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On an icy afternoon on Winter Hill, who better to hold his nerve from the penalty spot and rescue a point than Eidur Gudjohnsen?
Britney Spears was still a fresh-faced chart act the last time the Icelander celebrated scoring a goal – that in a play-off semi-final against Ipswich Town in May 2000 – but from the moment he placed the ball on the spot, there was no questioning the outcome.
“I don't get nervous; I don't think I ever have taking a penalty, even in my younger days,” he told The Bolton News after the final whistle.
“It is a natural thing. Everything stops, all eyes are on you. You can feel the anxiousness in the stands but all you think about is putting the ball in the net.”
Considering the grand stages he graced since his last Bolton goal, you would forgive Gudjohnsen having a fuzzy memory of his strike against Ipswich; and you’d probably be correct.
“Yes I remember it,” he said with a grin etched on his face. “It was here right?”
The Championship may lack the finesse of La Liga or the big names of the Champions League but Gudjohnsen is clearly enjoying the chance to extend his career in such familiar surroundings.
He is also quite happy to make jokes at his own expense.
The 36-year-old netted nine penalties in his career but asked if he’d ever missed one, he was happy to point out the one blot on his record.
“I haven’t missed one for the teams I have played for,” he said. “But I did for Iceland about 60 years ago.
“I remember it well because it was too nonchalant. I had just scored two and I still think they are searching for the ball.
“That's the only one I can remember.”
Gudjohnsen shrugged off any praise for the goal, admitting some disappointment in the way Wanderers had struggled to get their game going against a resilient Leeds side.
“We put ourselves in trouble by not starting the game well enough and conceding the early goal,” he said.
“We showed character to come back but all of us in the dressing room know we can play better than that.
“Of course it’s nice to get a goal, it pleases me, but it’s really about three points. We want to be moving up the table as quickly as possible.”
But for a saving block by Leeds defender Liam Cooper, Gudjohnsen believes he would have been celebrating a second goal 15 minutes from full-time.
Wanderers appealed for handball when the Icelander’s volley cannoned out to safety but the striker was convinced it was heading towards goal.
“I caught it as sweetly as I could,” he said. “If the defender doesn't get in the way, it is going in all day.
“I think it was handball. I doubt if it hit him in the face he would be standing up and shaking it off.
“My first reaction was that he handled it. I am not going to say that was the game breaker though I would have liked to see it go in.”
On what was an ugly day weather-wise, the football rarely raised the pulses of the 18,000-plus crowd at the Macron.
And Gudjohnsen admits he failed to sparkle as his side ground out a point and lived to fight another day.
“I will be honest and say I lacked a bit of freshness; maybe the whole team. I don't know what it was,” he said.
“We didn't start the game well and we ended up chasing a bit.
“We got caught up into their style of play rather than playing our own game.
“But a point is a point. We’ll take it and know we have to play better than that next weekend.”
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Britney Spears was still a fresh-faced chart act the last time the Icelander celebrated scoring a goal – that in a play-off semi-final against Ipswich Town in May 2000 – but from the moment he placed the ball on the spot, there was no questioning the outcome.
“I don't get nervous; I don't think I ever have taking a penalty, even in my younger days,” he told The Bolton News after the final whistle.
“It is a natural thing. Everything stops, all eyes are on you. You can feel the anxiousness in the stands but all you think about is putting the ball in the net.”
Considering the grand stages he graced since his last Bolton goal, you would forgive Gudjohnsen having a fuzzy memory of his strike against Ipswich; and you’d probably be correct.
“Yes I remember it,” he said with a grin etched on his face. “It was here right?”
The Championship may lack the finesse of La Liga or the big names of the Champions League but Gudjohnsen is clearly enjoying the chance to extend his career in such familiar surroundings.
He is also quite happy to make jokes at his own expense.
The 36-year-old netted nine penalties in his career but asked if he’d ever missed one, he was happy to point out the one blot on his record.
“I haven’t missed one for the teams I have played for,” he said. “But I did for Iceland about 60 years ago.
“I remember it well because it was too nonchalant. I had just scored two and I still think they are searching for the ball.
“That's the only one I can remember.”
Gudjohnsen shrugged off any praise for the goal, admitting some disappointment in the way Wanderers had struggled to get their game going against a resilient Leeds side.
“We put ourselves in trouble by not starting the game well enough and conceding the early goal,” he said.
“We showed character to come back but all of us in the dressing room know we can play better than that.
“Of course it’s nice to get a goal, it pleases me, but it’s really about three points. We want to be moving up the table as quickly as possible.”
But for a saving block by Leeds defender Liam Cooper, Gudjohnsen believes he would have been celebrating a second goal 15 minutes from full-time.
Wanderers appealed for handball when the Icelander’s volley cannoned out to safety but the striker was convinced it was heading towards goal.
“I caught it as sweetly as I could,” he said. “If the defender doesn't get in the way, it is going in all day.
“I think it was handball. I doubt if it hit him in the face he would be standing up and shaking it off.
“My first reaction was that he handled it. I am not going to say that was the game breaker though I would have liked to see it go in.”
On what was an ugly day weather-wise, the football rarely raised the pulses of the 18,000-plus crowd at the Macron.
And Gudjohnsen admits he failed to sparkle as his side ground out a point and lived to fight another day.
“I will be honest and say I lacked a bit of freshness; maybe the whole team. I don't know what it was,” he said.
“We didn't start the game well and we ended up chasing a bit.
“We got caught up into their style of play rather than playing our own game.
“But a point is a point. We’ll take it and know we have to play better than that next weekend.”
Source