Bolton still upbeat despite losing out on European spot
A goal from Ricardo Vaz Te saw relegated Birmingham defeated at the Reebok Stadium. However, it was Newcastle who claimed a place in the Intertoto Cup after defeating champions Chelsea and finishing seventh.
Bolton’s players enjoyed a lap of honour after the game – they finished eighth in the table – and assistant manager Lee was a proud man.
He said: “It is an indication of how far this club has come – we are disappointed at not qualifying for Europe. I think you have to give credit to the players.
“They showed tremendous character to bounce back after five defeats in a row.”
Portuguese striker Vaz Te, 19, stepped off the bench to score the winner in the second-half. He got on the end of a cross from Kevin Nolan to execute a clever finish at the far post.
It was his third league goal of the campaign – he also found the target in the draw against Middlesbrough last week.
Lee is hoping the youngster can grow in the top flight next season. He said: “Ricardo’s potential is there for all to see. He has a number of assets and we are trying to make sure he utilises these assets.
“These are early days for him and he is still learning the game. If he keeps progressing he will have possibilities here.”
It was a disappointing end to an awful season for Birmingham, who are dropping out of the Barclays Premiership after a four-season stay.
Manager Steve Bruce knows exactly what went wrong.
“We have not scored enough goals,” he said. “You are only as good as your strikers.
Nicky Butt was drafted back in and DJ Campbell was given a starting berth up front alongside Emile Heskey. While Birmingham played some neat football, especially in the second-half, they lacked a cutting edge.
Jussi Jaaskelainen, an ever-present in the league this season for Bolton, had little to do between the posts.
He made one good block from Campbell, however, while Heskey again looked out of sorts.
Bruce said: “We were the better team and created the better chances. But we have only scored 29 goals in the league. This is the 20th time we have failed to find the target.
“Scoring goals has been our Achilles heel and cost us dearly.”
Jaaskelainen, O’Brien, Faye, Ben Haim, Pedersen, Nakata (Okocha 53), Campo (Vaz Te 54), Speed, Giannakopoulos (Borgetti 86), Nolan, Davies.
Maik Taylor, Melchiot, Martin Taylor, Bruce, Sadler, Johnson, Butt, Nafti (Kilkenny 71), Pennant, Heskey, Campbell.
S Bennett (Kent).
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