The Club is delighted to announce that it has reached agreement with Dinamo
Zagreb for the transfer of Croatian midfielder, Luka Modric.
Personal terms
have been agreed with the player and he will now undertake a medical and apply
for a work permit.
A fourth 1-1 draw in a row was recorded at White Hart Lane as Luka Modric
watched Steed Malbranque level the score after Bolton took a lead against the
run of play early in the second half.
Despite the visitor's need for the
points being far more acute, it was Juande Ramos' side who went all out for the
win, with goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi making several crucial stops to keep it at
three games unbeaten for his team in their bid to avoid the drop. The opening
stages were devoid of significant goalmouth action, bar a Robbie Keane effort
from the edge of the area on an afternoon with more of an August feel to it than
an April one. But spring it is and Bolton, with a packed support in the away end
to bolster their survival instincts, were sure to prove resolute opponents with
all to play for. Steed Malbranque bent a shot just wide on 27 minutes as the
team in white before Gilberto, making his full league debut, unleashed a shot
that took Ali Al Habsi by surprise, the goalkeeper clutching on after the
Brazilian tried his luck from 25-30 yards. Modric was watching on from the
Directors' Box as the team asserted control of a rapidly elapsing first half
without really putting Al Habsi in a state of high alert. He was though when a
Gilberto free-kick took a deflection and rattled against the post on the stroke
of half-time. Alan Hutton was replaced after the interval by Tom Huddlestone,
with Didier Zokora dropping in at right-back. It was a Bolton substitute who
made an immediate impact. Stelios pouncing to score a minute after the break
when failure to clear a low cross was punished, the Greek beating Radek Cerny to
the ball. The lead, thankfully, did not last too long and when Jermaine Jenas
pushed the ball into Robbie Keane, the striker spun and shot. His effort
deflected fortunately into the path of Malbraque, who steered low past Al Habsi.
Michael Dawson was immediately withdrawn, Huddlestone dropped in at centre half,
Keane retreated into midfield and Darren Bent was introduced into attack. Keane
then came close to securing an advantage when a Berbatov cut back was met by the
skipper, who jinked past a couple of challenges before pulling the trigger, only
for the body of Al Habsi to rescue his side. He wouldn't have had a prayer if
Malbranque had hit the target with his far post volley from Keane's cross just
before the hour mark. Al Habsi did brilliantly to tip away Berbatov's arrowed
low drive towards the bottom corner as the tide of pressure threatened to
overwhelm the visitors. A Huddlestone throughball sent Bent clear but the
bouncing ball favoured Al Habsi and the goalkeeper managed to grab. The
goalscorer Malbranque made way for Jamie O'Hara with 13 minutes left on the
clock, but it was Jonathan Woodgate who next came close to troubling the
scoreboard when he flashed a header just wide from an O'Hara corner.
Bent
then watched in agony as Danny Guthrie cleared his header off the line and
finally, in added time, Berbatov looked odds-on to bag the winner only to head
O'Hara's free-kick over unmarked in front of goal. It was one of those days...
Dimitar Berbatov matched his goals tally of last season with a clinical
finish in the 1-1 draw against Wigan on Saturday.
On a blustery afternoon in
the north west the Bulgarian slotted us into the lead but it was one that could
not be maintained and a third draw in a row was recorded after Emile Heskey's
first half leveller. In truth, Wigan created more and better openings in the
second half and looked most likely to score, but a draw it remained. The JJB
Stadium was far from full but, behind the goal protected by Radek Cerny in the
first half, the Spurs thousands were out in force again and there was a gasp in
the opening seconds when Robbie Keane squeezed into the area and gave Chris
Kirkland an early feel of the ball. Just five minutes were on the clock when a
sublime ball from Tom Huddlestone set Aaron Lennon speeding away down the right.
He managed a precise delivery and, after a little flick off a defensive head,
Berbatov stole in to steer beyond Kirkland for his 23rd goal of the season -
matching last term's tally. Marcus Bent then warmed Cerny's hands for the first
time in the afternoon, but he was soon to be picking the ball out of his net.
Heskey shrugged off the attentions of Didier Zokora before shooting on the turn
and beating the Czech low to his left. Wigan warmed to their task, marshalled by
Michael Brown snapping at yellow heels all over the park, but the quality was
coming from those on unfamiliar, not to mention patchy, turf. Wilson Palacios
attempted to capitalise on Jermaine Jenas' loss of possession just after the
half hour mark and unleashed a swerver that Cerny only managed to grab at the
second attempt. Berbatov was flattened in the area by Mario Melchiot in an
incident referee Mr Probert mustn't have seen otherwise Kirkland would have been
in the firing line from 12 yards. Steed Malbranque and Berbatov both came close
to restoring the advantage before a Michael Dawson header from close range was
cleared off the line by Ryan Taylor. Wigan were quicker out of the blocks at the
beginning of the second half, a Taylor free-kick being well charged down by the
wall before Alan Hutton did well to muscle the same player out of a clear route
on a goal. At the other end the advancing Kirkland did particular well in
foiling Lennon's shot after the wide man had sneaked into the right hand side of
the penalty area. A drilled Berbatov ball came close to setting Keane free, but
the Wigan Bent did find himself in the clear moments later and rattled his
effort off the underside of the crossbar after our defences were dissected with
ease down the left side. The home team were cranking up the pressure ahead of
Jenas working himself a shooting chance after some neat approach play, but his
shot under pressure went high. Cerny was forced into a block from Heskey after a
cross from Antonio Valencia, which was followed by the introduction of Darren
Bent in place of Keane. Heskey was removed from the equation due to injury and
Antoine Sibierski took to the field and was straight in the thick of it with a
volleying chance that got the crowd excited but came closer to disturbing the
corner flag.
A long-range effort from Stewart Downing cancelled out a first half opener to
deny the team home victory over Middlesbrough on Saturday.
An own goal on 25
minutes after Aaron Lennon fired back across goal saw the initiative grabbed,
but Boro rallied in the second half and were rewarded when Downing's speculative
shot took a slight deflection and bounced into the bottom corner. It was
probably a fair outcome in a game that didn't really spark into any thrills and
spills, while Boro will be satisfied with an effective away-day display. The
Boro bench held arms aloft in the first couple of minutes when Radek Cerny
spilled a shot from Jeremie Aliadiere and Alfonso Alves tapped in the rebound.
Celebrations were promptly curtailed by the flag of the assistant. The early
alert did not really affect the ebb and flow of the performance, with the team
in white posing much of the threat, but the final ball was not possessing the
composure required on a quick surface. There was an exquisite final ball on 11
minutes when Lennon seized the ball back in midfield and set Robbie Keane
darting down the left. Keane delivered a flighted and measured centre onto the
head of Dimitar Berbatov, but Mark Schwarzer was able to field on his line. The
Australian goalkeeper was called on again on 19 minutes when Jermaine Jenas
forged a route through using his speed and looked set to add to his account
before Schwarzer advanced off his line and denied the midfielder a memorable
goal. The deadlock was broken six minutes later when Berbatov picked up the
scraps of an attack and simply lofted back into the danger zone, where Lennon in
turn drilled into the six yard box and the knee of Jon Grounds diverted the ball
past a helpless Schwarzer. Boro launched a robust reaction without creating a
significant threat and the scoreline remained unaltered at the break. It was not
an enthralling contest immediately after the interval, a David Wheater header
knocked off the line by Lennon offered the visitors a little hope, but there was
not a huge degree of urgency. Michael Dawson and Jonathan Woodgate were not
offering any encouragement to the strikeforce of Aliadiere and and Alves with
strong performances. A Berbatov shot hit the post before a Lennon cross was
flicked off the head of Woodgate, but just beyond the Bulgarian. Gareth
Southgate responded with the introduction of England Under-21 international Adam
Johnson, quickly followed by the Brazilian Fabio Rochemback. Downing tried his
luck with 68 minutes on the clock from all of 30-odd yards, his shot clipping
the head of Jenas and flying into the bottom left hand corner. It had a
quietening effect on an atmosphere that was bubbling up with the crowd
attempting to stir the team into further goals. Darren Bent was introduced in
place of Lennon in an attempt to inject more drive into attack, but the momentum
was with Boro and Alves sped through with ten minutes remaining and rolled the
ball just wide with only Cerny to beat. Substitute Gilberto then had to throw
himself in the way of a goalbound shot from Tuncay, before Aliadiere spun and
shot just wide in the closing moments.Tom Huddlestone came close to forcing a
howler out of Schwarzer when his free-kick bounced back off the goalkeeper, but
he lurched forward and redeemed himself to ensure this contest ended level.
Dimitar Berbatov converted to send us into an early lead, but Blackburn hit back
in the first half and took a share of the spoils from the Ewood Park
encounter.
Rovers were the more purposeful in the fourth minute when
Radek Cerny - in for the injured Paul Robinson - crashed his clearance into
David Bentley before succeeding in kicking only as far as Andre Ooijer. The
Dutchman floated back in with the goalkeeper in retreat but a late punch ensured
the score stayed level. It only did so for another two minutes as good work from
Steed Malbranque resulted in the returning Jermaine Jenas prodding inside to
where the waiting Berbatov was waiting to poke home. The influential Jenas was
pulling the strings and if Berbatov had been a touch quicker off the mark it
might have been two following the midfielder's raking pass, before Malbranque
sent him striding clear only to see his strike foiled by the advancing Brad
Friedel. The first half of the first period brought a really brisk and confident
display - very far removed from the second half of last week's meeting with
Newcastle. Just before the half-hour mark though, the home side were level and
it stemmed from a Bentley shimmy leaving Pascal Chimbonda in his slipstream. The
England man then calmly passed inside for Morten Gamst Pedersen to slide past
Cerny. It was a clinically executed move. The game then stumbled towards
half-time after which Blackburn introduced the more attack-minded Brett Emerton
for Ooijer. Berbatov engineered the first action of the half when he latched
onto the loose ball following a hoof from Michael Dawson and smacked goalwards,
but Friedel was equal to the challenge. Moments later Jason Roberts worked Cerny
after being played in by Emerton before Didier Zokora set Lennon scurrying away,
the little wideman picking out Malbranque, who possibly took a touch too many
before testing Friedel down to his right. Bentley fizzed in a shot just after
the hour mark in a rare passage of play for either side that didn't break down
at the final ball. However, there was a promising one from Berbatov across the
face of goal and it took a last-ditch interception from Ryan Nelson to deny
Robbie Keane a similar opening to his own in the opening minutes. There was a
double change in the 72nd minute, Chimbonda and Malbranque making way for
Gilberto and Tom Huddlestone. The home side opted for the offensive and
introduced Benni McCarthy in place of Pedersen. Darren Bent replaced Keane for
the final 11 minutes. The home crowd were later yelling for a penalty following
a Gilberto block on Bentley - Mr Walton was having none of it. There wasn't the
greatest of intensity or urgency in the final stages in the quest for maximum
points and a draw was probably a fair reflection of the balance of play,
although Roque Santa Cruz could have snatched a maximum return in stoppage time
after bundling his way through to a contest with Cerny, which the goalkeeper
won.
