Trotters grab crucial win in relegation fight

Bolton 1 West Ham 0

Bolton kick-started their Premier League survival bid with a hard-fought victory over West Ham at the Reebok Stadium.

Kevin Davies’ close-range finish after 46 minutes secured Wanderers’ first win in nine league matches and the result really should have been more emphatic.

Davies had two headers cleared off the line in the first half, while El-Hadji Diouf and Kevin Nolan both had goals disallowed for offside.

Bolton captain Nolan returned from suspension to boost struggling Wanderers.

Defender Jlloyd Samuel and midfielder Ivan Campo were the other faces drafted in by manager Gary Megson following last weekend’s 4-0 hammering by Aston Villa.

West Ham’s team showed two changes from the one which lost to Portsmouth in midweek, defender Matthew Upson returning from an ankle injury and midfielder Jack Collison making his first senior start as Nolberto Solano and Lucas Neill sat out.

Prior to the match, a small but vocal group of fans outside the ground expressed their dissatisfaction with Megson and chairman Phil Gartside and chanted the name of former boss Sam Allardyce – the man who brought success to the Reebok Stadium.

In the second minute, Diouf won a corner off Anton Ferdinand but the centre-back immediately went down holding his left hamstring.

He was unable to continue and was replaced by John Pantsil, who went to right-back, as West Ham successfully defended the corner.

Bolton almost took the lead in the sixth minute when a hanging cross from the left was nodded back towards goal by Davies at the far post and Jonathan Spector, now in the centre of defence, headed out from under the crossbar.

Collison’s first action was to foul Diouf wide on the left but Robert Green punched Matthew Taylor’s inswinging free-kick clear.

Bobby Zamora won a 10th-minute corner off Samuel but Dean Ashton’s near-post shot was weak and wide.

A well-worked move between Samuel and Taylor down the left saw the former given a sight of goal but his shot lacked power and was straight at Green.

Upson’s wild sliced clearance gave Bolton a corner on the left but Diouf’s delivery was too long and beat everyone.

Davies’ deflected 25-yard shot earned Bolton a 30th-minute left-wing corner and from Diouf’s delivery, the striker nodded powerfully down to the far post where George McCartney headed over.

Andy O’Brien then headed Gretar Steinsson’s cross straight at Green as Bolton dominated the aerial battle without taking advantage.

West Ham’s first effort at goal came in the 38th minute when Ashton broke from midfield only to clip a left-footed shot straight into the arms of Ali Al Habsi.

Pantsil was booked for a foul on Davies and Campo’s free-kick was flicked on to the far post by Davies where Diouf side-footed home only to be flagged offside.

In the first minute after the interval, another Davies header forced Green to turn the ball for a corner from which Wanderers took the lead.

Spector failed to deal with Taylor’s inswinging delivery inside the six-yard area and Davies pounced to fire home only his fourth goal of the season and the 100th of his career.

West Ham’s best chance came in the 55th minute when Al Habsi flapped at Zamora’s cross and Luis Boa Morte shot at goal only for Gary Cahill to clear off the line.

Al Habsi then atoned for his error by superbly tipping over Ashton’s overhead kick from the follow-up.

Nolan thought he had made it 2-0 in the 65th minute when he scored from close range after Green could only parry Diouf’s shot, but he was offside.

Nolan was booked for a foul on Pantsil late on as Bolton scrapped to hang on to their lead and Al Habsi made a good low save from Scott Parker to secure victory.