WHILE Bolton Wanderers dominated for much of a bitterly cold afternoon yesterday, they still gave the impression that hell might freeze over before they manage to score another goal in the Premier League. They drew a blank for the third league game in a row and their manager, Gary Megson, will hardly have taken comfort from breaking a run of five successive league defeats, so blunted were his team in front of goal.

They will now surely go down unless he can somehow find a way of at least compensating for the absence of Nicolas Anelka. Instead, the cracks appear to be showing.

After Abdoulaye Meite had refused to come out for the second half against Manchester United in midweek at Old Trafford, there was another display of petulance when Ivan Campo exchanged words with Megson on being substituted before he stomped off and disappeared down the tunnel.

Megson had an extended team talk afterwards, which included remarks that Campo’s behaviour had been unacceptable. “Ivan has reacted like that a couple of times before and I have spoken to him and all the players about it.

“I don’t expect anybody to be happy about being substituted, but I do expect us all to stay together. I remember as a player what it was like to be substituted but I have to make decisions that I feel are right for the club itself. It’s clear that there is a tension around the football club and we are not scoring enough goals.”

For Bolton, there was no sign of centre-half Meite and his career at the Reebok appears over, even though his club desperately need every fit player on board as they try to avoid relegation. Meite’s absence meant that Gary Cahill had to be risked in the starting lineup, even though he was still carrying a bruised foot suffered during the defeat at Wigan the previous Sunday. Kevin Nolan was another of the walking wounded to be pressed into action.

Now that City are in mid-table repose after flattering to deceive for most of the season, much of the sting had been removed from this derby and the obligation rested on Bolton to rectify their appalling league run of late. That might have happened in the third minute had Gretar Steinsson’s header from a El Hadji Diouf not thundered against the upright. City, while giving the appearance of strolling through much of this match, still created the better chances. None clearer than on 15 minutes, when a Martin Petrov corner was only cleared as far as Stephen Ireland on the edge of the box. The young Irishman connected sweetly enough, but his rasping shot was headed off the line bravely by Ricardo Gardner.

Otherwise, there was little to stop the blood freezing on a bitterly cold afternoon. A more fussy referee might have sent off Nolan for the latest in a long line of studs-up lunges that caught Vedran Corluka in the foot, but only a yellow was shown and the City right back played on after treatment. Not so lucky was Gardner, who was carried off on the stroke of half-time clutching his ribs and grimacing with pain after a clumsy challenge by Darius Vassell.

A snowstorm flew in the face of the visitors as they emerged for the second half and Bolton also flew at them with renewed fury. Still they could hardly muster an effort on target and again it was City who threatened to break the deadlock.

Elano came on as a substitute for Ireland on 58 minutes and he almost produced the breakthrough. Ali Al Habsi could only punch away Elano’s long-distance effort and when the ball was played back into the box, another City substitute, Felipe Caicedo, seemed certain to score but Joey O’Brien managed to clear off the line.

Diouf then had the best chance of the second half for Bolton when Nedum Onuoha made a rare mistake heading on a long clearance into his path. From the edge of the six-yard box, the Senegal international attempted to chip the keeper, but Joe Hart blocked brilliantly with an outstretched leg.

Bolton had one final shot at redemption right at the end, but Davies’s header from a Stelios corner was cleared off the line by Petrov.

Afterwards, Sven-Göran Eriks-son claimed he wasn’t giving up hope of a Uefa Cup place, even if some of his players appeared to be thinking they were already on holiday, albeit one in a very cold climate. For Bolton, the Arctic conditions could last for some time yet.

Match stats

Star man: Vedran Corluka (Man City)

Player ratings

Bolton: Al Habsi 6, Steinsson 6, Cahill 6, O’Brien 6, Gardner 6 (O’Brien 45min, 6), Diouf 5, Nolan 6, Campo 6 (McCann 63min), Guthrie 5, Taylor 5(Stelios 83min),Davies 6

Manchester City: Hart 7, Corluka 7, Onuoha 6, Dunne 6, Garrido 6, Ireland 6 (Elano 58min, 7), Gelson 6, Johnson 6, Petrov 5, Vassell 5 (Caicedo 58min, 6), Mwaruwari 5 Yellow card: Bolton: Nolan

Referee: A Marriner

Attendance: 22,633

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