DANNS DOES LEVEL BEST
BOLTON showed their fighting spirit amid growing financial turmoil at the club to deny incoming Brentford boss Dean Smith the perfect welcome.
Neil Danns scuffed in an equaliser 25 minutes from time after Chelsea loanee John Swift’s early goal had put the visitors in front.
It was some relief for Wanderers, just hours after the club revealed that their first-team players haven’t been paid for November.
Isle of Man-based owner Eddie Davies is looking to sell up and while he is prepared to write off their £172.9m debt, he is adamant that he won’t put another penny into the club.
That has left boss Neil Lennon with the major task of pulling Bolton away from the bottom of the Championship without any money to spend.
His players looked as if they were feeling sorry for themselves in the first half, but picked up after the break, even though their winless run extended to 12 matches.
Brentford wanted to give interim boss Lee Carsley the perfect send-off before welcoming Smith, who has agreed to take charge after nearly five years at Walsall.
They got off to the perfect start as winger Alan Judge scared Bolton by running at their back line, setting up young midfielder Swift to bend an unstoppable shot past keeper Ben Amos.
Brentford had two great chances to extend that advantage before half-time, with Bolton’s hero Amos spreading himself well to deny Danish striker Lasse Vibe, then tipping over a fierce shot from Swift.
But they could not find a second goal, with Jake Bidwell heading wide after a Ryan Woods cross had found him clear early in the second half.
And they paid the price as Danns mis-hit a shot that found a way through a crowd of defenders and went in off the post.
Bolton, chasing only a second league victory of the season, might even have gone in front after that, but Brentford keeper David Button made an excellent block to deny Shola Ameobi.