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Bolton catch Lokomotiv to give European trip lift

UEFA Cup first round, first leg: Bolton's maiden journey into European competition took off last night when Jared Borgetti scored…

Stuart James at the Reebok Stadium
Fri Sept 16 2005 - 01:00

UEFA Cup first round, first leg: Bolton's maiden journey into European competition took off last night when Jared Borgetti scored a late winner after El-Hadji Diouf, so often the villain in the eyes of opposition supporters, had enhanced his status among home fans with a well-taken second-half equaliser.

The goals will give Bolton hope ahead of their trip to Bulgaria in a fortnight's time, though their failure to heed Sam Allarcyce's pre-match warning about the imperative of keeping a clean sheet could yet prove crucial. Boban Jancevski was on hand to sweep home a first-half goal for Plovdiv that leaves Bolton with a sizeable task if they are to reach the lucrative group stage.

Allardyce fulfilled his promise to make changes following Sunday's insipid home draw against Blackburn. Nicky Hunt, Ricardo Gardner and Rahdi Jaidi all returned, while there was also a place for Hidetoshi Nakata, making his first appearance since signing last month.

Nakata's inclusion was not enough to prevent Bolton falling behind in the 28th minute. Plovdiv exploited Henrik Pedersen's lack of positional sense at left back with a classic counterattack. Vladimir Ivanov advanced on the right side to get behind the Dane before delivering an inviting cross into the Bolton area. It was met, sublimely, by Jancevski, who swept the ball past Jussi Jaaskelainen.

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Bolton began the second half with much greater urgency as both Gardner and Stelios Giannakopoulos took up more advanced positions on the flanks.

Crosses into the visitors' penalty area frequently caused consternation. Finally, with 19 minutes left, Bolton drew level - with Borgetti soon sending the fans away happy.

BOLTON WANDERERS (4-5-1): Jaaskelainen; Hunt, N'Gotty, Jaidi, Pedersen (Borgetti, 58); Gardner, Campo, Okocha (Nolan, 67), Nakata, Giannakopoulos; Diouf. Subs not used: Walker, Davies, O'Brien, Faye.

LOKOMOTIV PLOVDIV (4-5-1): Kolev; Ivanov, Kotev, Giordani, Tunchev; Iliev (Vundev, 80), Halimi, Dimitrov, Krizmanic, Petrov; Jancevski. Subs not used: Kamburov, Stoynev, Zlatinski, Mihailov, Georgiev, Hristev.

Referee: D Ceferin (Slo).