Football: Bolton lifted by Blake

Crystal Palace 2 Warhurst 8, Gordon 19 Bolton Wanderers 2 Beards ley 36, Johansen 66 Attendance: 18,66

Derrick Whyte
Saturday 27 September 1997 23:02 BST
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It Looked all over after 18 minutes with Palace two goals to the good and reaching for the cruise control but Bolton came back strongly and could have plundered all the points.

Palace's manager, Steve Coppell, was not exactly impressed, except perhaps by the contribution Nathan Blake and Peter Beardsley made to Bolton's revival. "When you go 2-0 up you think the job is more or less done. My players clearly thought so. They took their foot off the pedal," he said. "But Bolton did well in the second half and in Blake and Beardsley they have a fine smash and grab combination."

Paul Warhurst opened the scoring after only eight minutes when he controlled a through ball from Jamie Fullarton and slid his shot past the goalkeeper Keith Branagan. Dean Gordon doubled the lead 10 minutes later after he pounced on a half-cleared free-kick from Attilio Lombardo and scored with a shot that went in off the far post.

The home side looked as if they would run away with the match and might well have increased their lead after 32 minutes had it not been for Branagan's double save from Kevin Muscat and Warhurst. But then, against the run of play, Bolton pulled a goal back in the 35th minute when Blake sent in a low cross from the right and Beardsley was first to the ball to score from close range.

Bolton looked the better team after the interval, especially once Paul Warhurst had missed a good chance for Palace. In the 62nd minute, Bolton missed an equally easy opportunity when Blake shot at Miller, but four minutes later Bolton were level. Michael Johansen scored from almost point- blank range after Blake had sent another low cross into the goalmouth.

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