King Kevin clinches vital win

Kevin Davies inspired Bolton to a precious 1-0 win over West Ham which gives Gary Megson's men hope of avoiding relegation.

Davies goal enough for crucial three points for Wanderers

Kevin Davies inspired Bolton to a precious 1-0 win against West Ham United which gives Gary Megson's men renewed hope of avoiding relegation. The imposing frontman tapped home from close range after Kevin Nolan's corner caused mayhem in the Hammers' box. The home side, who had two goals disallowed, were good value for their victory although they has to endure some nervous moments in the second half as Alan Curbishley threw caution to the wind. Goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi had to be at his best to deny Scott Parker and Dean Ashton as Wanderers closed the gap between themselves and safety to just two points. 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. But they were left to eat their words after a battling Bolton display. They were in the Hammers' faces from as early as 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.

Sliced

Collison's first action was to foul Diouf wide on the left but Robert Green punched Matthew Taylor's inswinging free-kick clear. A well-worked move between JLloyd Samuel and Matthew Taylor down the left saw the former given a sight of goal but his shot lacked power and was straight at Green. 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. 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.

Chance

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.

Bolton Wanderers	Team Statistics	West Ham United
1	Goals	0
0	1st Half Goals	0
6	Shots on Target	4
3	Shots off Target	5
4	Blocked Shots	5
12	Corners	5
15	Fouls	15
5	Offsides	1
1	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
61.2	Passing Success	71.8
24	Tackles	26
75	Tackles Success	69.2
44.3	Possession	55.7
56.4	Territorial Advantage	43.6