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On Monday evening, the final match of the 6th round of the English Premier League took place. A true surprise at the beginning of the season was provided by Portsmouth, who faced mid-table team Bolton. Bolton captain Kevin Nolan's accurate strike decided the outcome of this match and helped his team earn three more points.
Pompey 0 - 1 Bolton
21‘ [0 – 1] Kevin Nolan
In the 4th minute, Portsmouth threatened the Bolton goal when Sean Davis struck with his right foot from 16 meters, hitting the post. In the 13th minute, Pompey once again tried to break through the opponent's defense, but the team's most effective striker, Nwankwo Kanu, had his shot deflected by Jussi Jaaskelainen.
After six minutes, home goalkeeper Matthew Taylor shot from nearly 11 meters, but this time Bolton's goalkeeper was unbeatable and directed the ball next to the post.
The visitors responded with a counterattack that ended with a precise shot into David James' goal. Team captain Kevin Nolan struck from 16 meters, sending the ball into the top right corner of the goal, leaving D. James no chance. Slightly shocked after conceding the goal, Portsmouth took the initiative. Gary O'Neil lifted the ball into the penalty area, where N. Kanu's header missed the target.
In the 33rd minute, Pompey defender and captain Dejan Stefanovic took the initiative and decided to shoot from a fairly long distance, but it was an easy and welcome gift for J. Jaaskelainen. Just like the first goal, before the Portsmouth defenders could return to defense, the 'Trotters' team caught them off guard. El-Hadji Diouf lifted the ball to team newcomer Nicolas Anelka, but his shot was confidently caught by D. James.
At the end of the first half, from a comfortable position, active S. Davis tried to equalize, but his shot flew wide of the far corner of the goal. Shortly after, the same player's long-range shot was also saved by J. Jaaskelainen.
In the second half, as expected, Bolton created the first attack. Nicolas Anelka shot from a distance - inaccurately. A few minutes later, Portsmouth striker Benjani Mwaruwari's shot from the right edge was slightly off target. In the middle of the second half, Harry Redknapp introduced another forward Lua Lua onto the field. Then the game calmed down, and all attention was focused on the center of the pitch.
After a long break, Bolton defender K. Nolan had a great opportunity to score from just three meters, but his shot flew over the crossbar. In the 79th minute, Portsmouth defender Glen Johnson shot from a very long distance towards the far corner of the goal, but the ball passed wide.
After this moment, the home team tried various ways to snatch at least a point in this match, but even after the referee added 5 minutes, Pompey's team couldn't do it, and referee Uriah Rennie's whistle marked the first defeat of Portsmouth eleven in these competitions. This meant that there were no more teams in the English Premier League that hadn't experienced at least one defeat.
