West Brom 1-1 Bolton: What the papers say

Monday March 23rd, 2009

Image by birdfarm via Flickr

How the national press reported Bolton’s 1-1 draw at the Hawthorns

The Times thought Bolton were worthy of all three points. It says Bolton’s goal had been coming for a long time when it eventually arrived from the boot of Matt Taylor in the 67th minute and also points out that West Brom failed to get a shot on target all game – even their equalising goal needed a massive deflection from Danny Shittu.

But, as the Mirror points out, the Wanderers only had themselves to blame for failing to win after Taylor passed up a golden opportunity late on. The Guardian also suggests that Bolton should have been more positive after taking the lead rather than sitting back and inviting Albion to attack – an invitation which they happily accepted.

The News of the World says that Albion might even have gone on to win the game themselves, although that would have been unfair on the Wanderers.

The Observer saw things slightly differently, pointing out that West Brom dominated possession in the early stages of the game as Bolton struggled to get in to the game.

All the papers report that Gary Megson felt humbled by the positive reception he received from the Baggies fans, although the Express points out that it must have made a nice change for a manager who is “still not universally loved by Bolton fans”, as the Mirror rather delicately puts it.

More importantly, there’s also an admission from Megson in most of the papers that he was out of order for the comments that saw him sent to stand late on (Megson in “I was wrong” admission shocker, anyone?).

For now, though, it’s Tony Mowbray who’s feeling the heat. But seeing the effectiveness of Bolton’s style of play at close quarters wasn’t enough to convince the West Brom manager that his attempt to pass and move his way to Premier League survival is futile. He told the Independent that he wouldn’t compromise, despite the fact that his side were out-muscled for much of the game.

Disagree? Have your say in the comments below…

Watch West Brom 1-1 Bolton Wanderers video highlights here

Read the fans’ view of the game here