Ultimately it wasn`t enough. The spitting and diving. The attempts to coerce the match officials. The spiteful publishing of Bolton`s itinerary. None of it mattered as the Whites mounted a determined rearguard action against Atletico Madrid to take a deserved place in the last sixteen of the UEFA cup. A combination of the Wanderers resolute defence and some wasteful finishing by Luis Garcia and Diego Forlan meant that goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen didn`t have a save of note to make in the entire 90 minutes. Manager Gary Megson was delighted with the effort shown, but mindful that his side didn`t create many chances of their own.
‘It’s a good night for us. In terms of passing and creative football, we didn’t play as well as I know we can, but in terms of heart and desire, enthusiasm and work-rate, we were marvellous,` he told Sky Sports. ‘We didn’t set out purposely to defend, we got pushed back by a very good team.`
The only downside of the evening was the behaviour of the Spanish Police who lived up to their reputation for gratuitous thuggery. Fans returning from the game have spoken of unprovoked baton charges before, during and after the game, at the stadium and also at the airport. Bolton Wanderers have complained to Uefa about the ‘overzealous and disproportionate` treatment of their fans.
‘I have great sympathy for any of our supporters who have been injured by what is clearly an overreaction by the Spanish police,` said chairman Phil Gartside. ‘Bolton will be pursuing the matter at the highest level and seeking an explanation from the Spanish authorities. We will also be conducting our own internal investigation and information-gathering process.`
Next stop Sporting Lisbon. It can only be hoped that they can conduct themselves better than Unsporting Madrid.
Baton charges and a bit of football. Anyone speak Spanish?
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