Match Report: Bolton Wanderers 1 Swansea City 1

Bolton started out a bit slow. Swansea City's high pressing, coupled with an unfamiliar formation, left Wanderers tentative. Well, who am I kidding? Bolton start almost every match tentatively. The Wanderers quickly found themselves behind after a Scott Sinclair goal at the five-minute mark. The winger cut inside of Gretar Steinnson, who forced him towards the middle but was a little too far behind. Unfortunately, no one from central midfield was there to close down, and the curling effort found the top corner.

All was not lost though. Just a few minutes later, Mark Davies played a perfectly waited through-ball down the left wing. Martin Petrov ran on to it and cut the ball back across the box. Arriving at the perfect time was Chris Eagles, who finished very nicely, leveling the match at 1-1. Swansea dominated possession for the rest of the first half, but Bolton probably created the better chances. It was very entertaining, although frayed nerves combined with events elsewhere probably prevented most Bolton supporters from finding much joy. To find out about the second half, follow us along the jump.

The second half started out very bad for Bolton Wanderers. Swansea came out flying. They continued to dominate the ball and create chances. All of us know we have shown little ability to hang on for a draw this season, so it was really a nerve-wracking opening fifteen minutes. But the goal never came for the Swans. Bolton held firm, or perhaps the finishing let the Welsh side down. Either way, it was still 1-1.

Bolton eventually came into the match, storming forward in an attempt to get a winner. This left the back door wide open, and Swansea had several more chance son the counter-attack, even though they were seeing far less of the ball overall. David Ngog came on for Kevin Davies, and looked very good. He made several nice runs and had some opportunities, but always looked to pass instead of shoot. This is probably a confidence issue. In the end, we just couldn't create a chance for the man who would have buried it, Ivan Klasnic. So we got a point, which is not the worst thing in the world.

Still in the relegation zone? Yes. Still looking shaky defensively? Yes. Still struggling to score goals? Yes. Still control our own destiny? Yes. And that last one is the most important. This Tuesday's match against Aston Villa is critical. I just hope Mark Davies, who went off injured in added time, is fit. And I hope Owen Coyle resists the urge to experiment with our formation and personnel. We need three points.