Diouf’s latest spit sours Bolton win

Birmingham 1 Bolton 2

Diouf put Bolton ahead in the 17th minute, and statements were taken by stewards from fans regarding the alleged reaction of Diouf to his second goal in four games.

The matter was reported by a security official to referee Uriah Rennie and it remains to be seen what action will be taken against the Senegal player if the claims are substantiated.

A second-half goal from Blues central defender Matthew Upson looked to have rescued a point for his side before Nolan’s late strike.

Diouf has only just returned from a three-match Football Association ban for spitting at Portsmouth defender Arjan de Zeeuw in November.

Last night’s incident overshadowed even the decision of Birmingham manager Steve Bruce to leave his transfer-seeking midfielder Robbie Savage out of his 16.

Birmingham had a new-look central midfield partnership in Darren Anderton and Stephen Clemence as Robbie Savage was spotted taking a seat in the stands before the kick-off, after having a pre-match meeting with Bruce.

He saw his team-mates make a purposeful start but the best early chance fell to Bolton after 10 minutes when Diouf missed a golden chance to put Bolton ahead with his side’s first worthwhile attack of the game.

Giannakopoulos’ left-wing cross was turned back by Kevin Nolan to Diouf who was unmarked six yards out, but he failed to make a clean contact.

But Bolton were not to be denied and after 17 minutes Diouf struck for the second time in four days.

But Diouf then blotted his copybook by being yellow-carded by referee Uriah Rennie for showing dissent at a free-kick which was moved 10 yards further forward but the Bolton defensive wall blocked Anderton’s shot.

Tempers became frayed and Heskey and Bruno N’Gotty were booked after a flare-up in the Bolton penalty area.

Then Kevin Nolan went tumbling to the floor after apparently being pushed by Clinton Morrison but referee Rennie missed the incident.

The Blues enjoyed most of the pressure in the early stages of the second period and after 66 minutes, Birmingham’s pressure paid off when Matthew Upson brought them back on level terms.

An overhead effort from Heskey hit the woodwork, but Upson was first to react to the rebound, scoring from close range.

Bolton were posing little in the way of an attacking threat late in the game until Nolan made no mistake from close range in injury time, after Taylor had parried Okocha’s powerful drive.

BIRMINGHAM: Maik Taylor, Melchiot, Cunningham, Upson, Tebily, Johnson, Anderton, Clemence, Lazaridis, Heskey, Morrison.

BOLTON: Jaaskelainen, Hunt, N’Gotty, Jaidi, Gardner, Nolan, Speed, Campo, Okocha, Giannakopoulos, Diouf.

Referee: U Rennie.