Nolan sends Bolton third
Bolton have moved up to third in the Barclays Premiership with a 1-0 at home to Tottenham. It was Bolton captain Kevin Nolan who handed his side all three points with a quality strikre in the first half. Following a huge punt upfield from Jaaskelainen, El-Hadji Diouf and Kevin Davies combined well on the edge of box before the ball was laid into Nolan's path. Nolan hit the ball first time, his shot fizzing past Robinson, giving the Spurs goalkeeper no chance. Five minutes before the interval Nolan almost got a second, striking the woodwork with a side-footed shot after more good link play involving Davies and Diouf. Early in the second half the injured Davies was replaced by Jared Borgetti. The Mexican striker proved not quite so adept as Davies in holding the ball up, though he did manage to draw an athletic save from Robinson.
Prior to Nolan's goal Spurs had been restricted to the occasional breakaway. The best of those rare counter-attacks almost saw Michael Carrick release Defoe with a wonderful pass, but the ball was held up by the wind and Jaidi cleared. After going behind Spurs were more threatening in attack and Defoe had the ball in the net only to be ruled offside. Young-Pyo Lee then managed to get a clear sight of the Bolton goal only to scuff his shot wide. Lee had an ineffective game and he was eventually replaced by Keane. Teemu Tainio was the next Spurs player to threaten when he popped up in the Bolton area only to misdirect his shot. In stoppage time Stalteri's cross fooled Jaaskelainen, with the Finnish goalkeeper mighty relieved to see the ball bounce back off the bar. Final score: Bolton 1-0 Tottenham.
Great result for Bolton as they move to within two points of second placed side Wigan and eight points behind leaders Chelsea. I watched the match and I have to say on the whole of the performance I think Bolton just deserved it. There was a nasty little incident during the second half when Ledly King appeared to stamp on Stelios' face and he was later taken off.