Bolton's Martin Petrov and Mark Davies rescued a late point as Blackpool let a 2-0 lead slip.
Substitutes have hand in Wanderers' comeback
Bolton Wanderers' Martin Petrov and Mark Davies rescued a late point as Blackpool let a 2-0 lead slip.
In a superb team goal which involved Rodrigo, Kevin Davies, substitute Ivan Klasnic, Johan Elmander and Mark Davies, the latter slotted home with just minutes to spare in a frantic match at the Reebok Stadium.
Ian Evatt put Blackpool in the lead after Wanderers had dominated possession before the half-hour mark, however a whipped-in cross from Elliot Grandin was converted by the centre-half for his first ever Premier League goal.
The visitors doubled their lead in the second half when Luke Varney flicked on another Grandin corner in what was almost a carbon copy of the first goal.
Ian Holloway's men went for more goals as Owen Coyle brought on Petrov, Klasnic and Rodrigo to bolster a Trotters comeback.
And that is exactly what they did as Petrov hammered home a fantastic effort into the top corner and Mark Davies finished off a glorious team goal.
Mark Davies was only drafted in as a last-minute replacement for Stuart Holden who failed a fitness test because of a thigh injury. The 22-year-old was Coyle's only change from the side that beat Newcastle United 5-1 the week before.
And Matt Taylor was looking to celebrate his 29th birthday and 350th league appearance with a goal early on however the left-footer's second-minute free-kick was comfortably saved by Richard Kingson.
That initial chance sparked a spell of dominance in terms of possession from the home side with Holloway's men finding it hard to get the ball out of their own half.
Bolton skipper Kevin Davies had a near-post effort saved by the Ghana shot-stopper to his left after the striker was put through by Elmander.
Dipping volley
Taylor then saw his dipping volley go on to the roof of the net and Lee Chung-Yong had his 10-yard shot blocked by a combination of Stephen Crainey and Evatt.
However despite their dominance, Bolton could not make their chances pay and were made to rue a host of missed opportunities when Grandin's whipped-in corner was flicked on into the net by Evatt in the 29th minute.
Before then DJ Campbell had seen his shot take a double deflection off Gary Cahill and Zat Knight which had Jussi Jaaskelainen beaten.
Taylor-Fletcher could have made it 2-0 almost immediately following Evatt's opener, but the 29-year-old ballooned over a cut-back from Charlie Adam.
The provider of that chance nearly recorded the goal of the season when he surged into the Bolton half and from a good 50 yards out, attempted to beat Jaaskelainen who was off his line, but the strike just cleared the crossbar.
Bolton, who were looking to extend their unbeaten run to five matches, found themselves 2-0 down when Varney flicked on a Grandin cross just before the hour mark.
Coyle made an immediate double substitution, sending on Petrov and Rodrigo for Taylor and Lee.
Fortunate
The Seasiders were fortunate when Kingson's half-stop from Elmander's strike bounced the wrong side of Kevin Davies in the six-yard area and then Jaaskelainen had to block a Campbell strike with his leg.
Campbell's pace was proving a real danger on the break and the striker poked the ball just wide of the far post having found space on the right of the penalty area after a neat one-two with the impressive Grandin.
But it was the home side who turned the game on its head when Petrov lashed in a volley from a Mark Davies pass with less than 15 minutes to go.
Blackpool rode their luck a couple of times following that goal with a couple of goalmouth scrambles which saw Kingson palm away a Mark Davies header and Crainey later cleared a Petrov volley off the line.
But the final goal was certainly the moment of the match when Mark Davies started the move and slotted the ball home expertly following a string of neat passes which involved several of the Bolton contingent.
After snatching a point, Bolton remain fifth in the table and extend their unbeaten run to five matches.
| Bolton Wanderers |
Team Statistics |
Blackpool |
| 2 |
Goals |
2 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 10 |
Shots on Target |
6 |
| 15 |
Shots off Target |
7 |
| 7 |
Blocked Shots |
4 |
| 4 |
Corners |
4 |
| 8 |
Fouls |
16 |
| 0 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 2 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 70.7 |
Passing Success |
75 |
| 28 |
Tackles |
17 |
| 64.3 |
Tackles Success |
94.1 |
| 48.6 |
Possession |
51.4 |
| 55.1 |
Territorial Advantage |
44.9 |
|
