-
Bolton 1-0 Wolverhampton: Knight tap scores
Bolton hauled themselves out of the bottom three after they edged out Wolves 1-0 in a scrappy Premier League encounter at the Reebok Stadium.
One touch of class separated the sides as Bolton midfielder Chung-Yong Lee provided Zat Knight with a tap in with a piece of inspired wing play on the stroke of half-time.
Wolves were twice denied an equaliser as the woodwork came to The Trotters' rescue on two occasions in the second half, and Mick McCarthy's side were unable to respond as the hosts defended obdurately to clinch the win which sees them clamber out of the relegation zone.
Owen Coyle made six changes to his side as Jack Wilshere was handed a starting midfield berth, with Kevin Davies, Paul Robinson, Johan Elmander, Gretar Steinsson and Lee all restored to the starting line-up, while McCarthy persevered with his 4-5-1 formation.
The first half was a pretty turgid affair as both sides battled for possession in midfield and were unable to muster much creativity going forward, but a few half-chances fell Johan Elmander's way.
A slick interchange between Lee and Wilshere presented Elmander with a good chance in front of goal in the 15th minute, but his low shot was tame and Marcus Hahnemann was able to collect the ball comfortably.
A loose ball then dropped to Elmander on the edge of the Wolves penalty area in the 26th minute, but the Swede's fierce shot was straight at Hahnemann, who parried the ball away to safety.
The third chance to fall to Elmander in quick succession came as Kevin Davies bustled his way into the Wolves box and, after Hahnemann made a fine stop with his legs, the ball dropped at the feet of the Swede, who could not find a way through the retreating Jody Craddock with his shot.
Wilshere was full of promise and endeavour as he picked up on the scraps in midfield, and the Arsenal starlet was teed up superbly by Lee in the final minute of the first half, but his dinked shot from inside the Wolves box drifted agonisingly over the crossbar.
Lee continued to wreak havoc in the final third, and the Bolton midfielder somehow managed to keep a loose ball in play down the left before he jinked past Ronald Zubar and Kevin Foley and squared the ball to Knight, who was afforded the simplest of finishes from five yards out.
Bolton began the second half very brightly as Fabrice Muamba made a powerful run into the Wolves half, before he then laid the ball off to Davies, whose lacked composure as he shot straight at Hahnemann with an abundance of time to gather himself.
The hosts were then denied a vehement penalty appeal as Davies flicked the ball towards Elmander in the Wolves box, only to see the hand of Zubar block the pass, but referee Andre Marriner saw the incident differently.
Wolves were unable to establish themselves in the Bolton half, and Kevin Doyle cut an increasingly isolated and frustrated figure in his lone forward berth, as Knight and Sam Ricketts marshalled the Irishman effectively.
While Mick McCarthy's side were outplayed for the majority of the second half, David Jones was cruelly denied an equaliser on the hour-mark after the winger's sublime effort curled over the wall and struck the base of the near post with Jussi Jaaskelainen comprehensively beaten.
Matthew Jarvis was then left hands-on-hips in dismay as his low shot from inside the Bolton box beat Jaaskelainen and rebounded off the inside of the far post and somehow stayed out with substitute Sylvan Ebanks-Blake unable to capitalise on the rebound.
Bolton defended stoutly to stave off the fleeting spells of late pressure from the visitors, and Wolves could not find the inspiration to breach their opponents' defences.
Wolves have now mustered just a solitary victory in their last 12 Premier League matches away from home, while Coyle's side have suffered just one defeat in their last seven league encounters at the Reebok.
Dan Quarrell / Eurosport
Source: uk.eurosport.com
Line-up:
Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Ricketts, Knight, Robinson, Muamba, Lee, Wilshere, Holden, Elmander, Kevin Davies. Subs: Al Habsi, Taylor, Riga, Klasnic, Cohen, Andrew O'Brien, Weiss
Wolves: Hahnemann, Zubar, Craddock, Berra, Ward, Henry, Guedioura, Foley, David Jones, Jarvis, Doyle. Subs: Hennessey, Elokobi, Ebanks-Blake, Keogh, Vokes, Milijas, Mancienne
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments: