Sunday, August 29, 2004
Bolton 1-0 Liverpool: FT Report
PA
Kevin Davies left Liverpool's big-money buys on the floor after the industrious striker grabbed the winning goal to earn Bolton a 1-0 win at the Reebok Stadium.

Milan Baros skips past Nicky Hunt (LaurenceGriffiths/GettyImages)
For a club that continues to view avoiding relegation as a success, it is a remarkable start.

# Third place suits Davies

While manager Sam Allardyce will be delighted, new Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez has a lot of work to do if they are to regain a place at the top table.

He was looking for his team to bounce back after the defeat by Graz AK in the Champions League but they carried little threat at the Reebok.

Benitez gave debuts to Spanish duo Xabi Alonso and Luis Garcia for this game.

Alonso was drafted in from Real Sociedad for �7million while Garcia moved from Barcelona for �llion.

However, it will take both players time to get adjusted to the demands of the Barclays Premiership.

Benitez packed the midfield with Czech Republic striker Milan Baros the lone striker.

Liverpool central defender Sami Hyypia was left in a daze inside the first minute when Davies backed into him.

Davies caught Hyypia's face with an elbow but TV pictures indicated that it was an accident.

Hyypia was able to resume after treatment on the pitch, although he looked in a little bit of discomfort.

There were reports his nose had been broken and he had difficulty seeing out of his right eye.

He eventually came off in the 14th minute and was replaced by Djimi Traore, who could well be playing his last game for the club ahead of a move to Everton.

Alonso and Garcia were struggling to get into the game and Baros scuffed a shot wide of the post from a good position.

However, Alonso found space and set up Dietmar Hamann, only for his effort to go wide of the target.

Play switched down the other end and Jamie Carragher did well to block Gary Speed's goal-bound effort.

Greece winger Stelios Giannakopoulos got on the end of a cross from Jay-Jay Okocha after 30 minutes but failed to -*test*-('") Jerzy Dudek with his header.

Steven Gerrard was beginning to win a lot of possession in the middle of the park and tried to steer a shot beyond Jussi Jaaskelainen, only to see his effort go wide.

The England star then picked out Stephen Warnock with a good crossfield ball with Bolton pushing up.

Warnock showed pace to skip away down the left before delivering a cross into the path of Garcia.

He flicked the ball on but there was no-one in the area to take advantage of the opportunity.

Bolton took the lead after 38 minutes when former Southampton striker Davies scored his first goal of the season.

He ghosted in at the far post to toe-poke a shot into the net after Henrik Pedersen had got away from Josemi down the left before delivering a low cross.

Gerrard evades Ivan Campo's challenge (NealSimpson/Empics)

It was good work by Pedersen, who has been recalled to the Denmark squad for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers.

Liverpool manager Benitez decided to boost his attacking options at the start of the second half.

He brought on Djibril Cisse to partner Baros with Warnock being replaced despite a bright display on the left flank.

Bolton almost added a second in the 46th minute with the industrious Davies sending in a powerful 25-yard effort.

Poland goalkeeper Dudek, however, was equal to it and did well to turn the ball around the post.

Pedersen then put Traore under pressure when Davies flicked on a cross from Bruno N'Gotty. The Liverpool defender was happy to hack the ball into the stand.

Liverpool were again forced on the back foot when Ivan Campo found space but his effort did not trouble Dudek.

Pedersen was giving Josemi a headache with his insistence on taking him on and the Spaniard looked uncomfortable.

Dudek produced another fine save in the 58th minute, clawing away a header from the Tunisian Radhi Jaidi.

This was a good spell of pressure by Bolton who were stringing together a number of neat passes.

Okocha got away a minute later and Dudek did well to get down early and get his body behind the ball.

Liverpool retaliated and Gerrard picked out Garcia, only for his effort to go the wrong side of the post.

Cisse was becoming increasingly frustrated at the lack of service but Bolton were continuing to dominate in midfield.

Allardyce rang the changes, bringing on Les Ferdinand and Kevin Nolan for Davies and Giannakopoulos.

With time running out, Liverpool pushed forward and Garcia found the net only for his effort to be ruled offside by referee Uriah Rennie.

Cisse could have equalised for Liverpool in the 87th minute but sent a shot wide from a tight angle under pressure from Jaidi.

# Third place suits Davies

Bolton matchwinner Kevin Davies believes the club can move forward this season following their 1-0 win over Liverpool at the Reebok Stadium.

Davies, who scored his first goal of the season after good work by Henrik Pedersen, said: 'We're in third place and we can't ask for anything more than that.

'In the past two seasons we've struggled at the start of the season but this time we've got off to a great start and there's the chance to take this forward.

'We worked hard and we deserved the points.'

Defender Bruno N'Gotty was not sure if it was offside, claiming: 'I don't know but it was a good win, a very good win for us. This is a strong team. We have a difficult match to come against Manchester United but we are all very determined.'

Referee Uriah Rennie ignore the pro-*test*-('")s against the disallowed goal from new signing Luis Garcia (LaurenceGriffiths/GettyImages)

Bolton boss Sam Allardyce was pleased that his side held on to record their first clean sheet of the season.

Manager Sam Allardyce was thrilled with the way his side full of bargains went about their business.

'The players were a little tired after the trip to Southampton in midweek but they used their skills and brains to good effect,' he said.

'It was a fantastic victory. Liverpool have spent a lot of money and have a lot of talent.

'For us to play to that tempo is tribute to the players. We used the ball correctly and played well as a team. Defensively we were solid.

'Our main striker (Davies) got off the mark and the victory was something I felt we deserved.'

New Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez admitted tonight it could take 'three or four months' for the team to be up and running.

Benitez said: 'We need to continue to work hard. It will take some time to get things right. We need three or four months to have a powerful team.''

Benitez felt hard done by after the linesman ruled out a 'goal' from �llion signing Luis Garcia on his debut.

He found the net after Dietmar Hamann played a neat ball over the top to split the Bolton defence.

Benitez said: 'We have seen TV pictures and it is is a goal. The problem is we cannot do anything about it now.'

The former Valencia coach was forced to change his side early on after defender Sami Hyypia was injured in an accidental clash with Davies.

Hyypia suffered a broken nose and blurred vision in his right eye and was replaced by Djimi Traore.

The injury to Hyypia could now delay Traore's arrival at Everton after they claimed a fee had been agreed with Liverpool.

Asked if Traore would be going to Everton, Benitez said: 'At this moment, no.'

He admitted that that had missed Hyypia's presence on the pitch.

'Sami is good in the air and losing him made it a lot more difficult for us. But I felt we did enough in the first half to win the game. We had three good opportunities.'

Not only was it Garcia's first game in England, �7million signing Xabi Alonso also made his bow.

Both players struggled but Benitez said: 'They played well but can play better. They need to understand that referees allow contact here.'

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