Newcastle United 1 Bolton Wanderers 0

11:50am Tuesday 26th August 2008

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Goal: 1-0: Owen (71mins, glanced home Geremi’s cross from edge of sixyard box)
Bookings: J O’Brien (28mins, foul), Taylor (62, foul)
Referee: Steve Bennett (Orpington) – Got the penalty decision right, and controlled the game effectively 6
Attendance: 47,711
Entertainment: ***

	Newcastle	Bolton
Shots on	3	1
Shott off	2	8
Corners	4	6
Fouls	12	12
Offsides	2	2

NEWCASTLE (4-4-2)
8 GIVEN: Turned the game in Newcastle’s favour when he saved Nolan’s penalty
6 Beye: Gave little away in defence, but struggled to contribute going forward
5 Taylor: Lost his head somewhat when he conceded the penalty
7 Coloccini: Produced another impressive display and has settled in superbly
5 N’Zogbia: Made a number of overlapping runs, but some dreadful deliveries
5 Milner: Battled away gamely, but too many through balls lacked quality
6 Butt: Held things together in midfield negating Bolton’s numerical superiority
5 Guthrie: Repeatedly conceded possession early on, but his influence increased
6 Gutierrez: Commitment commendable even if some of his passing went awry
6 Martins: Linked play well before a groin problem forced him off
4 Duff: Never comfortable in attack and failed to recover from a knock

Subs
Geremi (for Duff, 46mins): Provided an excellent cross for Owen’s winner 6
Owen (for Martins, 53mins): Two chances, one goal - Newcastle’s captain remains the club’s most important player 7
(not used): Harper, Enrique, Bassong, Edgar, Smith.

BOLTON (4-5-1): Jaaskelainen 6, Steinsson 6, A O’Brien 5, Cahill 6, Samuel 6, Davies 6, Nolan 5, J O’Brien 6 (Riga 85mins), MUAMBA 7, Taylor 6 (Gardner 65mins 5), Elmander 5 (McCann 15mins 5). Subs (not used): Al Habsi, Hunt, Shittu, Dzemaili.

MAN OF THE MATCH
SHAY Given – Michael Owen will hog the headlines, but Newcastle would surely have lost had their goalkeeper not made an excellent save to keep out Nolan’s penalty.