Bolton take advantage of Chelsea's poor finishing

The fact that yesterday marked the official end to European summer time will have cut little ice with Ruud Gullit. The snow shoes of Tromso may have been replaced by more traditional attire at the Reebok Stadium but the chill in the Chelsea manager's heart will not have been lifted by the farce of similar proportions that he witnessed here.

"We lost to ourselves today. That was the most disappointing thing," Gullit said after watching in disbelief as Mark Hughes, Dan Petrescu, Tore Andre Flo and most of their team-mates squandered an unbelievable assortment of gilt-edged opportunities to at least partially compensate for last week's disappointment in the European Cup Winners' Cup.

In truth, this match appeared destined for an unlikely stalemate, such was the profligacy on display by both sides. In the 72nd minute, however, Bolton finally broke through. Peter Beardsley launched a counter-attack, squared the ball along the edge of the penalty area to Scott Sellars who in turn found Dean Holdsworth in space on the left. The £3.5 million striker confidently curled his shot around Ed de Goey to record his first goal since leaving Wimbledon.

The place erupted. And understandably so, given that this was only the second Premiership victory Colin Todd's team have recorded this season and the first at their impressive new home. It was enough for Bolton to climb from the foot of the table into the calmer waters of 17th place.

Todd's relief was palpable. He had begun the afternoon in the knowledge that Chelsea were likely to be hampered by the absence of eight key squad members through injury, suspension and World Cup duty, but finished it hugely thankful for the three points.

After 15 minutes dominated by Bolton, the tide suddenly turned. Then, Petrescu steered a nasty centre along the face of goal, and although no one finished it off, it nevertheless represented a noticeable turning point - with the Romanian midfielder the chief architect of that sea change.

On four occasions during the remainder of the first half, Petrescu instigated plausible scoring chances, only to find the opposing goalkeeper Keith Branagan sufficiently alert to repel the danger. If he could justifiably criticise his colleagues for their inaccuracy, Petrescu was equally culpable. As half-time approached Hughes unselfishly laid the ball off and the 29-year-old chipped his shot to the left but Branagan anticipated well. When he finally found a way past the goalkeeper in the 54th minute, his shot inevitably sailed above the crossbar.

Chelsea paid dearly. Holdsworth had already provided a warning sign when he pounced on Blake's pass from Beardsley's long ball, with De Goey blocking the shot which followed.

Once the goal arrived, the visitors' need to press forward left gaping holes in defence. De Goey found himself in a race with Beardsley after 78 minutes to collect an innocuous punt from midfield and duly won his header. However, it went straight to his challenger and Beardsley connected with Blake, who criminally missed an empty net, albeit from 40 yards out.

Still the chances piled up. Deep into injury time came the move which summed up Chelsea's stuttering fortunes; Petrescu shot from 18 yards, the ball cannoned off Hughes and whistled over the crossbar.

Tromso, who upset Chelsea 3-2 in the European Cup Winners' Cup in midweek, avoided relegation from the Norwegian first division last night by hammering Toensberg 4-0 in a play-off.