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Sports

Petrov leads England's Bolton over Orlando City

Associated Press
Published | Updated

ORLANDO, Fla. – Martin Petrov had a goal and an assist to lead Bolton of the English Premier League to a 3-1 win over Orlando City of the US Pro League in an international exhibition Sunday night.

Petrov, a Bulgarian national in his second season at Bolton, assisted on Kevin Davies' header in the 14th minute and scored in the 39th from 14 yards out.

"You can see why there's so much to be pleased about," said Bolton manager Owen Coyle. "Martin showed great composure and took his goal well."

Petrov joined Bolton last season after a successful stint with Manchester City, scoring three goals last season — including one against Manchester United — but went relatively quiet in the second half.

"Martin was flying tonight," said Davies. "He's looking really sharp for us."

Orlando City tied it 1-all in the 28th minute when Matt Luzunaris, on loan from the San Jose Earthquakes of MLS, broke an offsides trap to beat Bolton keeper Adam Bogdan.

Bolton regained the lead in the 37th minute on a goal by Darren Pratley.

"We knew we would be coming up against a quality side (Orlando) who are performing well, so for us it was a good test at this stage in our preseason," Coyle said. "We saw a lot of quality from both teams who were very comfortable in possession of the ball."

The second half was mostly uneventful as both teams cleared their benches. Orlando City's Kevin Molino had a late goal disallowed for offsides.

Petrov, who scored only three goals last year, consistently beat the Orlando defense to create scoring opportunities. Lee also had several opportunities in the opening 45 minutes.

Luzunaris, who played his collegiate ball at nearby Central Florida and joined Orlando City this week, had another good scoring chance late in the first half that went wide left.

Bolton, a FA Cup semifinalist last season, was playing its second of a three-match preseason trip in the U.S. The team concludes its trip Wednesday with an exhibition against the Houston Dynamo of MLS.

Orlando City, a third-tier U.S. team, will also host Premier League side Newcastle on Saturday.

"I thought for 25 minutes we played well," said Orlando manager Adrian Heath. "We gave away a couple of silly goals. For our younger players, this provided a great experience and they got to see the size and athleticism of EPL players."