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Wanderers suffered a damaging blow in their pursuit of Championship safety – but Phil Parkinson may argue his side could have got a helping hand from the referee.
It was Bolton old boy Lukas Jutkiewicz who gave Birmingham City their third consecutive victory, significantly boosting Blues’ own chances of avoiding the drop.
But it was another blast from the past – referee Oliver Langford – who left another indelible mark on the contest by turning down two big penalty appeals in the second half, both for handball.
Langford did send off Che Adams for a dreadful challenge on substitute Craig Noone, briefly giving hope to Bolton’s biggest home crowd of the season that a result was within reach.
But Parkinson’s side lacked the nous and calm heads they needed around the penalty box to make their way back into the tie – and have now seen a healthy advantage on the bottom three whittled away, potentially to two points.
Wanderers maintain a five-point gap on Barnsley, who have a game in hand, but one wonders what effect this defeat against 10 men will have in the longer-term, particularly heading to one of their perennial bogey teams, Derby County, this weekend.
That the team was without a shot on target against 11 men or 10 will be a major concern to the Bolton boss, whose side has yet to score more than a single goal in any game since mid-December.
The first real chance of a drab first half fell to Will Buckley, who found himself in plenty of space after a quick corner from Sammy Ameobi on the right. The chance was not in the same league as the one he missed at Elland Road at the weekend – but his header towards goal was hardly convincing.
Neither side managed to construct anything meaningful for the next half hour, the game meandering from hotly-contested throw-in to misplaced pass.
Wanderers were marginally the better side in what became a nervous, bitty encounter summed up by a David Davis shot just before the break which nearly cleared the upper tier.
Adam Le Fondre’s link-up play with Ameobi down the right did, at times, threaten to open the visitors up but the nervousness in possession often undid anything positive.
And when the Whites found themselves hemmed in with a few minutes left in the half, the resulting free kick gave Birmingham their foothold in the game.
Jacques Magahoma swung in a free kick from the left flank turned into the roof of the net with aplomb by former Bolton terrace darling Jutkiewicz for only his second league goal this season, and the first in more than six months.
‘The Juke’ as he became known in a seven-month stint with the Whites in 2014, came awfully close to signing under Dougie Freedman. And, with hindsight, the Scot’s failure to add a bit of muscle to his attack that summer hastened his downfall.
One of the downsides to a bumper home crowd is an amplified response when things are not going well. And there were significant pockets of supporters who let their feelings be known when referee Langford brought the half to a close.
The gap between Le Fondre and the rest of the team looked greater than ever at the start of the second half, with home fans now thoroughly unimpressed with the lack of cohesion in Wanderers’ play.
Jutkiewicz volleyed one speculative effort at goal from distance but Birmingham were content to hold on to what they had – forcing Parkinson into an uncharacteristically early change.
Derik was sacrificed for an extra winger in Noone, with the team shifting to a 4-4-1-1 formation.
The difference was immediate. Referee Langford turned down a strong penalty appeal when Buckley’s cross appeared to hit Wes Harding on the arm.
The West Midlands official had not endeared himself to Boltonians back at the start of the season when he failed to punish Hull City’s David Meyler for a dangerous challenge on Jem Karacan.
But no sooner had Parkinson’s blood stopped boiling from the penalty appeal, the Wanderers boss was on his feet again as Adams ploughed through Noone 20 yards from goal.
Langford made the correct call this time – sending the Birmingham striker off after a moment’s consideration.
Wanderers had to go for broke from there. Parkinson brought on Zach Clough for an overdue appearance and also exchanged the fresher Jan Kirchhoff for Karl Henry in midfield. Or so it appeared, as within five minutes of the German entering the field of play, he too pulled up with a hamstring problem which left him impact on the game severely limited.
Home fans were urging their team forward with every touch of the ball. Le Fondre looped one shot on to the roof of the net and then had another legitimate penalty claim turned down when he flicked Noone’s cross towards goal – his shot bouncing off the hand of Michael Morrison and away to safety.
With a man advantage the mood turned to desperation. Wanderers unable to produce enough composure around the penalty box to force David Stockdale into a meaningful save.
Every poor Bolton touch was cheered in the away end, now in party mood.
Such was the importance placed on a point, Ben Alnwick came up for a stoppage-time corner, getting to the ball ahead of his team-mates, but putting a header wide.
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It was Bolton old boy Lukas Jutkiewicz who gave Birmingham City their third consecutive victory, significantly boosting Blues’ own chances of avoiding the drop.
But it was another blast from the past – referee Oliver Langford – who left another indelible mark on the contest by turning down two big penalty appeals in the second half, both for handball.
Langford did send off Che Adams for a dreadful challenge on substitute Craig Noone, briefly giving hope to Bolton’s biggest home crowd of the season that a result was within reach.
But Parkinson’s side lacked the nous and calm heads they needed around the penalty box to make their way back into the tie – and have now seen a healthy advantage on the bottom three whittled away, potentially to two points.
Wanderers maintain a five-point gap on Barnsley, who have a game in hand, but one wonders what effect this defeat against 10 men will have in the longer-term, particularly heading to one of their perennial bogey teams, Derby County, this weekend.
That the team was without a shot on target against 11 men or 10 will be a major concern to the Bolton boss, whose side has yet to score more than a single goal in any game since mid-December.
The first real chance of a drab first half fell to Will Buckley, who found himself in plenty of space after a quick corner from Sammy Ameobi on the right. The chance was not in the same league as the one he missed at Elland Road at the weekend – but his header towards goal was hardly convincing.
Neither side managed to construct anything meaningful for the next half hour, the game meandering from hotly-contested throw-in to misplaced pass.
Wanderers were marginally the better side in what became a nervous, bitty encounter summed up by a David Davis shot just before the break which nearly cleared the upper tier.
Adam Le Fondre’s link-up play with Ameobi down the right did, at times, threaten to open the visitors up but the nervousness in possession often undid anything positive.
And when the Whites found themselves hemmed in with a few minutes left in the half, the resulting free kick gave Birmingham their foothold in the game.
Jacques Magahoma swung in a free kick from the left flank turned into the roof of the net with aplomb by former Bolton terrace darling Jutkiewicz for only his second league goal this season, and the first in more than six months.
‘The Juke’ as he became known in a seven-month stint with the Whites in 2014, came awfully close to signing under Dougie Freedman. And, with hindsight, the Scot’s failure to add a bit of muscle to his attack that summer hastened his downfall.
One of the downsides to a bumper home crowd is an amplified response when things are not going well. And there were significant pockets of supporters who let their feelings be known when referee Langford brought the half to a close.
The gap between Le Fondre and the rest of the team looked greater than ever at the start of the second half, with home fans now thoroughly unimpressed with the lack of cohesion in Wanderers’ play.
Jutkiewicz volleyed one speculative effort at goal from distance but Birmingham were content to hold on to what they had – forcing Parkinson into an uncharacteristically early change.
Derik was sacrificed for an extra winger in Noone, with the team shifting to a 4-4-1-1 formation.
The difference was immediate. Referee Langford turned down a strong penalty appeal when Buckley’s cross appeared to hit Wes Harding on the arm.
The West Midlands official had not endeared himself to Boltonians back at the start of the season when he failed to punish Hull City’s David Meyler for a dangerous challenge on Jem Karacan.
But no sooner had Parkinson’s blood stopped boiling from the penalty appeal, the Wanderers boss was on his feet again as Adams ploughed through Noone 20 yards from goal.
Langford made the correct call this time – sending the Birmingham striker off after a moment’s consideration.
Wanderers had to go for broke from there. Parkinson brought on Zach Clough for an overdue appearance and also exchanged the fresher Jan Kirchhoff for Karl Henry in midfield. Or so it appeared, as within five minutes of the German entering the field of play, he too pulled up with a hamstring problem which left him impact on the game severely limited.
Home fans were urging their team forward with every touch of the ball. Le Fondre looped one shot on to the roof of the net and then had another legitimate penalty claim turned down when he flicked Noone’s cross towards goal – his shot bouncing off the hand of Michael Morrison and away to safety.
With a man advantage the mood turned to desperation. Wanderers unable to produce enough composure around the penalty box to force David Stockdale into a meaningful save.
Every poor Bolton touch was cheered in the away end, now in party mood.
Such was the importance placed on a point, Ben Alnwick came up for a stoppage-time corner, getting to the ball ahead of his team-mates, but putting a header wide.
Source