PREMIERSHIP REVIEWS
Liverpools inability to kill off the opposition has proved costly yet again. For the second match running they threw away a two-goal lead as a dogged Birmingham side fought back to claim a share of the spoils thanks to a brace of Clinton Morrison goals. Ironic, that it was the super-confident Morrison who once said, as a Crystal Palace player, that he would happily give Michael Owen some tips on goal scoring.
Gerard Houilliers side went ahead from a superb Danny Murphy free kick, after 25 minutes, before John Arne Riise and Owen both wasted chances to put the result beyond doubt before Liverpool got their second goal.
It was Murphys midfield partner Steven Gerrard who gave the Reds the buffer of a second goal, four minutes into the second half, when he drove home what should have been the killer goal. But when Liverpool lost central defender Stephane Henchoz, shortly after the restart, the balance swung away from the home side.
Steve Bruces team are starting to adjust to life in the top flight and they set about the home side with a vigour that brought its reward through the lively Morrison. The Republic of Ireland international pulled one back, just after the hour and it came after an error by Traore, who had switched to centre half in place of Henchoz.
Stern John pounced on a mistake by the defender who could not prevent John from crossing into the area where Morrison reached the ball first to pull one back. That goal seemed to shake Liverpool and gave Birmingham greater incentive and as the game went into stoppage time Morrison headed a point-earning equaliser that 40 minutes earlier had looked most unlikely.
After the game Houllier bemoaned the loss of Henchoz as 'critical to the result. But Steve Bruce was delighted with his sides character. The Birmingham boss said: "We now have belief that we can survive in this division and that is a big thing for any new team.'
Houllier, having his seen his side throw another two goal lead away, as they had done against Newcastle, added: "We should have finished the game off from two up. But we have let another two-goal lead slip, and this is our third 2-2 draw on the trot."
"We should be top of the league by now with at least another four points. But we have let games slip in the last minutes on three occasions. Six points have been squandered in about nine minutes of play. But I dont believe you achieve anything without going through some adversity, and we have a young side that will learn from this.'
Manchester United 0 Bolton Wanderers 1
Those who believe lightning does not strike twice should take great care not to whisper that gem within earshot of Sir Alex Ferguson as Bolton won at Old Trafford for the second season running. And, to rub salt in the wounds of defeat, Kevin Nolan, who scored in last seasons shock victory, was the match winner this time.
The goal, apart from depositing three valuable points into The Reebok locker, also served to underline Sam Allardyces elbow nudge to David Platt for Nolans inclusion in the England Under 21 side.
The crucial goal came with a quarter of an hour remaining and it resulted from a mistake by David Beckham. The United skipper tried to control a ball on his chest but the ball fell to Nolan who drove a low volley past Barthez.
United only had themselves to blame as Beckham had forced an early save from Jaaskelainen, and both Butt and Veron had squandered good chances. Bolton, too, had their openings and both Djorkaeff and Barness went close. But Wanderers best chance came as a result of a mistake by Blanc. He lost the ball and Ricketts played Pedersen through but Barthez saved brilliantly.
That seemed to motivate United into action and Solskjaer was foiled by an excellent Jaaskelainen save and Van Nistelrooy was denied by Whitlow. But the more United pressed the more Bolton resisted and they built on that to capitalise on Backham's late error that allowed Nolan, who scored in the 2-1 win last October, to drive home the winner.
Stand-in skipper Beckham, whose mistake led to the first Bolton goal, issued a public apology after the game, saying: "I have to apologise to the fans. They pay their money to watch us and it was my silly mistake which cost us.
"At 0-0 you are always likely to leave yourself exposed by pushing forward but they wouldnt have scored if it hadnt been for my mistake. We are not playing to our best but we have to get up there quickly. We are not happy being eighth in the league but it is up to us to get ourselves out of it.'
Bolton boss Sam Allardyce said: "This is a very special moment in this clubs history. Everybody knows the teams at the top of the league are the ones who spend the most money. All we are concentrating on is survival. I spent £100,000 strengthening my squad during the summer and tonight they all played above themselves.'
