Half time: Bolton Wanderers 0 Newcastle 0

52mins Okocha's long throw was propelled into the Newcastle box and as Shay Given came and missed his punch, Jaidi managed to head the ball across goal, despite having his nose broken by Given's loose fist. 

Waiting in the middle was El Hadji Diouf who headed the ball in for his first Bolton goal on his ninth appearance for the Trotters, on loan from Liverpool. 0-1

55mins Only in the starting lineup because of a late injury to Jermaine Jenas, Darren Ambrose picked the ball up in centre field, eluded Speed and Nolan then thumped an unstoppable drive into Jaaskelainen's top corner from 25 yards in front of the Newcastle section. Goal of the season so far for us? 1-1

70mins Another ball into the United box wasn't dealt with properly as Stephen Carr cleared but only as far as Kevin Davies. As he shaped to shoot from a narrow angle Given rushed out and failed to block as the ball went under him into the net. 1-2

Full time: Bolton Wanderers 2 Newcastle 1

Graeme Souness scowled and muttered:

"We knew what to expect when we came here and we got it. They try and intimidate you with set plays and it has worked for them because they've got the win.

"Okocha must have sore arms after the number of throws he launched into the area. It is not pretty, they launch balls into the area from every set piece, but they are fourth in table so it's working for them.

"I'd love to be able to say that style of football has died out, but they are high up in the league so they will be pleased with how they play because it has proven to be effective.

"But, for me, there is not enough good football being played out there. There wasn't anything pretty in this match for me. It is all about results, though, at the end of the day and I'm just disappointed we've lost the game.

"We'd worked all week on dealing with their set plays. They throw plenty of bodies into the box and hope something comes from it. We defended well except for two occasions in the second half and they scored from both of them.

"We would have liked to have played more football but we were not allowed to. They played their way and fair play to them. We learned on Sunday that we can match teams for effort but nobody will get an easy game at the Reebok, and that was the case for us.

"It would not have been unfair for us to have left with a point, but now we will just have to see how we respond. We coped quite well with some of their long ball stuff and the high balls into the box, but on the two occasions we didn't deal with them we were punished and that's frustrating.

"You have to be up for the challenge here or you get bullied off the park. I felt that didn’t happen and we are disappointed. We had to battle with them all the way and they’ve got the break on the day.

"We defended very well throughout but just conceded two very, very poor goals. The way they play you are always under pressure and there wasn’t a lot of football out there.

"I’m not being critical of anyone and am expecting a positive response from the players. I always said I would find out more about my players when they lost a game than when they were winning the whole time. 

"In this business you get punched on the nose and you get kicked where it hurts. That has happened today, but we have to get over it and get back on our feet for Thursday.

"Nobody will get an easy game coming to Bolton Wanderers this season. I don't think it would have been a terrible event if we had left here with a share of the points, but they just shaded it."

About Given:

"That game was difficult for a goalkeeper. You have to look at all the throw-ins and set-pieces being launched at him."

An intriguing day in Lancashire, with much familiarity on and off the field. 

Souness and Shearer were almost back in their old haunts, Sir Les was on the bench and Elliott and Speed lined up against each other, Wyn the Leap was in the stand and all the fun of the fair, including those on-pitch fireworks we love so much - obviously our Wolves experience (and the court case) hasn't resulted in a change of heart by the Sky boys and girls. 

Unfortunately for us, when the smoke cleared, football was at a premium, especially from the side who had been unbeaten in their last ten games but came down to earth with a bump here, as reality intervened again and our failings were exposed by game, but hardly world-beating opposition. 

We may have scored a sensational solo goal through Ambrose to get back on level terms, but adding to that tally from anything resembling team play rarely looked likely, as we put in a performance that was, quite literally pass-poor. Or something that sounds like that...

And while a mixture of attacking personnel and formations looked muddled throughout, at the back our worst fears were confirmed, as a Bolton side marshalled and briefed by old boy Speed set about our defensive soft centre like a prize fighter attacking the bleeding eyebrow of a hapless opponent.  

What hadn't been factored into the equation though was a rare attack of the heebie geebies from Shay, without which we may have scraped a point from this contest but which combined with our lack of height at the back and general slackness across the park, made us prone to concede.

This was the day when our brave new world fell off its axis - as some had feared that it would when we were faced with game opposition, as opposed to the motley crews that have lined up against us since Bobby took his golf club home and didn't write that extra chapter in his book.

For Souness to mouth off afterwards about Bolton's tactics is understandable on one level - after 90 minutes of that, shoving a camera in my face would certainly have resulted in some eminently quotable but utterly unusable footage - so in a sense the gaffer kept his cool, if not his counsel. 

But to moan about a side having beaten us fair and square by playing within the rules, but showing bucketloads more desire and spirit than we did makes him look as pious as Kevin Keegan was at Gallowgate a week ago.

While Souness can justifiably claim that he's working with someone else's players, the selections, formations, substitutions and motivation were all his own work. On that basis and discounting the Bolton goals, this was a bad day at the office. 

A training ground knock saw Jenas replaced by Ambrose but Bernard's demotion to the bench remained unexplained (a reaction to the contract dispute that rumbles on?), as did his second-half appearance in a left wing role that Robert already seemed to have been brought on to occupy.

The three strikers approach failed to work, mostly because Kluivert and Shearer didn't track back when required to relieve and augment our beleaguered midfield -  where unimpressive shifts from Butt and Bowyer meant that we never looked solid. 

And aside from the goal, Ambrose struggled to make an impact, while Bellamy hardly got a clear run at goal all day - the contrast between our muddled back-line and Bolton's unruffled rearguard was plain to see and that was simply because we couldn't deliver quality crosses or passes.

On another day Robert's late shot across goal would have ended up in the net, but Bolton had missed an almost identical chance in the first half. As it was, Jaaskelainen had nothing to do in this match except pick Ambrose's effort out of his net and high-five his team mates at the final whistle as Bolton celebrated their success in a manner reminiscent of VE Day.

And what of Sam Allardyce? He's entitled to milk this for all it's worth, having turned down the chance to succeed Sir Bobby and boost his own standing at the Reebok as a result. 

For Graeme Sourpuss to bleat his way through the press conference merely added to his glee - there's some Old Testament line about planks in people's eyes that's worth remembering here..... 

No, in this game for us nowt was right, from the front to the back and had Souness been in charge of a different team, we'd be ridiculing his comments as daft. This was never going to be a classic exposition of the round ball game, but we were as soft and pliable as a latter-day Robson side - quite simply we lost the battle; a fact both he and I find difficult to swallow.  

Precisely what Freddy Shepherd thought of the goings-on at the Rebook on and off the field isn't recorded - and no doubt he'll be too busy re-stating his Geordie credentials for the umpteenth time in his upcoming programme columns to tell us.

But he was the man who wanted Allardyce at St.James' - so on a leopard not changing his spots basis, presumably he would have been happy with a performance (and victory) of this nature from his Newcastle side. 

Maybe he should have a chat with Souness and remind him that actions - and results - speak louder than words. After all, today's half-time hero was the figurehead of the last Newcastle team to win a trophy, achieved in a style not unlike Bolton 2004. 

Biffa

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