Wolves head for exit as supporter confronts referee

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 Bolton Wanderers

Luck has not befriended Wolverhampton Wanderers this season and just as she turned nasty in the last minute of time added on at Manchester City on Saturday, snatching victory from their grasp, so she landed a few more blows in the tenderest part of their anatomy yesterday.

Bad enough that it was another stoppage-time goal that denied them. But what really stuck in the throat for the bottom-of-the-table side, their long-suffering fans and the grimly stoical manager, Dave Jones, were the two penalty claims denied by the referee, Uriah Rennie.

The official failed to see Stelios Giannakopoulos tripping Mark Kennedy inside the box in the first minute and did not spot Emerson Thome holding back the substitute Kenny Miller in the last, prompting a Wolves fan to run on to the field to confront Rennie before being led away.

No one was condoning that fan's behaviour but a furious Jones had every sympathy with the sentiments behind his action, channelling his own feelings into a verbal attack that may well land him trouble with the Football Association.

Labelling him as "arrogant", he accused Rennie of "trying to make a point" by failing to uphold Wolves' second penalty claim, having been lambasted at half-time for his extraordinary error in missing the first. It is not the first time Jones has been critical of Rennie, having been let off with a warning in Soho Square when he described the official of "wanting to be the centre of attention" when Wolves lost at Southampton in September.

"It does not matter if you are at the top of the table or the bottom, you just want the match to be officiated properly and that performance was not good enough," Jones said yesterday.

"Maybe the first one came too early for him. Then with the second it is as if he is trying to make a point because we've had a go at him. He is an arrogant man and you can't speak to him. But he'll probably think he has done OK. I'll no doubt be told off for making a point but nothing will happen to him. If a referee has not done his job properly he should be punished by missing the next game, but that won't happen. God help the next team he referees if he gives another performance like that."

Jones was speaking after the final whistle, when objectivity can suffer. But having probably seen Wolves' survival chances ended, it was difficult for him to contain his thoughts.

Bolton went ahead, having caused Wolves few problems, when Henrik Pedersen planted a header out of Paul Jones' reach after meeting Ivan Campo's cross just before half-time. Wolves equalised within 60 seconds, the ever-improving Henri Camara scoring his fourth goal in as many games, dipping a shoulder before launching an unstoppable strike into the top corner.

The home side hammered away in the second half but, stunned by the dismissal of the second penalty shout, their concentration slipped and Kevin Davies latched on to Kevin Nolan's pass in time added on to add injury to insult with the winner.

Goals: Pedersen (43) 0-1; Camara (44) 1-1; Davies (90) 1-2.

Wolverhampton Wanderers (4-4-2): Jones 6; Irwin 6 (Miller 6, 82), Okoronkwo 6, Butler 7, Naylor 5; Newton 5, Ince 7, Cameron 6, Kennedy 7; Camara 8, Cort 6. Substitutes not used: Oakes (gk), Craddock, Ganea, Gudjonsson.

Bolton Wanderers (4-4-2): Jaaskelainen 7; Hunt 6, Thome 7, N'Gotty 6, Barness 5; Giannakopoulos 4 (Djorkaeff 5, 76), Frandsen 5 (Okocha 6, 51), Campo 7, Nolan 6; Davies 7, Pedersen 7. Substitutes not used: Poole (gk), Charlton, Moreno.

Referee: U Rennie (Yorkshire) 4.

Bookings: Wolves: Okoronkwo, Irwin; Bolton: N'Gotty.

Man of the match: Camara.

Attendance: 28,695.