Borgetti bags battling Bolton deserved point

The European rookies secured a point in the UEFA Cup group stage thanks to a goal from the man who left his homeland in the summer to pursue a career in England.

Borgetti has struggled to break into the league team but his equaliser against Besiktas was of the highest order.

The result went to prove, if nothing else, that Bolton manager Sam Allardyce has strength in depth.

Bolton played with no little spirit or style at this wonderful arena on the banks of the Bosphorus after going a goal down in the seventh minute.Tal Ben Haim put Joey O’Brien under pressure with a bad ball and he lost possession to Tumer Metin.

He immediately released Ailton and the Brazilian thumped an unstoppable shot into the corner beyond goalkeeper Ian Walker.

Bolton drew level in the 29th minute following a clinical finish from Borgetti. He got on the end of a good cross from El-Hadji Diouf for his second goal for the club. he other came in the first leg against Lokomotiv Plovdiv.

Diouf thought he had won it for Bolton after 70 minutes, but he was deemed offside much to the delight of the home faithful.

BESIKTAS: Cordoba, Adem Dursun, Toraman (Zan 45), Atan, Avci, Akin, Havutcu, Kamel, Kleberson, Metin (Uzulmez 36), Ailton, Zan (Dogan 70).

BOLTON: Walker, Jaidi, Ben Haim, Nakata, Gardner, Faye, Fernandes (Nolan 59), O’Brien, Fadiga, Diouf, Borgetti.

Defending UEFA Cup champions CSKA Moscow suffered a surprise home 2-1 defeat to Marseille in their opening Group F clash.

Sabri Lamouchi and Mamadou Niang handed Jean Fernandez’s men a deserved half-time lead but the home side came back into it after the interval with Vagner Love pulling one back.

In Group B, Christian Terlizzi scored the winning goal as Palermo earned maximum points with a 2-1 win at Maccabi Petach Tikva.

Late goals from Jon Dahl Tomasson and Danijel Ljuboja, the latter from the penalty spot, ensured Stuttgart made a successful start to their Group G campaign with a 2-0 win in Rennes.

Also victorious in Group G were Shakhtar Donetsk who needed a second-half penalty from Brandao to beat PAOK Salonika, although in truth they were comfortable winners.

Zenit St Petersburg claimed a 2-1 victory in their Group H opener over Vitoria Guimaraes in a match which saw both sides reduced to 10 men.

Norway’s Viking FK continued their amazing UEFA Cup adventure by beating Monaco in their opening Group A match thanks to a first-half strike by Nkosinathi Nhleko.

UEFA CUP, Group A: CSKA Sofia 0 Hamburg 1;Viking FK 1 Monaco 0. Group B: Maccabi Petach Tikva 1 Palermo 2. Group C: Halmstads BK 0 Hertha Berlin 1; Steaua Bucuresti 4 Lens 0. Group D: Dnipro 1 AZ 2; Grasshoppers 0 Middlesbrough 1.

Group E: Basle 0 Strasbourg 2; Tromso 1 Roma 2. Group F: CSKA Moscow 1 Marseille 2; Dinamo Bucuresti 0 Heerenveen 0. Group G: Rennes 0 VfB Stuttgart 2; Shakhtar Donetsk 1 PAOK Salonika 0. Group H: Besiktas 1 Bolton 1; Zenit St Petersburg 2 Guimaraes 1.