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Battling Portsmouth Put Bolton to Shame

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Before long Bolton Wanderers will be peddling season tickets. When that weighty envelope drops onto the doormat, fans will do well to think of the second half performance against Portsmouth, before they think of parting with hard earned cash.

Owen Coyle`s side looked to be going on to a comfortable victory in the first half with goals from Ivan Klasnic and Kevin Davies, but after the half-time interval, a mixture of lethargy and incompetence let Pompey back into the game and they could even have gone on to win.

In a familiar scenario, Jack Wilshere went face down after losing possession and Michael Brown sent John Utaka away. He found Frederic Piquionne who crossed for Aruna Dindane to finish the move, with Jussi Jaakelainen helpfully diving out of the way.

Fifteen minutes later and the visitors were level. The Chuckle Brothers, aka Zat Knight and Gary Cahill failed in turn to control a bouncing ball and Utaka (who saves his best performances for games against Bolton) took advantage and found Dindane who gratefully accepted the chance to double his tally.

This encounter pretty much summed up Bolton`s season. A near silent stadium, bar the vocal efforts of a few travelling fans, and unmotivated players who had the chance to seal Premier League safety but didn`t care enough to complete the task.

It`s all reminiscent of last season, when the Whites won only once in the last eleven games. No doubt there will be a few juicy offers to tempt supporters back to the Reebok, but the best advertisement would be players who look as if the result matters to them. Few members of the current squad match that description.

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