2-3 v Bolton Wanderers - 31 January 2009 - Away

Tottenham Hotspur Badge

Spurs 2

Bolton Wanderers

Bolton Wanderers

3

  • Puygrenier
    31'
  • Davies
    64'
    87'
Details
Match Number

6744

Opposition
Bolton wanderers

Bolton Wanderers

Competition
Premier League

Premier League

Season

2008/09

Date

31st January 2009

Kick Off

15:00

Venue

Reebok Stadium

Attendance

21,575

Referee

Phil Dowd

League Position

14th

Opposition League Position

12th

Opposition Form

LDLWLW

Weather at Kick Off

6.1° - Partly Cloudy

Facts & Milestones
  • 6709th overall match (3174 wins, 1474 draws, 2048 losses)

  • 5178th competitive match (2296 wins, 1217 draws, 1665 losses)

  • team

    96th match vs Bolton Wanderers (42 wins, 18 draws, 36 losses)

  • competition

    644th Premier League match (229 wins, 171 draws, 244 losses)

  • 6167th match in England (2865 wins, 1389 draws, 1900 losses)

  • 10th match at Reebok Stadium (1 win, 3 draws, 6 losses)

  • Wilson Palacios
    Wilson Palacios: Debut
Report

Kevin Davies struck four minutes from time to snatch an unlikely victory for Bolton after Spurs had bravely fought back from two goals down late on.

Bolton controlled the early proceedings and deserved their lead when Sebastien Puygrenier headed in, before Davies fired into the corner to make it 2-0.

Substitute Darren Bent scored twice in two minutes from close-range, though, to put Spurs right back into the game.

But Davies had the final say when his header earned Bolton a thrilling win.

Three points see Bolton leapfrog their fellow strugglers and up into 12th in the table, and also spared boss Gary Megson's blushes after his side had contrived to throw away a two-goal lead for the second time in four days.

It was cruel luck in the end for Bent, though, who marked his first appearance since his now infamous miss against Portsmouth denied Spurs a home win a fortnight ago with two goals that looked like securing an unlikely point for the visitors.

The brace might yet secure his short-term future at the club, especially with Jermain Defoe absent with a foot injury, but in the end it counted for little thanks to Davies's late strike - a goal which made it six straight away defeats for the Londoners.

Bolton's win - their first in six matches - and the performance was a timely boost for Megson, though, after his barracking from his own fans in Wednesday's 2-2 draw with Blackburn.

Davies was the inspiration and a constant thorn in the side of Spurs' defence, while Ariza Makulula had the best of the early chances when he sliced wide from 18 yards out. Full debutant Mark Davies also went close for the hosts, looping a header over unmarked from 12 yards, while namesake Kevin headed a Matt Taylor free-kick over with the visitors' apparent aerial frailty exposed all too often.

Spurs' best moments often came through the resurgent David Bentley, who twice tested home keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen with drilled efforts from range, while debutant Wilson Palacios was full of hassle and harry.

But for large parts of the game Spurs were bereft of inspiration and it was hardly against the run of play when Bolton took the lead and even less surprising it came from a set piece.

Mark Davies was the creator with a free kick, Puygrenier making the most of some hopeless marking in the Spurs box, losing Didier Zokora to head home from six yards for his first goal for Bolton since joining from Zenit St Petersburg.

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp's response at the break was to replace the ineffective Luka Modric and Zokora with Bent and Jermaine Jenas, but despite a wealth of possession, the visitors' continued lack of sparkle ensured the Trotters remained comfortable.

And when Kevin Davies latched on to Gary Cahill's flick to drive across Carlo Cudicini and into the far corner of the Spurs net, the hosts' win looked assured.

However, the Trotters reckoned without Bent and Chimbonda's intervention.

The former reduced the deficit when he swept in Chimbonda's cut-back from close range and, just two minutes later, levelled it up when he pounced after Jaaskelainen could only parry a snapshot from Palacios.

There was yet another twist in the tail, though, as Davies stooped to head in Matt Taylor's corner, the ball squeezing past Bentley on Tottenham's near post, to seal the victory.

Timeline
KO

Sébastien Puygrenier

31'
HT

Kevin Davies

64'

Kevin Davies

87'
FT
Location
League Table
# Team PL W D L GF GA GD PTS
1
Manchester united
22 15 5 2 39 10 29 50
2
Chelsea
23 14 6 3 44 13 31 48
3
Liverpool
23 13 9 1 37 15 22 48
4
Aston villa
23 14 5 4 38 24 14 47
5
Arsenal
23 12 6 5 38 25 13 42
6
Everton
23 10 7 6 31 27 4 37
7
Wigan athletic
23 9 5 9 26 24 2 32
8
West ham united
23 9 5 9 31 31 0 32
9
Manchester city
22 8 4 10 41 31 10 28
10
Hull city
23 7 6 10 29 44 -15 27
11
Fulham
21 6 8 7 19 18 1 26
12
Sunderland
23 7 5 11 24 32 -8 26
13
Tottenham Hotspur Badge Tottenham Hotspur
23 6 6 11 24 28 -4 24
14
Bolton wanderers
23 7 3 13 24 32 -8 24
15
Portsmouth
22 6 6 10 22 35 -13 24
16
Newcastle united
23 5 8 10 29 39 -10 23
17
Blackburn rovers
22 5 7 10 27 38 -11 22
18
Middlesbrough
23 5 6 12 18 35 -17 21
19
Stoke city
23 5 6 12 20 38 -18 21
20
West bromwich albion
23 6 3 14 20 42 -22 21
# Team PL W D L GF GA GD PTS
1
Manchester united
23 16 5 2 40 10 30 53
2
Liverpool
24 14 9 1 39 15 24 51
3
Chelsea
24 14 6 4 44 15 29 48
4
Aston villa
24 14 6 4 38 24 14 48
5
Arsenal
24 12 7 5 38 25 13 43
6
Everton
24 10 7 7 31 28 3 37
7
Wigan athletic
24 9 6 9 26 24 2 33
8
West ham united
24 9 6 9 31 31 0 33
9
Fulham
22 7 8 7 22 19 3 29
10
Manchester city
23 8 4 11 41 32 9 28
11
Hull city
24 7 7 10 31 46 -15 28
12
Bolton wanderers
24 8 3 13 27 34 -7 27
13
Sunderland
24 7 6 11 25 33 -8 27
14
Tottenham Hotspur Badge Tottenham Hotspur
24 6 6 12 26 31 -5 24
15
Newcastle united
24 5 9 10 30 40 -10 24
16
Portsmouth
23 6 6 11 23 38 -15 24
17
Stoke city
24 6 6 12 21 38 -17 24
18
Blackburn rovers
23 5 8 10 27 38 -11 23
19
Middlesbrough
24 5 7 12 18 35 -17 22
20
West bromwich albion
24 6 4 14 22 44 -22 22
Previous 5 Matches

4 days earlier

8 days later