David Nugent's second-half strike gave Burnley a deserved a point in their 1-1 draw with strugglers Bolton.
Hosts batter Wanderers but can't find winner
David Nugent's second-half strike gave Burnley a deserved a point in their 1-1 draw with strugglers Bolton.
Owen Coyle's men dominated the match for long periods but fell behind in the first half when Matt Taylor curled home a delightful free-kick from 30 yards after Andre Bikey fouled Kevin Davies on 29 minutes.
The Trotters nearly doubled their lead just before the interval when Davies played in Ivan Klasnic, but Brian Jensen made a vital save to keep his side in the match.
Steve Fletcher rattled the bar in the second half as Burnley pressed, before Nugent nodded home Tyrone Mears' inviting cross to pick up another useful point.
Burnley went into the match without a win in their last eight outings, a 2-0 triumph over Hull at the end of October looking like a distant memory.
Poor away form has heaped more pressure on Coyle's side to pick up points at Turf Moor, and despite encouraging draws against Aston Villa, Fulham and Arsenal, they had slipped to within three points of the drop zone.
The visit of relegation threatened Bolton provided an ideal opportunity to pick up a much-needed win, although Gary Megson's side had other ideas.
Wanderers have been down in the lower reaches for the most of the season, but they went into the clash with their Lancashire rivals on the back of a confidence-boosting win over drop rivals West Ham United.
Problems
With no away wins on the record this season, Bolton's misery on their travels looked set to continue as Burnley did all the running, Nugent causing Zat Knight no end of problems with his clever runs into the channels.
The home side were playing all the football in the opening stages yet they could not fashion a chance to test Jussi Jaaskelainen.
The closest they came was through Fletcher, whose left-foot shot sailed over the bar from Michael Duff's clever knock-down.
Nugent thought he had won his side a penalty on 18 minutes when he went down under a challenge from Gary Cahill, only for referee Chris Foy to wave play on.
In truth, it was never a penalty but it provided a taster of the problems Nugent would cause the Bolton defence all afternoon.
Just as Burnley looked to be in complete control, Bolton came to life and started to create chances of their own.
Davies - at the heart of anything going forward for the visitors - was afforded time and space out wide on the left from Klasnic's pass.
The big striker remained unfazed by his unusual positioning to cut inside and curl a powerful shot just wide of Brian Jensen's goal.
The Dane looked to have had it covered, however the ball whistled closer to the post than the goalkeeper would have liked.
Tamir Cohen and Chris Basham registered shots on target from distance before the home side spurned the best chance of the match.
Knight picked up possession on the edge of his box and dithered, the diminutive Elliot nicking it off his toes to charge into the area.
Creativity
The winger made his way to the edge of the six-yard box down the right and pulled the ball back for Fletcher, who somehow managed to shank the ball wide with all the goal to aim it.
It proved to be a costly miss as Bolton took the lead against the run of play, Taylor capitalising on Bikey's foul on Davies to curl a stunning free-kick into the top corner past the despairing Jensen.
The goal came as a real kick in the teeth for the hosts, who nearly fell further behind just before the interval when Klasnic latched onto a clever Davies knock-down.
The Croat made his way into the box and got his shot away that required Jensen to palm to safety.
Coyle's men came out in the second half full of energy and creativity that has typified their start to life in the Premier League, and it proved too much for Bolton to handle.
Fletcher was the first to nearly find a breakthrough, his thunderous shot from 25 yards flying past Jaaskelainen and ricocheting of the upright.
Burnley kept hold of the ball and did not allow Bolton to get out their half, yet their dominance was still to be rewarded.
Chris Eagles enjoyed another superb display down the Clarets left and he ghosted down the flank to provide Fletcher with another chance.
The 22-year-old had the ball pulled back to him ready to be smashed into the net, but again he swung wildly with his left foot and the shot went sailing over the top.
His strike partner Nugent was able to spare his blushes though when he popped up with the 56th minute equaliser, the on-loan Portsmouth man getting in between Cahill and Knight to head Mears' cross past Jaaskelainen.
Burnley were totally dominant from then on and Eagles saw Jaaskelainen save his low drive, and Nugent was denied the glory of a winner when the Finn got down to his left to make another good save.
Coyle's men continued to probe into the final stages, but they had to settle for a point as Bolton escaped with a scarcely deserved draw.
| Burnley |
Team Statistics |
Bolton Wanderers |
| 1 |
Goals |
1 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 4 |
Shots on Target |
4 |
| 10 |
Shots off Target |
6 |
| 4 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 8 |
Corners |
2 |
| 10 |
Fouls |
19 |
| 5 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 0 |
Yellow Cards |
0 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 65.5 |
Passing Success |
57.9 |
| 15 |
Tackles |
16 |
| 86.7 |
Tackles Success |
62.5 |
| 61.3 |
Possession |
38.7 |
| 60.6 |
Territorial Advantage |
39.4 |
|
