Bolton - 1 Tottenham - 0: Bolton have a tendency to choke the hope out of opponents, a reputation which held firm last night. Tottenham Hotspur lost the last unbeaten away record in the Premiership here, their attempts to retrieve parity denied by a linesman's flag, the woodwork and a typically rugged display from a home defence which has conceded only once in these parts all season.
The Wanderers rejoice today from the dizzy heights of third, a fifth consecutive win in all competitions secured with this contest's classiest moment. If life has indeed been breathed back into the title race now that Chelsea have been proved vulnerable then Sam Allardyce's side, peering down at Manchester United and Arsenal, must surely be counted contenders.
The locals awake giddy by the sheer delight of it all.
Tottenham had good reason to be daunted more by this trip to the north-west, the chill of winter howling down off the Pennines to welcome them, than their recent visit to Old Trafford such is Bolton's recent record here.
If ever one moment could sum up what confronted Spurs it was Abdoulaye Faye's plunge at the feet of Michael Carrick to smother a goal-bound attempt midway through the first period, the ball cannoning from the Senegalese virtually to the halfway line. The resonant thwack of block on ball spoke volumes.
For a while, the visitors' patient approach hinted at rewards to come but Bolton are horribly awkward to dissect and boast genuine quality on the break. Stelios Giannakopoulos and El Hadji Diouf are energetic and skilful outlets yet it was an Englishman who ignited the occasion.
The half-hour had slipped by, the contest more intriguing than entertaining, when Diouf and Kevin Davies combined with the striker's lay-off pounced on by Kevin Nolan. The midfielder was 25 yards from goal with a cluster of Tottenham defenders ahead of him, but battered a wondrous shot high beyond the despairing Paul Robinson and into the top corner.
Sven-Goran Eriksson, shivering in the stands, was nominally present to assess the quintet of visiting players he had called up for Saturday's friendly against Argentina. He departed for his half-time cup of tea with a chorus of "Nolan for England" ringing in his ears.
This was a seventh goal of an already hugely productive season, and the 23-year-old's third in consecutive games. His eighth might have followed but his shot hit the post and away with Robinson beaten.
Yet, if those chances suggested the home side were utterly in the ascendance, they were deceptive. The principal irritation for opposing sides confronting Bolton is that opportunities can be chiselled from the Trotters which, if missed, heighten the sense of deflation.
Spurs departed at the break muttering injustice, the excellent Teemu Tainio - playing at the top of a diamond in midfield - having slipped Jermain Defoe between Radhi Jaidi and Tal Ben Haim barely a minute after Nolan's goal. The striker's finish was emphatic, but the assistant referee wrongly disallowed the attempt for offside.
Guardian Service
BOLTON: Jaaskelainen, O'Brien, Ben Haim, Jaidi, Gardner, Nolan, Faye, Speed, Giannakopoulos (Nakata 59), Davies (Borgetti 49), Diouf (N'Gotty 84). Subs Not Used: Okocha, Walker. Goals: Nolan 32.
TOTTENHAM: Robinson, Stalteri, Dawson, King, Lee (Keane 62), Tainio, Jenas (Brown 84), Carrick, Davids, Mido, Defoe. Subs Not Used: Kelly, Cerny, Reid. Booked: Dawson.
Referee: H Webb (S Yorkshire).
