No show without Punch

WHEN the most noteworthy event being discussed post-match is the rights and wrongs of a drop ball then it is safe to assume that the game in question was anything but a classic.

The fine early strike from Ashley Young that settled this encounter was overshadowed by a scuffle following the final whistle after Bolton’s players let their tempers get the better of them following a perceived act of gamesmanship from Villa.

With 10 minutes remaining and Emile Heskey down injured, Bolton stopped the game to allow him to receive treatment.

Referee Michael Jones ordered a drop ball to restart the game but rather than give the ball back to Wanderers as is the modern-day fashion, Stewart Downing found Gabriel Agbonlahor with a fine pass and he should have scored in a one-on-one situation against Jussi Jaaskelainen.

The incident caused huge resentment from Bolton’s players and that manifested itself in the touchline melee after the final whistle which saw Ivan Klasnic and Jack Wilshere booked.

It was the most impressive act Bolton produced all afternoon. If only their performance in the preceding 90 minutes had shown as much co-ordination and heart. Villa were not much better.

When Young scored the first against Bolton in November at Villa Park, it prompted a 5-1 victory for Martin O’Neill’s side, but a repeat of the result never seemed remotely likely as neither team appeared inspired at the Reebok Stadium.

Villa lost 7-1 to Chelsea last weekend, a result that led to rumours during the week that O’Neill had quit as manager, while Bolton also suffered a heavy 4-0 loss at home to Manchester United.

So maybe it was understandable that apart from Young’s brilliant goal, when he curled an 11th minute effort above and away from Jaaskelainen’s outstretched palm, neither side had much to offer.

Young’s effort was good enough to win any match in its own right and he was thrilled to be able to shift the emphasis away from O’Neill and back to events on the field, but not before he made it crystal clear that the Villa dressing room is desperate for any rumours about his departure to be wide of the mark.

“Of course Martin is integral to taking Villa on to the next stage,” he said.

“Since he has come in, if you look where the club has come from, it has gone up step by step and it is progressing in the right direction and you can’t ask for any more than that.

“He is a great man and he has been brilliant for us.

“We have got the players and the will to fight and win and if you have got that instilled in you, you have always got a chance.

“We have got a great team spirit and everyone pulls in the right direction.

“Even in the late scuffle at the end, the team was there as a whole and that is what has been instilled into us – that we fight for each other.

“You don’t want to see that sort of thing on the pitch but at least it shows what a great team spirit we have got.”

Bolton may well be safe from relegation, not mathematically but certainly logically when you consider that there are three teams in the Premier League who are comfortably worse than them, but performances like this will do nothing to assuage the lingering fear of the drop that sits over the Reebok.

Their lack of bite, for the second consecutive home match, must be concerning Owen Coyle as Kevin Davies, Johan Elmander and substitute Ivan Klasnic offered little.

Tamir Cohen and Fabrice Muamba were no better in the midfield in a showing that was as tepid as tepid gets, a fact defender Sam Ricketts did not try to deny afterwards.

“We always go on about what an honest bunch of lads we’ve got here,” he said. “And in this instance, we have held up our hands and said that didn’t get anywhere near the standards we know we’re capable of.

“It’s just disappointing that we didn’t get to the levels of performance that we had done recently.

“It’s hard to say why that was the case. It’s hugely frustrating going into this 10-day break after that result, knowing that Villa were there for the taking.

“But we’ll sit down and analyse it, and as individuals look at our own performance and then see where we can improve on it.”

MATCH RATING: ** - It was by no means a classic as Bolton looked poor from start to finish and Villa were not much better. Thank goodness Young intervened when he did to offer at least the briefest glimmer of quality.

REFEREE: Michael Jones (Cheshire) 6 – He should have been stronger at the drop-ball incident but did little else wrong.