Ruud Van Nistelrooy.
Any Bolton fan who thinks we matched United for the full 90 minutes today is, I regret to say, looking at it through very rose-tinted spectacles. Yes, for the first half, we did, no question. Yes, for 20, 25 minutes of the second half, we were at least as good, if not better. But once United had fully re-adjusted to the Dutchman's introduction, we were helpless. With every attack United looked more like scoring the winner. And though it pains me to say it (and believe me, it really does), United deserved it by full time.
However, it was a valiant effort from our lads today, make no bones about it. I don't think there was a United fan in tune with the match today one form or another who wasn't worried once we took the lead. And what a goal from Kevin Davies! Nutmegging Rio Ferdinand - an established international defender - before cooly sending another established international, as well as one of the best keepers in the Premiership, in Edwin Van Der Sar, the wrong way - absolutely superb. Glad to see that Big Kev is proving some of his doubters wrong and getting in on the goals in recent matches.
Man of the match today was Jussi, by a mile. His fantastic double save in the first half couldn't be beaten, I thought. That was until he denied Saha in the second half - this man is worth an extra ten points to us a season and the sooner we tie him down long term, the better. If Sam ever lets Jussi leave, I hope that he's gone the same day as well, I truly do. Nothing that Jussi could do about either goal.
Good games also from Bruno, Jay-Jay and Tal Ben Haim. Jay-Jay in particular was desperately unlucky with perhaps his second shot on target at home this season! Kevin Nolan and Stelios worked hard, although neither really looked like getting a clear chance. Henrik Pedersen dealt well with the threat of Ronaldo, although looked a little shaky at times. Gary Speed also played well, although a few wayward passes towards the end, although most of the team did, so we'll forgive him that.
As with any defeats though, there were a few downsides. Joey O'Brien looks like a long and difficult season may be catching up with him lately, and it was down his flank that United looked dangerous. O'Brien is definately going to be a big hit for us in the future - of that I've no doubt. But he's still young, still has a lot to learn and still has a long way to go before he's the finished product. As long as we keep on to him though, both he and we will be fine. Nicky Hunt didn't really do a good job as his replacement.
United's equaliser was disappointing in a few ways. Firstly, a fantastic finish, no denying that whatsoever. However...TERRIBLE defending. Absolutely disgraceful. Who was meant to be marking Saha, Ben Haim or Faye? Both are to blame as both could have picked him up, so doubly disappointing. And what also made it worse was that it came about five minutes after we'd taken the lead. I believe that if we can hold onto a lead for more than ten minutes, we'll be fine, especially at the Reebok. It happened last week at Middlesbrough, and it happened again today - conceding so quickly after scoring just sets us right back to square one, whilst it gives the opposition a boost as they've pulled level.
Final thoughts? Sad and disappointed overall. In all competitions, we had the longest unbeaten record at home of all the Premiership clubs, so it's a shame that that's gone. Although I didn't think we'd win before the match, I can't say that I still thought that way once we scored, which makes it even harder to accept defeat. And what's more? Spurs were comfortably beaten at Newcastle, meaning that we had a real chance to make some ground on them. I hate to say it, but the Champions League is out of our grasp now. I honestly can't see us making up the seven points neccesary. We should focus on retaining a UEFA Cup slot instead, or at least finishing as high as possible so that we stand a better chance of Intertoto cup qualification. And given that we've got a trip to Liverpool followed by the visit of Chelsea in the next two weeks, it makes it even more difficult...