When Matt Holland caught the back four square again it looked as though Bolton's defensive frailties had returned, but Jaaskelainen flung himself to his right to palm away his shot and Charlton's most dangerous spell was over.The introduction of Stelios Giannakopoulos after the break briefly promised to give Bolton the cutting edge they needed. Scott Parker ran on to Jason Euell's flick to slip clear of the back four, but tried to stroke the ball past Jussi Jaaskelainen, who spread himself wide enough to deflect his effort.The Bolton goalkeeper looked less assured when he flapped at Claus Jensen's floated free-kick. Hreidarsson brought down the striker Kevin Davies a couple of yards outside the box, and when Bolton were given a second chance at the free-kick after the Charlton wall failed to retreat 10 yards, the captain, Jay-Jay Okocha, curled the ball beyond the unsighted goalkeeper, Dean Kiely, only to see it cannon back off the crossbar before being scrambled behind for a corner.More than 20 minutes elapsed before the seams of Bolton's patched-up rearguard were seriously tested. With Anthony Barness and Bruno N'Gotty both suffering hamstring injuries in the Portsmouth d?cle, Nicky Hunt was drafted in alongside the Brazilian and Charlton, four-goal winners themselves at fellow-strugglers Wolves, were undoubtedly a cause for concern.But despite fielding an unchanged side in the continuing absence of the injured Paolo Di Canio, Charlton were the first to wobble. "We sorted one end out today, the midfield was different class," Bolton's manager said after-wards, "but the front end wasn't there, unfortunately.'' Give the state of his goals-against column and his treatment table, it is no surprise Allardyce brought the experienced defender Emerson Thome, signed on a free transfer only 24 hours earlier from Sunderland, straight into his starting line up. Plugging a leaky defence is one thing, and Bolton proved admirably watertight here, but if they are to avoid their usual struggle against the drop they must do more than that against the likes of Charlton. They could and should have recorded their first victory of the season, and were cruelly denied when Hermann Hreidarsson kicked Youri Djorkaeff's goal-bound effort off the line in the dying minutes, but despite a second half of almost constant pressure they just could not score.Defence sorted: now Sam Allardyce must find some penetration. After shipping four at Portsmouth in midweek the goal rush has abated for Bolton, but the tide has yet to turn.
Even last season's want-away defender Alpay was introduced for the final 13 minutes. Aston Villa are a happy ship.Aston Villa 3 Thatcher og 8, Angel 10, 16Leicester City 1 Izzet 53Half-time: 3-0 Attendance: 32,274. A few months ago, such a miss would have destroyed the Colombian, but he is now a far brighter player, on and off the field.Truth be told, there is not a single dissenter in the camp these days. The Foxes were finally doing the things they do best, namely tackling and working hard to win back the ball "It doesn't matter," Adams snapped. "I still don't take anything positive out of the game."The home side continued to create the better chances and Angel will still be wondering how he managed to head over Ian Walker's bar from less than a yard. The penalty for dissent proved decisive, as Muzzy Izzet stepped up to curl the ball past the diving Thomas Sorensen.It was not quite game on, but at least Aston Villa were no longer passing the ball around unchallenged. With five minutes gone, Dickov was felled 25 yards out and, after Ronnie Johnsen's Ferdinand-like back-chat, saw the free-kick move 10 yards closer to goal.
"Inexcusable," was Adams' frank verdict.Adams does not suffer fools gladly, so few happy words would have been exchanged in the interval. At least the rollicking had an effect, as the visitors re-emerged far more hungry. Booked for dissent, the former England striker inexplicably continued ranting at the referee. Mr Bennett bit his tongue for as long as possible, but eventually had to give Ferdinand his marching orders. Indeed, with 20 minutes gone, Paul Dickov sent Keith Gillespie's fine cross wide. It was that sort of afternoon for Micky Adams' men, who were further hampered when Steve Howey departed injured after 30 minutes.Misfortune, however, played no part in Les Ferdinand's petulance just before half-time.
