Toronto FC 1 Wanderers 1 (Wanderers win 4-3 on penalties)
Posted on: Thu 22 Jul 2010
Bolton Wanderers produced a winning end to their tour of North America by lifting the Carlsberg Cup with 4-3 shoot-out victory over Toronto FC.
Jussi Jaaskelainen was the hero for the Whites by saving two spot-kicks.
Stuart Holden, Robbie Blake, Sean Davis and Gary Cahill had all scored from 12 yards before the number 22 dove to his left to repel Oscar Cordan's kick and win the silverware for his team.
It had been a pretty even contest with the score finishing at 1-1 through 90 minutes.
The impressive Matt Taylor had given the Whites the lead on 28 minutes with a bundled finish from close-range.
But Toronto drew level on the stroke of half-time when Maicon Correa did excellently to finish off a breakaway move by planting a header into the corner of the net.
Ironically, the two goals were the only real chances in a sedate first-half and although the game was much more open after the interval, neither side could grab the crucial winner meaning penalties were the only way of deciding the contest.
Joey O'Brien - starting a match for the first time in 20 months - was named in a strong looking starting eleven, which lined up in a 4-5-1 formation led, as always, by skipper Kevin Davies.
O'Brien played 45 minutes and again showed no signs of such a prolonged period on the sidelines as he was never afraid to put a foot in when necessary in a rather low key first-half.
It was a quiet opening quarter with the pace of the game at a tempo usually associated with pre-season.
It took until the 27th minute before Bolton registered a shot - Matt Taylor seizing on Zat Knight's cushioned header with the left-sided midfielder shooting into the arms of goalkeeper Jon Conway from the edge of the box.
Taylor was however to have a little more fortune two minutes later when he was in the right place to give Wanderers the lead.
It was another fluent team move, similar to the two goals scored at Charleston.
Muamba, Taylor and Petrov combined on the left with the number seven continuing his run into the box to prod in the Bulgarian's scuffed cross from six yards out.
Jussi Jaaskelainen made his first real contribution of the tour just after the half-hour mark when he comfortably held Fuad Ibrahim's long-range shot before wide men Petrov and Taylor combined again on 39 minutes.
This time Petrov connected perfectly with a delicious curling delivery aimed to the far post which Taylor, having ghosted in unmarked, couldn't direct goalwards from an acute angle.
Toronto drew level with the last kick of the first half with Maicon Correa finishing off a swift counter-attack with a well directed header.
A full stretched dive from Jaaskelainen couldn't prevent the equaliser as former Spain international Mista and Jacob Petersen broke swiftly before the latter crossed invitingly for Correa to nod back across goal and into the back of the net.
Gretar Steinsson, Jlloyd Samuel and Sean Davis were the only three changes made at the break by Wanderers while Toronto manager Preki opted to give a selection of his squad players a run-out by making seven changes.
One of those players, O'Brian White, came close to making an immediate impact when he found space inside the box, only to drill just wide of Jaaskelainen's right post two minutes after the restart.
As for Bolton, Steinsson too could have scored on 50 minutes when he glanced a header across goal from Petrov's corner and Matt Taylor gave the much-hyped Jabulani ball a test with a free-kick that was blazed a few feet wide from all of 40 yards.
It was a much livelier start than had been witnessed in the opening period and even a flurry of further changes by Owen Coyle - Tamir Cohen, Andy O'Brien, Johan Elmander, Ricardo Gardner and Stuart Holden were all brought on at the hour mark - failed to take anything away from a second-half which Wanderers shaded.
Petrov tested substitute keeper Milos Kocic from a similar position to his goal against Charlotte and Elmander had a goal ruled out for offside.
But amidst the succession of Bolton attacks, Toronto should have taken the lead with 66 minutes played when Nicholas Lindsay had two bites at the cherry to score from close-range, only for the substitute winger to see Steinsson block his original shot and Jaaskelainen scramble to save the rebound.
The crowd were off their feet when Kocic produced acrobatics to prevent Cohen from scoring in successive games with a diving header ten minutes from time, and they were up once again when they felt Gary Cahill brought down the tricky Lindsay inside the box, however referee DePiero was unmoved.
In the final minute of normal time, Ricardo Gardner spurned a golden chance to grab a dramatic last minute winner when he volleyed over, but for all the chances, a winning goal wasn't conjured up and the Carlsberg Cup moved into penalties for the third successive year.
After Steinsson struck the bar with the first kick, Gala gave the hosts the advantage by converting from 12 yards.
Holden got Wanderers' account up and running when he drilled down the middle before Jaaskelainen saved Hscanovics effort to keep the shoot-out score at 1-1.
Robbie Blake, O'Brian White, Sean Davis, Nicholas Lindsay and Gary Cahill were all successful before the Jaaskelainen once again did the business for Bolton by thwarting Cordon to give the tour a very positive end.
Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Ricketts (Steinsson 46), Cahill, Knight (Andy O'Brien 60), Robinson (Samuel 46), Petrov (Blake 76), Joey O'Brien (Davis 46), Muamba (Gardner 60, Ward 90)), Mark Davies (Cohen 60), Taylor (Holden 60), Kevin Davies (Elmander 60) (Subs not used: Bogdan, Lainton, Riga, Basham)
Toronto: First half: Conway, Usanov, Hscanovics, Henry, Medic, Ibrahim , Vukovic, Joseph, Peterson, Mista, Santos
Second half: Kocic Adjelkovic, Lindsay, White, Medic (Cordan 75), Henry (Stinson 77), Ent, Nane, Gala, Hscanovics,
Jussi Jaaskelainen was the hero for the Whites by saving two spot-kicks.
Stuart Holden, Robbie Blake, Sean Davis and Gary Cahill had all scored from 12 yards before the number 22 dove to his left to repel Oscar Cordan's kick and win the silverware for his team.
It had been a pretty even contest with the score finishing at 1-1 through 90 minutes.
The impressive Matt Taylor had given the Whites the lead on 28 minutes with a bundled finish from close-range.
But Toronto drew level on the stroke of half-time when Maicon Correa did excellently to finish off a breakaway move by planting a header into the corner of the net.
Ironically, the two goals were the only real chances in a sedate first-half and although the game was much more open after the interval, neither side could grab the crucial winner meaning penalties were the only way of deciding the contest.
Joey O'Brien - starting a match for the first time in 20 months - was named in a strong looking starting eleven, which lined up in a 4-5-1 formation led, as always, by skipper Kevin Davies.
O'Brien played 45 minutes and again showed no signs of such a prolonged period on the sidelines as he was never afraid to put a foot in when necessary in a rather low key first-half.
It was a quiet opening quarter with the pace of the game at a tempo usually associated with pre-season.
It took until the 27th minute before Bolton registered a shot - Matt Taylor seizing on Zat Knight's cushioned header with the left-sided midfielder shooting into the arms of goalkeeper Jon Conway from the edge of the box.
Taylor was however to have a little more fortune two minutes later when he was in the right place to give Wanderers the lead.
It was another fluent team move, similar to the two goals scored at Charleston.
Muamba, Taylor and Petrov combined on the left with the number seven continuing his run into the box to prod in the Bulgarian's scuffed cross from six yards out.
Jussi Jaaskelainen made his first real contribution of the tour just after the half-hour mark when he comfortably held Fuad Ibrahim's long-range shot before wide men Petrov and Taylor combined again on 39 minutes.
This time Petrov connected perfectly with a delicious curling delivery aimed to the far post which Taylor, having ghosted in unmarked, couldn't direct goalwards from an acute angle.
Toronto drew level with the last kick of the first half with Maicon Correa finishing off a swift counter-attack with a well directed header.
A full stretched dive from Jaaskelainen couldn't prevent the equaliser as former Spain international Mista and Jacob Petersen broke swiftly before the latter crossed invitingly for Correa to nod back across goal and into the back of the net.
Gretar Steinsson, Jlloyd Samuel and Sean Davis were the only three changes made at the break by Wanderers while Toronto manager Preki opted to give a selection of his squad players a run-out by making seven changes.
One of those players, O'Brian White, came close to making an immediate impact when he found space inside the box, only to drill just wide of Jaaskelainen's right post two minutes after the restart.
As for Bolton, Steinsson too could have scored on 50 minutes when he glanced a header across goal from Petrov's corner and Matt Taylor gave the much-hyped Jabulani ball a test with a free-kick that was blazed a few feet wide from all of 40 yards.
It was a much livelier start than had been witnessed in the opening period and even a flurry of further changes by Owen Coyle - Tamir Cohen, Andy O'Brien, Johan Elmander, Ricardo Gardner and Stuart Holden were all brought on at the hour mark - failed to take anything away from a second-half which Wanderers shaded.
Petrov tested substitute keeper Milos Kocic from a similar position to his goal against Charlotte and Elmander had a goal ruled out for offside.
But amidst the succession of Bolton attacks, Toronto should have taken the lead with 66 minutes played when Nicholas Lindsay had two bites at the cherry to score from close-range, only for the substitute winger to see Steinsson block his original shot and Jaaskelainen scramble to save the rebound.
The crowd were off their feet when Kocic produced acrobatics to prevent Cohen from scoring in successive games with a diving header ten minutes from time, and they were up once again when they felt Gary Cahill brought down the tricky Lindsay inside the box, however referee DePiero was unmoved.
In the final minute of normal time, Ricardo Gardner spurned a golden chance to grab a dramatic last minute winner when he volleyed over, but for all the chances, a winning goal wasn't conjured up and the Carlsberg Cup moved into penalties for the third successive year.
After Steinsson struck the bar with the first kick, Gala gave the hosts the advantage by converting from 12 yards.
Holden got Wanderers' account up and running when he drilled down the middle before Jaaskelainen saved Hscanovics effort to keep the shoot-out score at 1-1.
Robbie Blake, O'Brian White, Sean Davis, Nicholas Lindsay and Gary Cahill were all successful before the Jaaskelainen once again did the business for Bolton by thwarting Cordon to give the tour a very positive end.
Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Ricketts (Steinsson 46), Cahill, Knight (Andy O'Brien 60), Robinson (Samuel 46), Petrov (Blake 76), Joey O'Brien (Davis 46), Muamba (Gardner 60, Ward 90)), Mark Davies (Cohen 60), Taylor (Holden 60), Kevin Davies (Elmander 60) (Subs not used: Bogdan, Lainton, Riga, Basham)
Toronto: First half: Conway, Usanov, Hscanovics, Henry, Medic, Ibrahim , Vukovic, Joseph, Peterson, Mista, Santos
Second half: Kocic Adjelkovic, Lindsay, White, Medic (Cordan 75), Henry (Stinson 77), Ent, Nane, Gala, Hscanovics,
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