Kodjia gets Bruce out of a spot of bother
ASTON VILLA... 1 BOLTON .......... 0
ASTON VILLA may have lift-off and are closing in on the top six but their win over bottom-of-the-table Bolton was far from convincing.
The home side struggled for a long time to assert their authority and only took a 38th-minute lead through a Jonathan Kodjia penalty.
They finished the contest with 10 men after Neil Taylor was sent off in the 88th minute following a tackle on Adam Le Fondre.
Villa boss Steve Bruce said: “It was a difficult afternoon. Bolton have good experience and of course they have had a difficult start and are fighting for their lives.”
On Taylor’s sending off he said: “I hope the referee looks at the incident again and thinks that it is a bit harsh and rescinds it and it will be a yellow instead of straight red.”
It was Villa’s fourth straight win in a run of seven unbeaten games, while Bolton slumped to their ninth defeat and 11th game without a win to equal their worst start to a season since 1902-03.
In the first meeting between the two clubs outside the top flight since 1975, Villa set the pace as Bolton went on the defensive with Gary Madine their solitary striker.
In the 37th minute Kodjia had an amazing miss. A through-ball from Ahmed Elmohamady found him unmarked but the Villa striker, with only Mark Howard to beat, casually shot wide.
In Villa’s next attack Kodjia was brought down by Mark Beevers and referee Jeremy Simpson immediately awarded a penalty.
The Ivorian took the spot-kick and converted for his first goal of the season.
John Terry had Villa’s best chance of a second goal but the defender failed to make a clean contact with a Robert Snodgrass free-kick.
Bolton boss Phil Parkinson claimed that his side were unlucky to lose and said: “We played a team which has spent a lot of money and we took them very close.
“The linesman cost us dearly. Their player was offside which led to a corner from which the penalty was awarded.”