
Audio By Carbonatix
Bolton have been relegated from the Premier League after being held to a draw by Stoke at the Britannia Stadium.Only a win - and a QPR defeat at Manchester City - would have kept the Trotters up but they fell behind when Jonathan Walters bundled in.Mark Davies' deflected goal and a cross from namesake Kevin, which snuck past Thomas Sorensen, gave Bolton the lead.But Walters's goal from the penalty spot, after a foul on Peter Crouch, consigned the Trotters to the drop.To rub salt in the wound for Bolton, both the goals they conceded were controversial - the first because Walters knocked the ball out of Adam Bogdan's hands and into the net and the second as Crouch appeared to go down very easily under the challenge from the Bolton keeper in follow-up to his own saved shot.In addition, two injury-time Manchester City goals against 10-man QPR meant a win would have extended Wanderers 11-year stay in the top flight.
Bolton's top-flight stay endsIn truth, much of the damage was done in the final 15 minutes of last week's penultimate round of fixtures, which saw Bolton throw away a two-goal home lead to West Brom while Rangers were snatching a last-gasp 1-0 win over Stoke to leave Bolton fighting against the tide.The finale of that game illustrated exactly why Bolton faced such grave circumstances heading into this game as a mixture of naivety and ineptitude meant they failed to see out a game that was all-but won.Fittingly, the game at the Britannia Stadium was a similarly tense rollercoaster of an encounter, in keeping with what has been the most unpredictable of battles at the bottom of the Premier League.Bolton looked down and out when Stoke took the lead in the 13th minute as Walters bundled the ball out of the hands of visiting keeper Adam Bogdan and in. It looked to be a foul but referee Chris Foy allowed it to stand, much to the chagrin of Trotters boss Owen Coyle.A dubious goal it may have been but it gave Stoke a deserved lead following a confident beginning from them and a meek start to such a key fixture from the away side.However, Bolton battled back and things looked to have turned in their favour just before half-time courtesy of two bizarre goals.A long goal kick from Bogdan was allowed to reach the Stoke box before home defender Andy Wilkinson struck his attempted clearance straight at Mark Davies and the ball ricocheted into the net to level matters.Then, a serious misjudgement from Thomas Sorensen allowed Kevin Davies's cross from the right to sneak past him at the near post and hand Wanderers the lead.Around the same time, Pablo Zabaleta gave Manchester City the lead over QPR to temporarily lift Bolton out of the drop zone.The situation changed again in the second half when two QPR goals, either side of Walters' penalty plunged Bolton back into the bottom three.With their relegation seemingly sealed for good, Bolton lost heart and once a Tim Ream header from a corner was saved by Sorensen they accepted their fate, unprepared for what was to come in the last few minutes at the Etihad.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Tags:
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
Menzgold customers issue 21-day ultimatum to government over GH¢5.4m locked-up funds
5 minutes -
KMA resumes demolition at Asafo Interchange after violent clash with occupants
13 minutes -
Alexander Amoafo Jnr joins Slovak Premier League side FK Železiarne Podbrezová
13 minutes -
Poultry Master Plan will provide roadmap to make Ghana self-sufficient – Dr Acquaye
32 minutes -
Nkoko Nkitinkiti needs a 10 to 20-year poultry strategy to succeed – Rockland Farms CEO
38 minutes -
HASAG demands migration of staff onto Controller and Accountant General’s payroll
45 minutes -
There is a disconnect between local and national poultry policy – Ali Muhammed
59 minutes -
Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa will send envoys to Ghana to discuss migration and social challenges
1 hour -
Nkoko Nkitinkiti introduced to cut poultry imports and boost local production – Demordzi
1 hour -
GAPFA was excluded from Feed Ghana policy formulation despite repeated requests – CEO
1 hour -
Energy Commission concludes nationwide training on energy-efficient building permits
1 hour -
Veterinary Association calls for stronger collaboration to ensure success of Nkoko Nkitinkiti Programme
2 hours -
Some Mahama ministers have been rendered redundant – Afenyo-Markin
2 hours -
Nkoko Nkitinkiti alone cannot transform poultry sector without fixing feed challenges — Farmers
2 hours -
Mahama pledges support to complete UHAS laboratory complex after inspection
2 hours