Marseille comeback blunts Bolton

Olympique de Marseille came from behind to book their place in the last 16 of the UEFA Cup with a battling 2-1 victory against Bolton Wanderers FC at the Stade Vélodrome, after a goalless first leg.

Crucial own goal
The English side looked to be heading for a famous away win on 25 minutes when Stylianos Giannakopoulos broke the deadlock, stroking the ball into the open goal after Fabien Barthez had dropped an innocuous hanging cross from Jay-Jay Okocha. But the home team rallied, and Franck Ribéry equalised just before half-time with a header. The timing of the goal was cruel to Bolton and they never really recovered as a 68th-minute Tal Ben Haim own goal saw Marseille through to face FC Zenit St. Petersburg.

Lively Ribéry
The Ligue 1 team began on the defensive, however, and Barthez almost presented the visitors with an early opener, parrying Okocha's free-kick into a crowded penalty box, though the ball evaded the on-rushing strikers. It was a rare opportunity in a fractious opening spell, as frequent fouls prevented either team from getting into their stride. Habib Beye headed Ribéry's corner wide on 12 minutes, before Barthez's error allowed Giannakopoulos to score a goal that had not looked like coming.

Marseille weakness
The Greece midfielder could have doubled the lead, when the advancing Joey O'Brien again found him unmarked at the back post, but he failed to get good purchase on his effort and Barthez gratefully collected. The game quickly reverted back to type as the teams' five-man midfields cancelled each other out, but as the opener had come out of the blue, so did the equaliser as Ribéry met Samir Nasri's pinpoint cross.

Pivotal moment
It was the winger's third UEFA Cup goal this term, and the timing could not have been better for Marseille. Buoyed by the strike, Nasri and Wilson Oruma tested Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jääskeläinen soon after the restart as Marseille pressed. They eventually got their reward when a Giannakopoulos error allowed Beye to cut inside and thread a dangerous ball into the area that Ben Haim directed into his own net.