scare for Aaron Hughes, who gives the ball away. Muamba is correctly flagged for a shirt-pull, though.
56 min - Lee dribbles into the penalty area and goes down under the Fulham challenge. On the replay, the Korean midfielder was already in the air before Murphy’s challenge…Stuart Atwell (who has had a great game, to be fair) correctly rules that it was not a penalty. I would have got that one wrong…Lee absolutely had me fooled.
58 min – Gera connects on a bicycle kick in the area, but Gary Cahill bravely blocks. Bolton clear from the corner, but it’s increasingly looking like there will be a goal in this one.
61 min – Atwell correctly plays advantage after Holden wins the ball in the middle of the park. It comes to Elmander outside the area, who does very well with an inside-out move to completely skin Brede Hangeland. Stockdale comes off his line perfectly to cut down the angle, and bravely blocks at Elamander’s feet. Off the corner, Stockdale clears with a Superman punch. This kid is having a stormer of a game.
67 min - Hangeland (who is having something of a shocker) fails at a basic back pass, and Elmander almost gets on the end of it. Stockdale was sharp though and came out to clear. Does anyone dispute that this kid is Man of the Match?
69 min – Bolton get another dangerous free kick, and Stockdale is out to firmly punch again. Maybe Arsenal is getting the wrong Fulham keeper?
71 min – Zamora is booked for grabbing Atwell’s shirt in complaint of something or other. What a fucking maroon. Meanwhile, this game has reached a lull after a fairly eventful second half so far. Not much is going on now.
73 min – The Zamora Follies continue, as he collects the ball just outside the area and shanks a ball far wide of the post with his left foot. Clint Dempsey is about to come on, as well he should.
74 min – Simon Davies and Gera work a nice passing move down the left, but Gera ends up offside. Gera is off for Dempsey.
77 min - Pantsil gets a yellow for hacking down Kevin Davies. While I support that in general, that probably wasn’t necessary for his team.
78 min - Off a throw-in, Robinson and Holden work a give-and-go. Holden has a yard of space just outside the area, but his shot hits the outside of the post and away to safety.
79 min – Dempsey gets the ball outside the area off a counter-attack, and his bad-angle shot from just outside 6-yard box is fisted away by the diving Jaaskelanien. Fulham are slowly working their way back into this after Bolton has been on the front foot for the last 10-15 minutes.
84 min – Fulham have looked a lot more dangerous since Dempsey has come on, but neither team has been able to fashion any chances. There’s been some general probing around the edge of both penalty areas, but nothing in the way of any serious goalmouth threat. I said before that there was a goal in this one, but now 0-0 is the most likely scoreline.
85 min – Bolton are about to make changes. Matthew “not the legbreaking cunt that used to play for Birmingham” Taylor and Ivan Klasnic are coming on. Why make changes this late? What possible impact can a guy make in 5 minutes?
86 min – Here come the substitutions: Petrov is off for Taylor, Muamba is off for Mark Davies. Klasnic was prevented from coming on by the 4th official.
88 min – Fulham pings the ball around in and around the Bolton area. First, Dempsey’s weak shot is blocked, then Etuhu’s weird ballooned flick is headed out by the Wanderers’ defense. Off the corner, Zamora’s far post flick-on is headed on by Hughes, but it’s an easy take for Jaaskelainen.
90 min – Here comes the last Bolton change – Elmander is off for Klasnic. They sure are giving Klasnic time to make an impact, aren’t they? Up the other end, Simon Davies finds Zamora in the area, but Robinson brilliantly snuffs out the danger with a flying tackle. The corner poses no danger.
90+3 min – Pantsil commits a foul outside of his area over by the left sideline. This could be the last chance. Hughes clears Taylor’s free kick, there’s some head tennis, and there’s the final whistle. This wasn’t the best game you’ll ever see, but it was a decent effort from both sides and it featured some great goalkeeping from Man of the Match Stockdale.
