After receiving half time break teamtalk, United lads seems being refill with passion on their blood. They are now in more controll of the game since the start of the second period.
A much better performance from Newcastle in second half as the lads push the Bolton side almost entirely back in their box and defend. Both United winger are busy delivering crosses into Bolton’s penalty area, Milner on the right and N’Zogbia /Duff on the left.
Newcastle has couple of efforts on goal in this half from Milner who sees his shot been deflected away and a long shot effort from Carr. Duff uncluckily being booked for something that is far from being a decent foul in 55 minutes. A pretty ridiculous decision by the referee Wiley.
N’Zogbia has a very good fifty-fifty chance in 61 minutes before being denied by a brilliant challenge from Ricardo Gardner, with Owen as an option in the centre, the ball finally ends up in Jaaskelainen’s hands.
Newcastle keep pushing forward and give the Trotters no chance to go far from their own defensive area, a very much improvement from the first half by the Magpies and only needed a little touch of lady luck.
In minutes away from an hour mark, Milner launch a wonderful curling cross and finds the head of Rozehnal but his attempt on goal was too high over the bar. Bolton once again saves. Minutes later, Jaaskeliainen is forced to tip over another Milner’s looping effort.
In 76 minutes Tamir Cohen replaces former macKem’s midfielder Gavin McCann who is immediately receives the barracking from the Toon Army for time wasting. Three minutes later it was Bolton’s new boy who’s heading to the dressing room and replaced by Jlloyd Samuel.
Keegan made his first changes of the game to call off Damien Duff in 80 minutes and bring in Kazenga Lualua. Milner switch the position to the left with Kazenga fill in the right post.
Stephen Carr, who is having his quite good performance today, plays in a diagonal ball forward from Newcastle’s half and looking for Ameobi, it’s a decent 84 minutes effort but Shola’s steer his header wide of Jaaskelainen’s net.
And again, twominutes later, another ball forward effort from Carr looking for the run of Owen, this time ex-United defender Andy O’Brien is there on the right time with a superb challenge to deny Newcastle’s skipper a clean run on goal. Newcastle have a corner but the delivery is poor this time.
Bolton is in fact having most of the second-half busy defending, but they have one decent chance to disturb Keegan’s welcome macth near the death of normal time. Guthrie sends Davies skittering at United left wing with a lovely pass, he holds it up for a while,and wins a corner.
The delivery resulting their best chance of the match. The ball drops to Samuel three yards out from Given’s goal, no Newcastle defenders near him and with a quite open space, Trotters defender looks surely must score but he whacks it straight onrushing Given.
Full time at St. James’ Park in a first game in charge for King Kev resulting one point. A quite disppointed one in terms of the great expectation before the match start, but I can take it as Keegan was without seven first team players today and he only have les than three days to prepare for this match.
TEAMS LINE UP:
Newcastle United FC:
Shay Given, Stephen Carr, Jose Enrique, Steven Taylor, Claudio Cacapa, David Rozehnal, James Milner, Charles N’Zogbia, Damien Duff (Kazenga LuaLua, 80), Shola Ameobi, Michael Owen (c)
Subs: Steve Harper, James Troisi, David Edgar, Andy Carroll
Bolton Wanderers FC:
Jussi Jaaskelainen, Kevin Nolan (Ivan Campo, 67), Ricardo Gardner, Kevin Davies, Gretar Steinsson, Danny Guthrie, Gavin McCann (Tamir Cohen, 76), Joey O’Brien, Lubomir Michalik, Andy O’Brien, Matt Taylor (Jlloyd Samuel, 79)
Subs: Ali Al Habsi, Stelios
Referee: Alan Wiley
Attendance: 52, 250