Pedersen freezes out disjointed Newcastle

Bolton Wanderers 1 Newcastle United

Sir Bobby Robson passed a long, disastrous afternoon staring at a stand bearing the name of Nat Lofthouse, a man he shared a pitch with in his playing days. At the age of 71, Robson might expect to be spending his weekend in a stand named after himself, probably in Ipswich, maybe in Newcastle, perhaps even in Eindhoven, dispensing white wine and memories, rather than attempting to lead a collection of misfiring individuals into the Champions' League.

Newcastle United may have some very talented footballers but they are a long way short of being a team, especially away from St James' Park where they have not won since October. Of the 11 men in black who started yesterday's game at the Reebok, one, Jonathan Woodgate, played with immense assurance, but too many gave jaw-droppingly bad displays.

Admittedly, they lost to a freak goal, but Titus Bramble might have given away a penalty for handball, while Bolton, whose own form had collapsed after losing the League Cup final to Middlesbrough, began and finished the afternoon the stronger, more composed side.

Their manager, Sam Allardyce, remarked with justice that Bolton, who had not kept a clean sheet since beating Portsmouth (a team with only a marginally worse away record than Newcastle), in January "froze out" their opponents.

Newcastle briefly regrouped well after falling behind. Bramble missed from five yards while Craig Bellamy, having dispossessed Emerson Thome, screwed his shot wide. Nevertheless, as the game wore on, Newcastle looked increasingly at odds with themselves; Steve Howey smothered his former team-mate, Alan Shearer, while Shay Given made two outstanding saves to prevent an even greater margin of victory.

This season Newcastle have made a habit of tossing points away in the final stages of games. If Premiership football lasted 80 minutes, Robson's side would have begun the game at the Reebok Stadium 11 points clear of Liverpool, fending off Leicester's challenge for the final Champions' League place. Yesterday was different; they lost the match within five minutes of kick-off.

Injuries had meant Steven Taylor, an 18-year-old centre-half whose only experience of first-team football was a few minutes against Real Mallorca, started at right back. It would have been lovely to have described a display to match that of Celtic's teenage goalkeeper in Barcelona, but not all beginnings can be like David Marshall's.

Taylor had not so much as touched the ball when Henrik Pedersen beat him to a long upfield punt and with one movement turned and attempted a cross which drifted over the stranded, backpeddling Given and into the top corner of the net.

Robson had stationed Lee Bowyer on the right wing as cover for the teenager, but given the wretchedly insipid nature of his performance, he need not have bothered. Since Bowyer's acquittal on charges of affray and grievous bodily harm, the web of motivation that has held this complex footballer together appears to have come apart; he has become a ghost of his past deeds. Alongside him was Jermaine Jenas, whose inclusion in the England squad which travels to Sweden is the clearest possible indication that Sven Goran Eriksson has been paying more attention to contract negotiations than to the current form of the nation's leading midfielders.

Jenas has sometimes been hugely indifferent but at least Robson, who withdrew Bellamy from the Wales squad, could claim he was trying to shake off an infection. None of those excuses hold for Bowyer, who has not been worth all the public relations contortions Robson had to endure to bring him to Tyneside. "I thought he would be fresh because he didn't play on Thursday," Robson reflected. "He has got to be what he was. For us, he started badly and he has never recovered."

Goal: Pedersen (4) 1-0.

Bolton Wanderers (4-1-4-1): Jaaskelainen 5; Hunt 6 (Frandsen 5, 72), Thome 5, N'Gotty 5 (Howey 7, h-t), Charlton 5; Campo 7; Giannakopoulos 6, Nolan 6, Okocha 6, Pedersen 7; Davies 6. Substitutes not used: Poole (gk), Frandsen, Vaz Te, Pezzarossi.

Newcastle United (4-4-2): Given 6; Taylor 5, Woodgate 8, Bramble 3, Bernard 5; Bowyer 2 (Ambrose 4, 72), Jenas 2 (Viana 5, 72), Speed 6, Robert 5 (Ameobi 4, 72); Bellamy 7, Shearer 6. Substitutes not used: Harper (gk), Elliott.

Referee: M Dean (Wirral) 7.

Bookings: Bolton: N'Gotty. Newcastle: Bramble, Woodgate.

Man of the match: Woodgate.

Attendance: 27,360.