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| November 9, 2005 | Wednesday | Shawwal 6, 1426 |
Nolan’s strike sends Bolton into 3rd spot
BOLTON (England), Nov 8: Bolton jumped to third place in the Premiership on Monday after a first half goal from in-form captain Kevin Nolan gave them a 1-0 victory over Tottenham.
Watched by England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, who was in the stands to see Spurs’ international contingent ahead of Saturday’s friendly with Argentina, Nolan scored the winner after 32 minutes.
And Eriksson left the stadium with ‘Nolan for England’ ringing in his ears after his stunning 20-yard strike gave Bolton their third 1-0 win in a row - with the 23-year-old also the match-winner against Charlton and Zenit St Petersburg.
The win moves Bolton up four spots in the table from seventh with 23 points from 12 games, leaving them eight points behind leaders Chelsea, who stay on 31 after their shock loss Saturday to Manchester United, with second-placed Wigan on 25 with a game in hand.
Spurs never found the answer to the Bolton approach, although Jermain Defoe had a goal ruled offside while Egyptian striker Mido also hit the post.
Nolan’s goal was reward for a dominant start by the hosts, but Spurs had the ball in the net on 33 minutes, only to see Defoe’s finish ruled out for offside before Young-Pyo Lee missed a chance.
Nolan nearly made it 2-0 on 40 minutes when his low right-footed shot rattled the upright.
Spurs pushed forward in the closing stages and were twice denied an equaliser when Mido’s close-range effort hit the post and Paul Stalteri’s cross in stoppage time hit the crossbar.
The loss sees Tottenham drop one spot to sixth.—AFP
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