Latics and Bolton in stalemate

Charles N'Zogbia
12 April 2012

Charles N'Zogbia hit the post as neighbouring relegation rivals Wigan and Bolton fought out a drab 0-0 draw.

Wigan forward N'Zogbia went the closest of either side to settling a scrappy Barclays Premier League encounter after a smart run early in the first half.

The point was enough to lift both struggling sides up places in the table - Wigan to 14th and Bolton 18th - but both may rue missed opportunities to break the deadlock.

The combination of both sides' desperation for points and the battered pitch suggested a scrappy encounter from the start. And so it proved with the early stages setting the tone for an attritional affair.

N'Zogbia almost opened the scoring with the first moment of real quality in the match. The England-qualified Frenchman brilliantly cut inside two defenders after 20 minutes but his curling effort clipped the post.

Bolton striker Johan Elmander then found space outside the Wigan area but shot wide of the target, while Hugo Rodallega twice failed to make the most of openings close to half-time.

Elmander exploited space down the right early in the second half but his cross was turned into the side-netting by Gary Caldwell.

Rodallega then headed wide from an N'Zogbia cross but the game generally remained scrappy as both sides struggled to make the breakthrough.

It was some time before either side created another opportunity, it finally coming when Fabrice Muamba shot wide from distance after 67 minutes.

Bolton went close again through substitute Vladimir Weiss and Matt Taylor, while Rodallega saw on overhead kick fly over in the closing stages.

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