It could have been so much more for Bolton though had their skipper Kevin Nolan made the most of an opportunity from just a couple of yards out in the dying seconds of the game.

The match was by no means a classic encounter and a draw is not the outcome that either side had wanted given their recent loss of form over the last few weeks but the Wanderers, on reflection, will be the most happier of the two sides to have come away with something.

Sam Allardyce's team had a number of chances in the opening ten minutes of the match with Nigerian playmaker Jay-Jay Okocha going close with a deflected free kick which dipped just wide of Tomasz Kuszczak's right hand post..

This was soon followed by a powerful header by Nolan which sailed over the crossbar after a pinpoint cross from the left by Jamaican international wing back Ricardo Gardner.

Stelios Giannakopoulos also went close for the Trotters but his intervention at the far post wasn't enough to trouble the young goalkeeper Kuszczak, who has made the Baggies goalkeeping jersey his own since the on-loan Chris Kirkland picked up an injury in the middle of the season..

Albion went close themselves just a few minutes before half time but a mixture of good defending by Nicky Hunt and good goalkeeping by Jussi Jaaskelainen prevented defender Curtis Davies from making the most of a long throw in by veteran full back Steve Watson.

Both teams struggled to make a breakthrough in the second half but West Brom should have gone ahead with just over twenty minutes to go as Diomasy Kamara scuffed his shot wide from close range after Bolton's defenders had failed to clear.

Kamara was immediately replaced by teenage forward Stuart Nicholson and the ex-Arsenal striker Nwankwo Kanu was brought on in place of the hard working Kevin Campbell.

Ricardo Gardner then fired high and wide into the stand where the visiting Bolton fans where housed whilst Hungarian midfielder Zoltan Gera headed over a Jonathan Greening corner soonafter at the other end for the Albion.

The game could have been won right at the death as Neil Clement, son of ex-Wanderer Dave Clement, headed the ball over the bar following a corner from Gera and Bolton's Nolan spurned a glorious opportunity from close range following good work down the left by substitute Ricardo Vaz-Te.

Bolton have four games left in which to climb back up the table starting this Saturday as they play host to Charlton Athletic in what will be the first of three home matches over the next four weeks..

Bolton Wanderers: Jussi Jaaskelainen, Nicky Hunt, Abdoulaye Faye, Bruno N'Gotty, Ricardo Gardner, Hidetoshi Nakata, Jay-Jay Okocha, Gary Speed, Kevin Nolan, Kevin Davies, Stelios Giannakopoulos (Ricardo Vaz-Te)

Subs Not Used: Ali Al-Habsi, Ivan Campo, Henrik Pedersen, Jared Borgetti

Albion: Tomasz Kuszczak, Steve Watson, Curtis Davies, Neil Clement, Paul Robinson, Jonathan Greening, Nigel Quashie, Andy Johnson, Zoltan Gera, Diomansy Kamara (Stuart Nicholson), Kevin Campbell (Nwankwo Kanu)

Subs Not Used: Martin Albrechtsen, Darren Carter, Junichi Inamoto

Referee:

Dermot Gallagher

Attendance:

23,181

Booked:

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