Wales made a winning start to their World Cup qualifying campaign with a nervy 1-0 win over Azerbaijan in Cardiff, courtesy of an 81st minute goal by teenage substitute Sam Vokes. Here are the individual player ratings…

Wales

Hennessey - 7
On the spot when he needed to be, making one important save from a long range effort which might have made it a long hard night for Wales. Aside from that, not much to do.

Gunter - 7
A good performance from the Tottenham youngster who was solid in defence and got forward down the right when he could. Nearly scored in the first period only to be denied by a last ditch intervention, and won the penalty which Koumas missed.

Morgan – 6.5
Caught a little cold once or twice, but solid overall and rarely troubled

Williams - 7
Looked the part in defence, and very comfortable on the ball, always looking to play it out of the back and set attacks in motion
Bale- 8
The outstanding player for Wales, and probably the match. Everything went down Wales’s left in the first half, and much of the second, before the subs changed the game. The opposition could not cope with his dribbling ability. Class.

Davies- 6.5
Not really involved in the game enough going forward, slipping in and out of play, but saw more action as the match wore on.

Fletcher 7
Solid in his usual holding role just in front of an inexperienced defence.

Edwards - 7
A chance to impress Toshack for the Wolves man , and he didn’t let himself down. Always looking to push forward from the centre of midfield, went close with a curling left foot shot, and was probably a little unlucky to be substituted.

Ledley - 6
A quiet game for the sought-after Cardiff man, with Bale totally dominating proceedings down the left. Not the Ledley we usually see in a Wales shirt. He needed to be involved far more given his creative and attacking potential.

Koumas – 7.5
The creative brain of the team, as always Koumas displayed that extra touch of class, over and above anyone else on the field. Hit a fantastic shot from nothing with impetuous ease that was destined for the top corner, forcing the Azeri ‘keeper into a great save. Dreadful penalty though.

Earnshaw - 6
Largely ineffective in attack, where he was unable to get on the end of any balls coming into the box. First touch let him down once or twice, and the impact made by the young strikers who came on  (coupled with Bellamy and Eastwood’s future return), mean Earnie could have blown his chance.

Subs

Evans - 6.5

Vokes- 7.5
Perfect example of the instant impact a replacement striker should make. Two early headers could have opened the scoring before the eventual goalmouth strike.

Robinson - 6

Azerbaijan

Arhayev – 8
Excellent display by the Azeri ‘keeper. Made a string of top quality saves and was not to blame for the goal.

Melikov – 6
Unable to suppress Bale down the Wales left, from where the hosts were able to maintain consistent pressure on the visitors.

Sadygov - 6
Hacked down Gunter for the penalty and looked vulnerable to pace

Abbasov – 6.5
Defended reasonably well, but the goalmouth melee resulting in the opener put paid to the collective defensive effort.

Oglu – 6.5
The captain, much like his defensive team mates, put the challenges in when he had to, but it was all in vain.

Huseinov – 6
Contributed to the defensive cover like the rest of his team mates, but subbed off at half time by Vogts due to injury.

Bashiev – 6
Denied space to on-running midfielders and helped out the defence, but offered little in the other direction.

N Mammadov - 6
Much like the rest of the midfield, got back behind the ball to deny the Welsh time and space to thread balls through, but failed to contribute much in possession.

E Mammadov – 7
One of the better midfield performers for the Azeri, he looked lively down the flanks at times and kept Gunter on his toes, evidenced by the Spurs man’s inability to push on as much as Bale on the other side.

Ramim – 6.5
Dangerous looking player who showed some nice touches, and always looked to play in and link with Subhasic. But his red card killed it for the visitors, as Wales regained the momentum that just deserted them when Koumas missed from the spot.

Subhasic - 7
The best outfield performance in an Azeri shirt, the Red Star man looked a potential threat throughout even if he was short on support, and was one of the few to test the Welsh keeper.

Subs

Nabiyev – 6
Nduka - 6

Ref From goal.com

Gabriel Agbonlahor hit a stunning seven-minute hat-trick as Aston Villa’s late show tore Manchester City apart.

Villa had taken the lead when John Carew nodded home Ashley Young’s cross.

Elano levelled from the spot after Michael Johnson was fouled but Villa were quickly back in front when Carew’s knockdown was fired in by Agbonlahor.

Agbonlahor met Gareth Barry’s cross to make it 3-1 then ran on to a slide-rule Barry pass to complete his treble before Vedran Corluka’s consolation.

It had already been a traumatic week for City, with the turmoil surrounding the charges that their owner Thaksin Shinawatra faces in Thailand compounded by a shock home defeat by Danish side FC Midtjylland in the Uefa Cup.

And things did not get any better for manager Mark Hughes when Bulgarian forward Valeri Bojinov - set for his first start after a year on the sidelines - was injured in the warm-up at Villa Park.

That meant Hughes, who has a dearth of available strikers, had to bring in Welsh teenager Ched Evans as a last-minute replacement to make his league debut for City.

Evans tried his best on his own up front but, especially in the early stages, most of the action was taking place at the other end of the pitch.

Villa had come through their own midweek European test against Scandinavian opposition with flying colours, thumping FH Hafnarfjordur 4-1, and they picked up here where they left off in Iceland, creating a raft of early chances.

Only poor finishing let Martin O’Neill’s side down, with Carew sending a glancing header wide before further tame efforts that failed to seriously test Joe Hart.

Barry should also have done better in front of goal; wasting a decent knockdown from Carew by handling on the edge of the six-yard box, then somehow firing wide when he met a Nigel Reo-Coker cross at the far post.

But City survived and, once Gelson Fernandes and Michael Johnson had established a base in midfield, prospered.

Micah Richards still had to make an acrobatic clearance to deny Gabriel Agbonlahor, who was waiting to convert a Stilian Petrov cross, but it was City who finished the half the stronger.

That improvement counted for nothing at the start of the second half, however, when Kelvin Etuhu’s mistake gifted Villa the lead in the 47th minute.

He gave the ball softly to Young, who exchanged passes with Barry before crossing to the far post for Carew to head home.

City responded with their best spell of the game that saw Javier Garrido’s rasping shot deflected wide and Martin Petrov’s volley scorch the side-netting.

The visitors kept coming forward and were rewarded after 64 minutes when Johnson broke into the box and evaded Luke Young and Nicky Shorey before eventually being felled by Young.

Referee Phil Dowd pointed to the spot and Elano stepped up to nonchalantly stroke the ball home.

City now looked the more likely winners but Agbonlahor had other ideas.

He beat Fernandes to Carew’s header to restore his side’s lead on 69 minutes and had soon sealed the victory.

The visitors’ defence was nowhere to be seen as he leapt to direct Barry’s clipped cross into the net and the same two players combined again to make it 4-1 - Agbonlahor running clear to fire past Hart.

City, to their credit, kept going and substitute Daniel Sturridge brought a fine save from Brad Friedel before Corluka tapped home late on to make the scoreline a little less painful for Hughes’ men.

Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill:
“I am delighted. It was a big victory for us and we played particularly well going forward.

“I was disappointed that we were not ahead at half-time but we had a great second-half.

“It was as important for us to stay tight defensively but I knew that we would create things in attack.”

Manchester City boss Mark Hughes:
“We were very much in the game when we levelled and we could have gone on from there and won it.

“We had conceded early on in the second half but we showed good character to come back.

“But then we had 10 minutes of madness. We made some bad decisions at the back and stopped defending set-plays - and you cannot afford to do that against Villa.”

Aston Villa: Friedel, Luke Young, Davies, Laursen, Shorey, Reo-Coker, Petrov, Barry, Ashley Young, Agbonlahor, Carew.
Subs Not Used: Taylor, Harewood, Knight, Salifou, Routledge, Gardner, Osbourne.

Goals: Carew 47, Agbonlahor 69, 74, 76.

Man City: Hart, Corluka, Richards, Ben-Haim, Garrido, Etuhu, Gelson (Ireland 81), Johnson, Petrov, Elano, Evans (Sturridge 81).
Subs Not Used: Schmeichel, Michael Ball, Onuoha, Caicedo, Hamann.

Booked: Ben-Haim.

Goals: Elano 64 pen, Corluka 89.

Att: 39,955

Ref: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire).

Ref From BBC SPORT By Chris Bevan

With the Premier League kick-off just around the corner, Goal.com is looking at how each of the 20 clubs are shaping up. This article features Gary Megson’s Bolton Wanderers.

2007-2008: Where It Ended

Wanderers found themselves in unfamiliar, relegation territory during a tumultuous last season. Admittedly, the Sam Allardyce era had been one of sustained over-achievement with limited resources, but only the most pessimistic of supporters would have predicted such a close encounter with relegation at the start of last season, especially with an attack spearheaded by the classy Nicolas Anelka.

Allardyce’s successor, Sammy Lee, struggled, as many managers do, to make the step-up from assistant. The majority of his purchases seemed to lack quality, and few established themselves as first team regulars. Not long into the season Bolton found themselves wallowing below league whipping boys Derby County, and the board decided Lee was not the man for the job. His replacement Gary Megson’s task was soon made more difficult with the loss of Anelka in the January transfer window. To some fans, the decision to make a quick six million pounds profit on Anelka provided evidence of the myopia of the Bolton board, but in reality there was little they could have done once Chelsea came knocking.

Many fans felt aggrieved after Megson put out a second-string in the Uefa Cup defeat against Sporting Lisbon, justifying it with the importance of ensuring Premiership survival, but then losing to local rivals Wigan in the next game. Currently, the manager by no means has the universal approval of the Bolton faithful, but he must be given credit for maintaining Bolton’s Premiership status. For one thing, Megson brought in Gary Cahill, whose solid presence at the back and reliable partnership forged with player of the season Andy O’Brien was vital to the side’s survival.

Towards the end of last season it looked as if Bolton’s Premiership future could hinge on a last day encounter at Stamford Bridge. Doom and gloom descended over the Reebok after Wanderers capitulated having been two nil up against ten-men Arsenal. A four-nil drubbing at the hands of Aston Villa compounded a sense of fatalism among fans, but seemed to galvanise Megson’s men for a fine run in. Three victories against Wigan, Middlesborough and Sunderland as well as a draw with Spurs meant survival was ensured before the final day encounter with Chelsea, which also ended in a surprise 1-1 draw.  A huge sigh of relief was felt at the club and Megson was assured by chairman Phil Gartside and owner Eddie Davis that the proceeds of the Anelka sale and more would be provided to ensure that such a close shave would not happen again.

Summer Activity

The board have kept their word and provided more funds than ever before. It seems bizarre that they feel  Megson warrants such financial backing, when they never supported Allardyce in such a way. There has been somewhat of a midfield exodus this summer - Guthrie was not signed permanently, Campo, Braaten, Diouf, Stelios and Andranik have also moved on. Many of these players were admittedly only squad players but the remaining skeletal selection of midfielders leaves Bolton over-exposed to the effects of any injuries.

Of the players in, Elmander will be the most eagerly awaited. He looked uninspiring playing on the right in the European Championships but it would be unfair to judge him on that alone, especially as he will almost certainly play as a striker this season. Fans must hope he settles in and settles quickly as his goal-scoring form will probably be what the success of Bolton’s season hinges on. Muamba, although perhaps a bit expensive, will definitely add steel to the centre of the park. The pacy Mustapha Riga will be expected to fill the void left by the most noteworthy departure of the summer, El-Hadji Diouf.

Megson has also had a complete overhaul of the backroom staff at the Reebok over the summer, the most notable recruit being new first-team coach, Steve Wigley, who left his post with England the Under-21s to join Wanderers.

Analysis & Prognosis

By no means does the £20 million outlay this summer mean that Bolton will be pushing for Europe again. What it should mean is that they stay up. It will not however be easy, but they will be aided by the weakness of the newly-promoted sides around them. Last term, Bolton had a terrible start to their campaign and were playing catch-up from then on. This season they have an easier start, with games against Stoke, Newcastle, West Brom and Fulham first up. A decent start against these clubs will be vital, if they are to avoid a similar plight to last season.

Andy O’Brien and Gary Cahill have forged a solid partnership at the back and the Icelandic international, Steinsson, was impressive last year at right back. J-Lloyd Samuel or Ricky Gardner will complete a solid back four in front of stalwart Jussi Jaaseklainen, now he has ended the speculation regarding his future. If Megson opts for a 4-4-2, then Muamba will do the graft in the centre, allowing club captain Nolan to push forward and try to support Elmander and Davies with goals as well as assists. Nolan will be, as always, trying to push for an opportunity at international level. Matty Taylor, who took time to settle, but was much improved towards the end of last season, should play on the left and chip in with a few of his trademark spectacular strikes. Fans will hope that Riga fits in on the right, although Gavin McCann will be able to do a job if he struggles to adapt to Premiership football.

A major concern is their reliance on Elmander up front. Although not being in Europe this time will ease pressure on the squad, a lack of depth is also a major worry. The acquisition of another quality midfielder looks essential if they are not to be exposed in that department. If fans are thinking that Bolton’s expenditure this summer will propel them back into the top half of the table, where they became accustomed to spending their time with Allardyce at the helm, they should think again.  If Bolton can get off to a good start, then they can look toward a solid mid-table finish. If they do not, then this season, like the last, could be a struggle.

Coach: Gary Megson

Stadium: Reebok Stadium (27,879)

2007/08 Position: 16th

2007/08 Record: P- 38 W- 9 D- 10 L- 19 GF- 36 GA- 54 Pts- 37

Players In: Elmander (Toulouse, £10 million), Muamba (Birmingham City, £5 million), Riga (Levante, undisclosed), Shittu (Watford, undisclosed).

Players Out: Braaten (Toulouse, undisclosed), Andranik Teymourian (Fulham, free), Stelios Giannakopoulos (released), Ivan Campo (released), El Hadji Diouf (Sunderland, £2.5m), Meite, (West Brom, £2M)

Possible-Line-Up: Jaaskelainen – Steinsson, Cahill, O’Brien, Gardner – McCann, Muamba, Nolan, Taylor – Davies, Elmander.

Ref From Tom Mathew - goal.com