HOPE for West Bromwich Albion flickered, however faintly, when they unexpectedly pulled what seemed a lost game out of the fire on 82 minutes.

Bolton had been in the lead since the 67th minute, the culmination of a contest between Bolton’s Matthew Taylor and goalkeeper Scott Carson.

A goal for the visitors, and in particular by Taylor, had been long coming, and when it did, that effectively seemed to be that.

However, football being the endlessly surprising game that it is, that was not that. When the little Slovenian Robert Koren, who had been switched from the centre of midfield to the right wing, got the ball and shot hard, diagonally and low, it did not look likely that Bolton’s Finnish goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen, scarcely troubled all afternoon, would be excessively troubled now. But the ball struck Bolton substitute Danny Shittu and, as Jaaskelainen stood helplessly wrong-footed, found the far corner of the net.

So Albion, who would surely have been doomed to disaster had Bolton beaten them, did escape with a draw. Moreover, they began to believe after their equaliser, and with sudden belated confidence began at last to dictate the game.

This, however, had its dangers. When Bolton’s solitary attacker Johan Elmander raced away down the right flank and with great determination held off Shelton Martis, his low centre found Taylor unmarked.

The odds were heavily on a second goal for Bolton by Taylor, but Carson raced resiliently off his line, and blocked the drive.

It was the final incident in the protracted conflict between the two. Midway through the first half, Kevin Davies, who had moved from the right flank for once to the left, skilfully kept the ball in play and hooked it across. Taylor, who Portsmouth must surely regret letting go, shot with his powerful left foot, but Carson flung himself to block the ball, the first of his several saves from the same lively player. The next came when Taylor took a left-footed free kick that Carson dived full length to push away. Bolton almost struck when Carson reached a Davies header but couldn’t keep it out and James Morrison cleared out of the goalmouth.

On 40 minutes, from an inside-right position, Taylor took another of his forceful left-footed free kicks but again Carson dived to turn the ball round his left-hand post for a corner. The almost private duel continued in the second half when, after 65 minutes, Taylor and his left foot tested Carson again but this time the keeper held the ball without difficulty. Just a minute more and Gretar Steinsson crossed from the right, there was Taylor to shoot and Carson once again to take the ball. But everything changed just a minute later. It was with his right rather than his left foot that Taylor put Bolton finally ahead. Jonas Olsson could only half clear the ball from the box, Taylor pounced on the header and his drive eluded Carson at last.

Albion, however, were not dead and buried. Koren and Jonathan Greening were functioning as inside forwards. Both talented players with good ball control and a neat line in passing, they had been largely ineffectual for most of the encounter against Bolton’s determined midfield. Then, after Koren’s shot was deflected in, Albion rose from the canvas to apply their late pressure.

Bolton manager Gary Megson, once in charge of Albion, was applauded when he initially took his place in the dugout, but was sent off by referee Howard Webb during stoppage time, to be accompanied by jeers rather than cheers. Megson, who felt with some justice that Bolton should certainly have won, admitted that he had been “quite rightly” dismissed by the referee, to whom he said he had apologised. He was trying, he explained: “To get Ebi Smolarek on to the field as a substitute on the next break of play, then they played straight on. I thought we were well on top. I can’t imagine them having a shot on goal.” The shot that scored was going five yards wide until it hit Danny (Shittu) on the thigh and went in. I thought Carson made two fantastic saves.”

As for Matt Taylor, Megson said: “He’s a good player, but the last couple of games he hasn’t quite been at his best, but today he was back onto it.”

Tony Mowbray, the West Brom manager, he had his personal take on the game having felt: “For long periods we controlled the game. At the end, we nearly got the win.

“If we’d scored late on when there were hundreds of crosses in their box, if we’d put one of them in the net it would have been great for them and the supporters.” Indeed, it would, but it would have put a strange gloss on a game that Albion managed to save by the skin of their teeth.

Star man: Matthew Taylor (Bolton)

Yellow cards: West Brom: Greening, Bednar Bolton: Steinsson

Referee: H Webb

Attendance: 25,530

WEST BROM: Carson 8, Zuiverloon 6 (Valero 74min), Martis 6, Olsson 6, Robinson 6 (Dorrans 74min), Morrison 6, Greening 6, Koren 6, Brunt 6, Simpson 6 (Bednar 57min, 6), Fortune 6

BOLTON: Jaaskelainen 7, Steinsson 6, Cahill 7, Puygrenier 6 (Shittu 59min, 6), Samuel 6, Davies 6, Muamba 6, McCann 6, Gardner 6, Taylor 8, Elmander 6 (Smolarek 90min)