Branagan saves the day

"Steady on," the Wanderers keeper cautioned at the sacrilegious suggestion. "You're comparing me with the best save in the world.

"It's nice to hear everyone saying it but it wasn't that good, was it?"

On calm reflection, it's debateable. But on Saturday, as new survival odds were being calculated and that one incident was being hailed on all sides as the game's turning point, Branagan's miraculous stop from Matt Elliott's point-blank header was the equal of - even better than, according to Colin Todd - Banks' save from Pele in the 1970 World Cup Finals in Mexico.

But the once-capped Republic of Ireland international was modestly sceptical as he looked forward to updating his video library. "I've seen them all," he said, "the Banks saves, Shilton and Clemence...I'll have to watch this one myself before I can judge it."

Branagan was just a four-year-old kid when Banks had the world gasping in disbelief with his time-honoured heroics in Guadalajara; now a mature 31, he's embarrassed at claims that he might have bettered it.

The best save of his career? Maybe, but a more important comparison from Wanderers' standpoint is whether it turns out to be his most important. In that respect it will take a lot to beat his penalty stop from Stuart Lovell when Reading threatened to take a 3-0 lead in the 1995 Play-off Final at Wembley.

That most memorable of contributions in his six seasons as Bolton's No 1 led to Wanderers being promoted to the Premiership for the first time; this one might just have kept them there in their second attempt to establish themselves in the big time!

Acknowledging its significance, Branagan says hopefully: "It could turn out to be very important. I hope it does. "Every save I make from now on is going to be important for us. I'm just glad to be doing my bit but the lads in front of me on Saturday were fantastic, throwing their heads in for crosses and making last ditch tackles and blocks.

"The work they put in out there was terrific and it was just nice to hold out for a change. There were a lot of tired legs and when you see Per Frandsen with his hands on his knees when the second goal went in, it shows you how much desire there is within the team.

"We don't want to go down. We want to survive and it epitomises the determination of the team when you see a strong, fit player such as Per running himself to a standstill. That's workrate for you."

The word 'survival' might have been expunged from the Reebok vocabulary if Elliott's header from Steve Guppy's 65th minute free-kick hadn't been hooked away by Branagan's outstretched right arm.

Wanderers were leading through an Alan Thompson special, speared in from 25 yards seven minutes after Todd's rousing half-time team talk. But it was a frighteningly fragile lead and frustrated Leicester boss Martin O'Neill seemed justified in his post-match claim that, had they scored then, his team would have gone on to victory.

It was one-way traffic in that nail-biting second half, the pressure on the Bolton goal easing only when John Sheridan sent Thompson through for his second - his fourth in three games - in injury time.

"It would have helped if Tommo could have stuck it in a bit earlier and taken the pressure off us at the back," a relieved Branagan said later.

He'd produced more heroics to deflect a Stuart Wilson shot narrowly wide of his right-hand post to complete a hat-trick of saves, which began just before half time with an equally important and no less spectacular stop from a Theo Zagorakis header.

"We've been beaten 2-0 yet I thought we controlled the game all through," O'Neill groaned after seeing Leicester's UEFA Cup hopes evaporate before his eyes.

"Bolton fought very hard. They are really hanging in there and I can understand that because we were in the same situation last year. It's frenetic for them and they battled for everything but we've had all the game. "Their keeper made some absolutely incredible saves but the one from big Matt Elliott defied belief. I thought it was in.

"Thompson scored a wonder goal, right out of the blue, to give them the lead and then got that one at the end when we had all our players up the field.

"But really, it's been all us. I can't be more pleased with the players but the game's all about winning and losing and although we've played tremendously well, we haven't got the end result. It doesn't matter how much possession you have, you have to put the ball in the net."

Despite Leicester's dominance of a contest that recovered well from two separate first half dismissals, Wanderers managed to record the most emphatic of their six Premiership wins. Coming on the back of their resuscitating victory over Sheffield Wednesday, it has underlined their belief that the relegation tide has turned.

It was irritating more than disappointing to see a second successive three-point haul leave them still second from bottom but they have bridged a mighty gap and produced winning performances at just the right time, boosting the confidence factor immeasurably.

They also have a strengthened squad, thanks to last week's triple swoop, yet Todd held two of his new faces in reserve as he kept faith with the side that won a fortnight earlier, apart from handing Bob Taylor the task of replacing the suspended Nathan Blake.

Yet, after seeing Leicester surprisingly switch from their regular three centre-back system (presumably thinking Wanderers would start with John Salako) and playing Emile Heskey alone up front, he soon decided to change tactics. Then, just as Salako was getting stripped, Gudni Bergsson was walking forlornly to the dressing room having been red carded for wrestling Heskey to the ground - a challenge interpreted by referee Uriah Rennie as a "professional foul".

Todd delayed the substitution in the hope that a 4-3-2 formation would work but feared his midfield would be over-run. Ironically, within four minutes of swapping Salako for Dean Holdsworth, Leicester were also reduced to 10 when Rob Ullathorne became the ninth player sent off at the Reebok for lashing out at Per Frandsen in a niggly skirmish.

Taylor's inclusion ahead of Gaetano Giallanza raised as many eyebrows as his original loan move from West Brom back in January. And there was even more surprise when he was chosen ahead of record signing Holdsworth as the lone striker.

But the 32-year-old justified both decisions and proved himself the most willing of workers in that unenviable role.

"It was unfortunate for Dean Holdsworth that he was the one to be taken off," Todd explained. "He'll be disappointed but I thought that, on the day, Bob would be the best to work on his own up front."

The manager was under no illusions. He'd seen his midfield erratically squander valuable, pressure-relieving possession and his defence survive a second half onslaught from a Leicester attack orchestrated by Gary Parker and spearheaded by the powerful but, on the day, luckless Heskey.

He admitted: "We lacked that little bit of know-how at times to make the extra pass, keep the ball and take the pressure off.

"But it's all about winning at this stage of the season.

"You look at turning points in games and that save of Keith Branagan's was one. You also look at turning points in seasons and the win against Sheffield Wednesday was so important to us.

"That put the pressure on teams above us. This second win has put more pressure on the others and sets us up for another cup final against Arsenal."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.