A Luke Moore equaliser denied Bolton a winning start to life under new manager Gary Megson and earned Aston Villa a point after a 1-1 draw at the Reebok Stadium on Sunday.
A superbly executed free-kick from Nicolas Anelka had given Bolton the lead mid-way through the first half.
But Martin O'Neill's side got back on level terms when Gabriel Agbonlahor's shot was diverted into the net by Moore 12 minutes after half-time.
Megson's patchy record as a manager ensured his appointment as the successor to Sammy Lee, who was sacked last week, has not been well received by sections of Bolton's support.
This encounter was watched by 18,413 spectators, the club's lowest Premier League crowd, and the final whistle was greeted by a chorus of boos from all sections of the ground.
The former Leicester manager's first significant decision in his new post had been to recall club captain Kevin Nolan, Ivan Campo and El-Hadji Diouf to his starting line-up.
And the fans who did turn out were given some grounds for optimism as their side displayed an urgency that had been missing from their performances in the final month of Lee's short reign.
The home side had a good shout for a penalty turned down with just under quarter of an hour gone when Villa defender Wilfred Bouma appeared to handle in the area.
Nolan was then denied a goal by a block from Gareth Barry before Anelka fired them into the lead, finding the top corner of the net with a free-kick he dispatched with a one-step run-up.
It was the France striker's sixth goal of the season and a reminder of the depth of quality that resides in Bolton's struggling squad.
Anelka went close to adding a second goal five minutes later, collecting a pass from Diouf and curling a shot fractionally beyond the far post with Maik Taylor struggling to cover.
Villa, who are still looking for their first away win in the league this season, had almost taken a first-minute lead through a whipped free-kick from Shaun Maloney.
But otherwise O'Neill's men offered little real threat and the Villa boss moved to shake things up at the break by throwing Patrik Berger and Luke Moore into the fray.
The subtitution paid off when Agonlahor's shot found the back of the net via the chest of Moore.
The equaliser exposed the lack of confidence currently afflicting Bolton but Villa did not have the cutting edge required to build on it and both sides appeared content to settle for a point in the closing stages.
