Peterborough 1-0 Bolton: Michael Smith volley earns win for hosts

Peterborough moved into the Sky Bet League One play-off places with a narrow 1-0 win over Bolton Wanderers at the ABAX Stadium on Sunday.

Michael Smith's dipping volley on 27 minutes secured the victory for Grant McCann's side, ending Bolton's five-match winning run in the league.

A fourth win from their last six league games sends Peterborough up to fifth in the table, while Bolton remain third having missed the chance to move into the automatic promotion positions.

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The visitors suffered an early blow when goalkeeper Mark Howard was forced off after dislocating his thumb in a clash with Shaq Coulthirst.

His replacement Ben Alnwick was soon picking the ball out of his net as Peterborough, who dominated the first half, went in front thanks to Smith's fine volley.

The full-back took Leo Da Silva Lopes' cross-field pass in his stride, cutting inside and lashing a dipping strike over the substitute 'keeper.

Coulthirst, who squandered two promising opportunities before Smith's goal, was bright throughout a one-sided opening period as Bolton struggled to get Zach Clough and Sammy Ameobi involved.

They improved after the break and had a penalty appeal turned down when Josh Vela's shot appeared to strike Michael Bostwick on the arm in the Peterborough area.

Substitute Chris Taylor set up Clough seven yards out only for the youngster to stumble, while Taylor himself blazed over as Bolton pushed for an equaliser.

But the hosts held on and went closest before full-time as captain Chris Forrester and substitute Paul Taylor each wasted chances to grab Posh's second.