FA Cup Match Report: Liverpool 0 - 0 Bolton Wanderers

It was a night to remember for the Bolton Wanderers supporters as their team defended valiantly to frustrate Brendan Rodger's Liverpool side. In order to stand any chance of earning a a result Bolton had to be solid at the back, and they were.

Adam Lallana made his first start since New Year's Day and he nearly marked this event with a goal for the home side. He was a constant threat as he often weaved his way around the Bolton defence however he was thwarted on numerous occasions by brilliant blocks from the Bolton back four.

Bolton's clearest chance of the first half fell to the former Crystal Palace defender Dean Moxey. After Emre Can headed clear from an in swinging free-kick from Liam Feeney it fell to the 29 year old who stuck the ball with venom. Despite the near perfect connection the ball whizzed passed Simon Mignolet's goal.

This was the Wanderers' only half decent chance of the half, Neil Lennon's men spent most of it camped inside their own half trying to keep that vital clean sheet. Liverpool's build up play was exceptional in the first half. They passed the ball in cute triangles with confidence, and seemed to do everything apart from put the ball in the back of the net.

Raheem Sterling and Adam Lallana were lively throughout, and Bolton had to resort to some dirty tactics to deny them. When Raheem Sterling was fed in behind Bolton's back-line Matt Mills had to literally rugby tackle the young England forward and haul him down onto the floor. Referee, Kevin Friend, had to book the Bolton captain, which was probably the correct decision.

Mr Friend was a controversial figure at Anfield, as he denied Liverpool two genuine penalty calls. The host's first shout for a penalty was dubious, however their second was clear-cut. The referee was not convinced and let the play continue to the Kop's dismay.

Mills was nursing a yellow card for his earlier foul on Sterling and there was an awkward moment for the former Reading man when Lazar Markovic went to ground under his challenge. Referee Kevin Friend was unmoved, prompting a furious reaction from Rodgers on the touchline. In all honesty it was a foul which should have prompted the referee to show Mills at least a second yellow card, Bolton were lucky.

The theatrical fall probably helped our cause.

Nevertheless the team were passionately playing for Neil Lennon which resulted in some dogged, yet effective defending. Tim Ream jockeyed Javier Manquillo well, and didn't give him the chance to cut inside and put Bogdan's goal in threat all half.

The second half prompted Lennon to make a chance, which saw Emile Heskey be replaced by youngster Conor Wilkinson. Heskey, who was playing against his former employers, received a standing ovation from both sets of supporters who obviously still have fond memories of the veteran striker.

Each Bolton player put in their shift, however one player shone throughout, and that isn't due to his bright ginger barnet. Adam Bogdan was given a game due to Lennon's cup rotation scheme, and he was exceptional.

The Hungarian goalkeeper might be banned from posting about Notts County on Facebook (ahem), but he was a safe pair of hands through the contest, as he frustrated Liverpool's attackers time after time. He displayed his agility to parry away a fierce Glen Johnson drive and Bogdan was very composed throughout, with his handling being a joy to watch.

Bogdan was out bravely to save at Sterling's feet when Philippe Coutinho unpicked the Bolton defence with a 53rd-minute through ball. The goalkeeper made another fine stop 10 minutes later by getting down to push a Coutinho drive far away from the bottom corner, he was terrific.

Liverpool had 24 shots in total, with Bogdan saving 9 of those which were on target. Manquillo made way for Fabio Borini as Liverpool chased victory during the latter stages of the game, this saw the Italian forward force Bogdan into another splendid stop with 19 minutes to play. The Hungarian got his fingertips onto Borini's curling effort, which helped him to terrifically tip it around the post.

Bogdan to the rescue! Watch keeper pull off a heroic nine saves for @OfficialBWFC to keep Liverpool at bay. #WeAreIn https://t.co/UFliA9CWKB

— BT Sport Football (@btsportfootball) January 24, 2015

The travelling 5,500 fans were in fine voice throughout which definitely rubbed off on the players.

Speaking to the club's official website after the game, man of the match Adam Bogdan said:

"The supporters were amazing today,"

"From start to finish, even during the warm-up, our sector was full and everyone was really positive and very loud.

"Sometimes we could only hear them. I think it was a really good day out for them and we really appreciate it because they definitely made our jobs easier."

He continued:

"Everybody gave 100% today and we are fully deserving of getting a replay at Macron Stadium,"

"It's a really good feeling. Full credit to the team, we all played really well and defended really strongly.

"We knew that if we wanted to get a result then we'd need to put in an extremely good performance.

"Everyone was up to the task and we managed to come away with the draw. Now who knows what will happen, we will take them on our home turf and hopefully we can go through.

He then said:

"It was good to keep a clean sheet but that is my job. It is my aim as well. Every time you play you want to play your best.

"Obviously as a goalkeeper when you come up against a team like Liverpool, at Anfield, you expect to face a lot of shots. But like I said I just did my job."

The FA Cup fourth round replay between Bolton Wanderers and Liverpool will be played at home at the Macron Stadium in due course.

The draw for the fifth round will take place between this Monday's One Show, which nobody under 65 watches.