4:58pm Saturday 6th March 2010
WEST HAM were dragged back into the relegation fight after Bolton once again proved they are the Hammers' bogey side, recording their sixth successive win over the Upton Park side thanks to early goals for Kevin Davies and Jack Wilshere.
The Irons' players slumped to the floor in disappointment at the final whistle, after Alessandro Diamanti had briefly raised hopes of a late comeback with a classy finish from the edge of the area with two minutes to play.
Junior Stanislas rattled the bar in the final minute but the damage was done early on, as some generous defending gave Bolton a two-goal head start.
Gianfranco Zola called this a 'massive, massive' game before kick-off, insisting the three points on offer were effectively worth double, given the proximity of the two sides to eachother in the table.
However, the manager may have forgotten to relay the importance of the fixture to his players, as some woeful defending gifted Bolton a two-goal lead inside the first 16 minutes.
With just 10 minutes gone Lee Chung-Yong proved why he is one of the highest-rated players in Asia by working his way to the byline before standing up an excellent cross that James Tomkins missed, but Davies didn't, the striker getting the better of Julien Faubert to power a header past Robert Green.
Five minutes later West Ham had the chance to draw level, but Alessandro Diamanti's free-kick fell on top of the net.
With the visitors' next attack, they doubled their lead. Davies harried and hassled Tomkins as the defender tried to usher the ball out of play for a goal-kick. But the striker managed to hook the ball back in to play to the back post, where Tamir Cohen coolly headed the ball back across goal into the path of Wilshere, whose expertly-taken scissor-kick volley curved away from Robert Green and into the far corner.
Bolton could have been three up before 20 minutes were on the clock, the irrepressible Davies knocking the ball back for Johan Elmander, who skipped past two challenges before getting his shot away, only to see the ball taken in by Green.
Diamanti had another opportunity from a free-kick, but Jussi Jaaskelainen palmed his effort away from danger. Guillermo Franco volleyed the ball back into the area but Jaaskelainen denied the Hammers once again, clawing the ball away from under his crossbar.
With five minutes of the first half to go, West Ham should have halved the deficit. Scott Parker weighted a perfect pass through the middle for Carlton Cole to run on to but, as the striker was about to pull the trigger, Sam Ricketts got back and took the ball off his toe with a superb last-ditch tackle.
On the stroke of half-time, Parker saw his shot blocked, but Diamanti picked up the rebound and fired towards goal. The ball ballooned into the air and looked to be heading over the line after a defender inadvertently flicked it towards goal, only for Fabrice Muamba to clear the ball from under the bar.
The interval was greeted with a chorus of boos from the home fans, but their mood was soon lifted when the Hammerettes – the club's cheerleaders – emerged after a lengthy exile.
However, the girls' presence did little to inspire the team, as the hosts struggled to make any inroads against a stubborn Bolton backline.
Kieron Dyer was brought on for his first home appearance in three months after Julien Faubert pulled up injured, but he had little effect on proceedings, a snap half-volley from a Cole knockdown the closest he could come.
Cohen was sent off for a clumsy challenge on Parker, receiving his second booking.
It looked as if the Hammers were heading for a sixth straight defeat against Bolton with the final whistle approaching, but Diamanti made the visitors sweat with a beautifully-struck left-footed shot that curled beyond the keeper from the edge of the box.
West Ham poured forward in search of a leveller but it was Bolton who should have put the game to bed. Zat Knight burst the length of the field and squared for Davies, but the striker's effort, on the stretch, cannoned into the bar.
There was to be more drama before the end, as substitute Stanislas smashed a half-volley against the apex of the woodwork.
In the end, it proved to be too little too late for the home side, and Zola must now accept that his side are still very much embroiled in the relegation scrap, having known that a win here would have given them plenty of breathing space from the claustrophobic nature of the survival fight.
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