Southampton vs Bolton, what a football match

It’s nice when two teams have something to play for, isn’t it?

Last night was a classic football match as relegation strugglers Southampton took on Bolton Wanderers, Champions League .

Bolton should have had the match swept up by halftime; instead they took a rickety 1-0 lead into the break after a superb display of football which should have yielded then at least 2 more goals. Jay Jay Okocha made piercing passes and switched play to great effect while El Haji Diouf was active. Southampton was all over the place and couldn’t keep the ball. They were struggling mightily with 3 center backs and couldn’t string more than 3 passes together. It looked like relegation to me.

For the second half coach Harry Redknaap switched into a 4-4-2 and suddenly we had a match on our hands. Southampton gained in confidence with every pass as Bolton deepened into their own half to protect their lead. From around the 60th minute both team traded spells of pressure and Bolton missed clear chances on many occasions.

Others in impressive form last night included Fernando Hierro and both Finnish goalkeepers Jussi Jaaskelainen of Bolton and Southampton’s Antti Niemi.