Pre-season : Houston Dynamo - Bolton Wanderers

Bolton4Europe · Jul 21, 2011

Forgot to post this one for some reason.

I've decided I'm gonna go to Bradford (Sunday - 15:00) and Bury (Wednesday - 20:00), see if we have improved from last year's pre-season game I went to, where we got beat 3-0 by Oldham Athletic and we signed the 18 year old who scored the hattrick.

Houston Dynamo 0-2 Bolton Wanderers

Klasnic and Davies with the goals.

Wanderers: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson (Connolly 82), Knight (Wheater 46), Cahill, Robinson, Chung-Yong (Alonso 66), Gardner (Muamba 60), Pratley (Mark Davies 46), Klasnic (Blake 60), Kevin Davies (Obadeyi 82).

Report from BWFC website.

Bolton ended their pre-season tour to America in fine style by beating Houston Dynamo 2-0 to lift the Charities Cup.

Goals in each half by strike partners Ivan Klasnic and Kevin Davies helped secure the win, with both players converting from close-range in the 31st and 58th minute respectively.

Martin Petrov once again impressed for Bolton after having a helping hand in the second goal and also hitting the post late on.

Defensively the Whites looked solid with Jussi Jaaskelainen only having a one real save of note to make, which was a brilliant low block from Danny Cruz deep into the second half.

The win ensured Bolton lifted silverware for the second successive pre-season following the triumph in the Carlsberg Cup against Toronto FC last summer.

Jussi Jaaskelaien, Gretar Steinsson and Ricardo Gardner all returned for Wanderers after sitting out the 3-1 win over Orlando City three days earlier, while there was a third successive start for Darren Pratley in central midfield. Zat Knight also made the team after limping out of the Orlando game with a minor thigh complaint.

The Whites carried on where they left off in Orlando during the first half as they once again looked solid, taking a deserved 1-0 lead into the break.

Although Cam Weaver missed a gilt-edged chance to put the Dynamo in front after just four minutes, it was Bolton who bossed the play from that moment onwards during the opening 45 minutes.

Gary Cahill had two headed opportunities to put Bolton in front inside the opening quarter of an hour, while Martin Petrov forced Tyler Deric into a decent save with a shot from outside the area.

After 17 minutes, Ivan Klasnic was on the receiving end of a blow to the head when the Houston goalkeeper aimed a clearance right in his direction. For a couple of moments it looked like the Croatian forward might not be able to continue - but after treatment he was back up on his feet and he gained revenge in the best possible manner.

Klasnic put Bolton ahead on half-hour with a typical predatory goal from inside the six-yard box. A Gretar Steinsson throw was headed on by Kevin Davies and Klasnic stuck out a boot to bury the ball into the back of the net.

The goal sent Bolton clicking into gear and two minutes after the restart Davies came close to doubling the lead after embarking on a surging run down the left channel. But after getting goal-side, his shot from 12 yards was repelled by the legs of Deric.

Wanderers comfortably saw out the remainder of the first half, and Owen Coyle took the half-time break as a chance to make two substitutions. Pratley and Knight were withdrawn with David Wheater and Mark Davies introduced.

The second-half followed a similar pattern to the first with Bolton looking superior in all areas of the park.

Kevin Davies effectively made the game safe in the 58th minute when he tapped-in from close-range following excellent wing play from Petrov.

The Bulgarian raced clear down the left-touchline, rounded the goalkeeper and after sending across a precise centre from a yard inside the byline, the Wanderers skipper had the simplest of tasks.

In the final 30 minutes Owen Coyle made a series of substitutions to give his players more minutes under their belts, but it didn't halt Bolton's continuity as they still carved Houston open on a number of occasions.

Marcos Alonso - playing as a left winger - twice hit the side-netting, Kevin Davies had a goal disallowed for offside and Petrov whipped a shot from 25 yards against the outside of the box after being played in by Robbie Blake.

Credit to Houston as they played their part in a fair and competitive tie, and they could have had a goal to their name 15 minutes from time when Danny Cruz hit a thunderous low effort which Jaaskelainen turned around the post with a brilliant low save.

Substitute Jason Carey also had a goal ruled-out for offside, but it was Bolton's night as they moved one step closer to nearing full fitness ahead of season's opener against QPR on August 13.

The Wanderers squad will head back to England on Friday ahead of their next challenge - a friendly with Bradford at Valley Parade on Sunday.
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Pre-season : Houston Dynamo - Bolton Wanderers

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Pre-season : Houston Dynamo - Bolton Wanderers

Bolton4Europe Active Member

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