Championship
BoltonBolton Wanderers1BrentfordBrentford1

Bolton Wanderers 1-1 Brentford

By Steve MarshallBBC Sport
Neil Danns scores
Neil Danns' equaliser for Bolton was his second goal of the season

Neil Danns scored a second-half equaliser as the Championship's bottom side Bolton Wanderers fought back to earn a draw with Brentford.

The Bees, watched by new head coach Dean Smith, took an early lead when John Swift curled in from 20 yards.

Home keeper Ben Amos saved from Lasse Vibe and Swift to prevent Brentford extending their lead.

And Bolton, whose players have not been paid this month, earned a point when Danns' shot bounced in off the post.

The draw was Bolton's seventh in nine home games this season, and they remain three points adrift at the bottom of the table after extending their run without a win to 12 matches.

It could have been worse for Neil Lennon's side as Brentford, with interim manager Lee Carsley in charge for the final time, had enough chances to have had the game won by the break.

Dean Smith
Dean Smith joins Brentford after almost five years in charge of Walsall

Swift gave the Bees the perfect start by ending a fine passing move with a curled finish past Amos, who then saved brilliantly from Vibe when one-on-one before tipping Swift's left-foot volley over the bar.

Brentford captain Jake Bidwell then headed wide before Danns drove in the equaliser from 20 yards after Ryan Woods only partially cleared Liam Feeney's cross.

Visiting keeper David Button immediately saved Shola Ameobi's close-range shot to deny Bolton a second.

But it was Brentford who went closest to grabbing a late winner when Amos tipped Vibe's shot wide and substitute Konstantin Kerschbaumer sliced a shot off target.

Bolton boss Neil Lennon told BBC Radio 5 live:

"We know we lack a little bit of quality in certain areas so to go a goal down, the reaction was excellent.

"Ben Amos has shown his quality tonight, we're very pleased with him and he will improve as he's a young goalkeeper."

On the squad not being paid: "We spoke to the squad about the situation today and they will be a meeting tomorrow with Trevor Birch and a representative from the PFA.

"Hopefully that will clarify the situation for the players. We're pretty confident money will come in and they will get paid."

Brentford interim manager Lee Carsley told BBC Radio London:

"I'll be helping Dean Smith settle in and give him a better understanding of what the players' strengths and weaknesses are, and make the transition as smooth as we can.

"Hopefully we'll make it an easier process with the fact that the team is doing a bit better now than it was.

"I think Bolton's biggest strength was set-pieces and with the size of our team and the type of players in our team, we were always going to struggle with that. I felt that was the only way they were going to cause us problems.

"I felt going forwards tonight, that was as good as I've seen us. Lasse Vibe was a real threat and it was brilliant seeing John Swift in that form."

Lee Carsley

Line-ups

Bolton

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 1Amos
  • 6VelaBooked at 64mins
  • 4Dervite
  • 31Wheater
  • 20Casado
  • 18Danns
  • 16DaviesBooked at 24minsSubstituted forDobbieat 90'minutes
  • 7FeeneyBooked at 62mins
  • 12ClaytonSubstituted forMadineat 40'minutes
  • 21Pratley
  • 26Ameobi

Substitutes

  • 2Gouano
  • 8Spearing
  • 13Rachubka
  • 14Madine
  • 23Dobbie
  • 27Twardzik
  • 45Holding

Brentford

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 27Button
  • 28Yennaris
  • 26TarkowskiBooked at 90mins
  • 22O'Connell
  • 3Bidwell
  • 12McCormack
  • 20Diagouraga
  • 15WoodsSubstituted forCanosat 68'minutes
  • 18JudgeSubstituted forSaundersat 81'minutes
  • 19SwiftBooked at 45minsSubstituted forKerschbaumerat 74'minutes
  • 21Vibe

Substitutes

  • 7Saunders
  • 11Hofmann
  • 16Bonham
  • 17Kerschbaumer
  • 24Gogia
  • 29Barbet
  • 47Canos
Referee:
Carl Boyeson
Attendance:
12,731

Match Stats

Home TeamBoltonAway TeamBrentford
Possession
Home52%
Away48%
Shots
Home25
Away11
Shots on Target
Home8
Away6
Corners
Home10
Away4
Fouls
Home15
Away15

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Bolton Wanderers 1, Brentford 1.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Bolton Wanderers 1, Brentford 1.

  3. Post update

    Foul by Josh Vela (Bolton Wanderers).

  4. Post update

    Konstantin Kerschbaumer (Brentford) wins a free kick on the left wing.

  5. Post update

    Attempt missed. Shola Ameobi (Bolton Wanderers) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is too high. Assisted by Gary Madine with a headed pass following a corner.

  6. Post update

    Attempt missed. Darren Pratley (Bolton Wanderers) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Liam Feeney with a cross following a corner.

  7. Post update

    Corner, Bolton Wanderers. Conceded by Konstantin Kerschbaumer.

  8. Booking

    James Tarkowski (Brentford) is shown the yellow card.

  9. Post update

    Attempt missed. Sergi Canos (Brentford) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Sam Saunders with a cross following a corner.

  10. Post update

    Corner, Brentford. Conceded by David Wheater.

  11. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Konstantin Kerschbaumer (Brentford) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.

  12. Substitution

    Substitution, Bolton Wanderers. Stephen Dobbie replaces Mark Davies.

  13. Post update

    Foul by Shola Ameobi (Bolton Wanderers).

  14. Post update

    James Tarkowski (Brentford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  15. Post update

    Shola Ameobi (Bolton Wanderers) wins a free kick on the left wing.

  16. Post update

    Foul by James Tarkowski (Brentford).

  17. Post update

    Corner, Brentford. Conceded by Ben Amos.

  18. Post update

    Attempt saved. Lasse Vibe (Brentford) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Alan McCormack.

  19. Post update

    Offside, Brentford. Lasse Vibe tries a through ball, but Jack O'Connell is caught offside.

  20. Post update

    Foul by Darren Pratley (Bolton Wanderers).

Scores, Results & Fixtures

Monday 30th November 2015

As It Stood

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Brighton18108024141038
2Middlesbrough18113427121536
3Derby18106226111536
4Hull18105327111635
5Burnley189722617934
6Birmingham188462520528
7Ipswich187742825328
8Sheff Wed187742522328
9Reading187652621527
10Cardiff186841916326
11Brentford187472425-125
12QPR186572325-223
13Fulham185763130122
14Blackburn184951918121
15Wolves185672223-121
16Nottm Forest185581619-320
17Leeds184771621-519
18Preston183961316-318
19MK Dons1844101524-916
20Bristol City183781830-1216
21Charlton1844101529-1416
22Huddersfield183691728-1115
23Rotherham1843112133-1215
24Bolton181981225-1312
View full Championship table