Wanderers were denied all three points late on against Ipswich Town at Macron Stadium on Saturday afternoon in their latest Sky Bet Championship encounter.
Following a goalless first period, the deadlock was broken shortly after the restart when Gary Madine turned the ball home from close range after Josh Vela had flicked on Antonee Robinson’s cross.
The Suffolk outfit were level with eight minutes of the game remaining however as Joe Garner was given the simple task of tapping home from a yard out, ensuring that the spoils were shared come full time.
TEAM NEWS
Karl Henry made a return to the starting line-up for Wanderers, with Dorian Dervite and Will Buckley also coming in from the off for Phil Parkinson’s men.
FIRST HALF
The Whites started brightly, with Josh Vela being denied by Bartosz Bialkowski inside 20 seconds when finding himself in on goal after good work from Gary Madine.
That sprightly beginning however was halted soon after, with Sammy Ameobi requiring some lengthy treatment after seemingly sustaining a blow to the face. Luckily however, the wideman was fit enough to continue.
Thereafter, the flow of the game ebbed somewhat with neither side able to make their mark inside the opening ten minutes or so.
Will Buckley did enjoy a sight of goal shortly afterwards having shrugged off the challenge of a couple of Ipswich shirts before cutting inside and unleashing an effort goalwards from the edge of the box, but it was a shot which failed to trouble Bialkowski.
Wanderers did have the ball in the back of the net with 15 minutes gone meanwhile, but the whistle was long blown for a foul by Madine on Martyn Waghorn before David Wheater hooked an effort home.
Buckley meanwhile had another chance of his own halfway through the first period, with his cut inside and subsequent driven effort deflecting off an Ipswich man and into the waiting arms of the Tractor Boys’ keeper.
It was very much fits and starts in terms of meaningful action, with Ipswich really unable to make any inroads into Bolton territory while the Whites were struggling to find the target once inside Town’s box.
The visitors however enjoyed arguably the best chance of the half in the 40th minute, with captain Luke Chambers seeing his close-range effort somehow kept out by Ben Alnwick, with Waghorn’s follow-up failing to trouble the shot-stopper.
That opportunity certainly livened the game up meanwhile, and with three minutes of additional time indicated at the end of the first period courtesy of the stoppage for Ameobi’s injury, Bolton pushed to open the scoring but to no avail.
SECOND HALF
As the second half got underway, the visitors appeared with renewed vigour and looked set to potentially open the scoring early on, only for Dervite to calmly dispossess Waghorn at the crucial moment.
Those inside Macron Stadium however didn’t have to wait much longer for the game’s first goal, with Madine – who else – calmly slotting home from close range after Vela had flicked on an Antonee Robinson cross.
And it was almost two just a matter of minutes later, with Derik seeing a header from a corner cleared away for a corner with Bialkowski stranded.
It was certainly the confidence boost that the Whites needed after a testing first half, and Madine came agonisingly close to his second with 22 minutes remaining as Wanderers’ No.22 Filipe Morais – a second half substitute – whipped in a delightful cross to the back post which the big man narrowly headed wide.
Having scored a free-kick in the Trotters’ last home league game against Hull City, Madine tried his luck once again with 15 minutes left on the clock, but Bialkowski got down well at his near post to parry his thunderous effort away from goal.
Morais almost put the result to bed shortly after too after collecting an Ameobi cross on the edge of the 18-yard box, but his drive whizzed agonisingly wide of the upright with Macron Stadium on its collective feet.
But with eight minutes remaining, the visitors were level as Garner turned the ball home from a yard out after collecting McGoldrick's cross.
A goal which came against the run of play, they almost had another on the stroke of the 90 as Waghorn's thunderous drive rattled the woodwork with Alnwick stranded.
But come the full time whistle, the spoils were shared at Macron Stadium.
FULL TIME