Bolton Wanderers 0-2 Everton
Posted: Saturday 26th November 2011
Tags: Match Reports, Premier League, Everton, David Wheater
Bolton crashed to their tenth defeat in 13 Premier League games after losing 2-0 at home to Everton.
David Wheater was shown a straight red card with just 20 minutes on the clock for a lunge on Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, but Wanderers managed to hold their own until the break.
Their resistance didn't last too long, however, and they were behind four minutes after the break as Marouane Fellaini diverted Bilyaletdinov's low cross past Jussi Jaaskelainen.
Bolton offered precious little in their search for an equaliser and Everton sealed the points with 12 minutes remaining as substitute Apostolos Vellios poked the ball home from close range from a Tim Cahill cutback.
David Moyes' travelling side raced out of the blocks on a wet and windy afternoon at the Reebok and could have taken the lead as early as the third minute, only to be denied by a superb sliding challenge by Paul Robinson when Seamus Coleman had burst clear on goal.
Jaaskelainen was on hand a minute later to stop a header from Phil Jagielka, before a Tim Cahill header hit the back of Wheater as the visitors pushed for the opening goal.
It took quarter of an hour for Bolton to register their first shot on goal, with Kevin Davies' seeing the ball roll through to Ivan Klasnic. The Croatia international took a touch and shot on the turn, forcing Tim Howard to parry the ball away from danger.
Then, with 20 minutes gone, the major turning point of the game arrived. After bringing the ball down on halfway, Wheater took a poor touch and attempted to avenge for his mistake by sliding in on Bilyaletdinov. However, his challenge was two-footed and over the top of the ball, leaving referee Michael Oliver with little option but to brandish a red card.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, Bolton were determined to push forward and break the deadlock, with Chris Eagles coming closest with a dipping effort from distance, bringing Howard in to action.
Everton were failing to make the most of their extra man, but they did look the more likely goalscorers and should have gone ahead just before the half hour when Bilyaletdinov fired over with Leon Osman well placed in the middle.
Jaaskelainen made a smart stop to keep out a driven free-kick from John Heitinga as the half entered it's final 10 minutes and Tim Cahill saw a header blocked by Zat Knight, ensuring the teams went in level at the break.
For all their attacking in the opening 45 minutes, Everton couldn't find a way through the Bolton defence. That changed after the break, though, and Wanderers were thankful to some superb defending from Gary Cahill to deny Tim Cahill a certain goal.
The visitors did find a way through soon after, with Bilyaletdinov's low cross from the right flank finding Fellaini in the middle and he made no mistake in firing past Jaaskelainen from close range.
The Toffees maintained their pressure and went in search of a second, with Coleman taking a strike at goal, only to see the sting taken out of his shot by a block from Gary Cahill.
Everton appealed for a penalty just after the hour when Kevin Davies handled inside his own box, but the referee appeared to miss the incident and waved play on, letting Bolton off the hook.
Leighton Baines fired over shortly afterwards, before Bolton produced a rare attack which resulted in Klasnic being denied by Howard with a shot across goal.
Tim Cahill brought a superb diving save out of Jaaskelainen with 20 minutes to go, with Louis Saha shooting straight at the Finn from the rebound.
Leon Osman brought another stop out of Jaaskelainen three minutes later and just as the travelling fans were beginning to wonder if they would be punished for their poor finishing, a second goal arrived.
Baines' cross from the left flank appeared to be heading out of play, only for Tim Cahill to keep the ball in play and square the ball for substitute Vellios to fire into the empty net.
After netting the second goal, Moyes' team were happy to retain possession and saw out the remaining 12 minutes without incident as they secured their first victory at the Reebok in 3 years.
The defeat, Bolton's tenth of the campaign, means they remain in 18th position in the Premier League ahead of next Saturday's trip to White Hart Lane, where they will find Tottenham Hotspur in waiting.
Bolton Wanderers: Jaaskelainen, Wheater, Cahill, Knight, Robinson, M Davies, Muamba (Pratley 61), Reo-Coker (Steinsson 71), Eagles, Klasnic, K Davies (Tuncay 71)
Subs Not Used: Bogdan, Petrov, Kakuta, O'Halloran
Booked: Reo-Coker
Sent Off: Wheater
Everton Howard, Hibbert, Jagielka, Heitinga, Baines, Coleman, Fellaini, Osman, Bilyaletdinov (Gueye 90), Cahill (Barkley 88), Saha (Vellios 74)
Subs Not Used: Mucha, Stracqualursi, Mustafi, McAleny
Booked: Osman
Goals: Fellaini 49, Vellios 78
Referee: Michael Oliver
Attendance: 24,058