Newcastle frustrated by cagey Bolton

Newcastle 0 Bolton 0

Misfiring Newcastle failed to break down Bolton’s stubborn resistance as their poor start to the season continued.

Sir Bobby Robson’s side dominated for long periods but simply could not find a way through a sturdy red wall with Simon Charlton in particular outstanding for the visitors.

Gary Speed and Titus Bramble both hit the crossbar either side of half-time, but in truth, Alan Shearer and Craig Bellamy never saw enough of the ball to cause much damage and Shay Given had to pull off a good save from a Jay-Jay Okocha free-kick to ensure that his side ended a run of three successive defeat at St James’ Park.

It was not what the bulk of a crowd of 52,014 wanted to see, and their response on the final whistle was not what Robson and his players wanted to hear.

What Newcastle needed was an early goal, and they came agonisingly close to doing just that when Speed’s second-minute header crashed against the crossbar.

If things did not go exactly to the script during the opening skirmishes, the signs were good as the home side tried to make best use of wide men Nolberto Solano and Laurent Robert.

In the run-up to the game, Solano had admitted that visiting teams had worked out how to play Newcastle in their own backyard, and Bolton had certainly arrived with a plan as they pulled everybody back behind the ball when not in possession and worked hard to compress the space.

And the ploy largely worked, albeit aided and abetted by the Magpies’ wastefulness as promising positions failed to result in enough anxiety for Wanderers keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Craig Bellamy was just inches away from reaching Robert’s inviting 10th-minute cross after the impressive Bramble had picked out the Frenchman with a raking long ball, and full-back Andy Griffin tested Jaaskelainen with a long-range effort.

The Bolton defence just about managed to hold firm with former Sunderland man Emerson Thome in particular under pressure as the home side started to turn the screw without creating a surfeit of genuine openings.

However, it took a superb tackle from Bruno N’Gotty to block Shearer’s shot after Thome was caught on the back foot by Jonathan Woodgate’s long clearance six minutes before the break.

For their part, Bolton looked dangerous when they attacked, Okocha forcing a good save from Given with a 15th-minute free-kick and Olivier Bernard and Woodgate having to intervene to prevent Kevin Davies from converting a measured pass from Okocha.

Just as they had done in the first half, Newcastle came flying out of the traps after the break and could have gone in front with less than a minute gone when Shearer met Robert’s cross at full stretch but could not keep his shot down.

Davies shot across goal after being picked out by Stelio Giannakopolous, but the momentum was once again with the Magpies and they went close three times within two minutes.

First Solano saw his shot blocked by Simon Charlton after Bramble and Shearer had combined to set him up and then the same man managed to flick a Robert cross off Shearer’s head before Bramble saw his header come back off the crossbar with the Bolton defence at sixes and sevens.

But just as Robson’s men seemed ready to take the game by the scruff of the neck, they loosened their grip and Given had to get down well to claim a 63rd-minute Djorkaeff shot.

Solano whistled a long-range effort inches wide as the home side increased the tempo once again, but as the clock ran down, they became increasingly edgy.

The Peruvian, along with Speed, made way for Jermaine Jenas and Shola Ameobi with 13 minutes remaining as Robson stepped up the hunt for a winning goal, but with Wanderers packing the penalty area, the gaps refused to open up.

Ameobi almost snatched victory at the death when he made the most of a misunderstanding between Thome and Jaaskelainen to head over the keeper, but the ball dropped wide of the empty goal.