Bolton moved out of the relegation zone with a battling 1-0 victory over Lancashire rivals Burnley.
Coyle celebrates first league win at expense of lacklustre Clarets
Bolton manager Owen Coyle heaped more misery on former club Burnley as Lee Chung-Yong's first-half strike separated the sides at the Reebok Stadium.
In a low-quality Lancashire derby which will be remember more for the pre-match build up than the game itself, it was Coyle who was left celebrating as Bolton moved out of the relegation zone with a narrow 1-0 win.
The victory was the Trotters' first in 12 top-flight fixtures and came courtesy of Lee's well-taken finish in the 35th minute following a delightful through ball from Kevin Davies.
Burnley rarely threatened a response thereafter and have now slipped into the relegation zone and remain winless away from home in the league this season.
Glorious chance
Burnley's cause was not helped in that they lost Graham Alexander and Chris McCann to injury in the first half.
Bolton should have taken the lead in the 17th minute when Fabrice Muamba found himself clear on goal after being released by Matt Taylor but he cleared the bar with his effort.
That gave the home side confidence and Gary Cahill nodded wide from close range after Burnley's Clarke Carlisle almost sent a header beyond his own goalkeeper Brian Jensen.
The visitors hit back and Chris Eagles squandered a glorious chance in the 28th minute when he mishit the rebound after Jussi Jaaskelainen parried Steven Fletcher's shot from inside the area.
It was an open game and Lee won the ball off Jensen and it fell to Davies but he steered it wide.
Back came Burnley and Christian Kalvanes' effort beat Jaaskelainen but finished the wrong side of the post.
Bolton made the breakthrough with Lee taking advantage of a superb ball from Davies.
He clipped in a shot that hit the underside of the bar and Michael Duff thumped it clear, only for referee Martin Atkinson to award a goal.
It took Lee's tally to five and he was troubling Burnley with his pace and movement.
Bolton stepped up the pace at the start of the second half with Lee and Davies both seeing efforts go wide of the target.
Burnley found themselves on the back foot with Jensen turning Matt Taylor's shot around the post after he had been picked out by Lee.
Imposing
Then Tamir Cohen headed wide for Bolton after a long throw from Sam Ricketts caused confusion in the visiting defence.
This was a difficult spell for Burnley and Muamba saw a shot from 25 yards deflected to safety in the 62nd minute.
Manager Brian Laws made a switch three minutes later by bringing on striker Frederic Nimani for Eagles.
Nimani is on loan from Monaco until the end of the season and only received his international clearance on the day of the game.
He certainly cut an imposing figure as Burnley went in search of an equaliser. However Bolton maintained the momentum and Johan Elmander clipped a header wide of the post following a cross from Davies.
Bolton were keen to put the game out of sight and Cohen got into a good position in the 82nd minute but fired wide of the target.
Then substitute Ricardo Gardner saw his effort turned away by Jensen as Bolton finished the stronger of the two teams.
Burnley have now picked up only one point from 12 games on the road and that is relegation form. Laws knows he has a job on his hands.
| Bolton Wanderers |
Team Statistics |
Burnley |
| 1 |
Goals |
0 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 3 |
Shots on Target |
1 |
| 8 |
Shots off Target |
6 |
| 7 |
Blocked Shots |
4 |
| 4 |
Corners |
7 |
| 12 |
Fouls |
10 |
| 3 |
Offsides |
2 |
| 3 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 60.4 |
Passing Success |
64.5 |
| 21 |
Tackles |
18 |
| 66.7 |
Tackles Success |
94.4 |
| 42.9 |
Possession |
57.1 |
| 51.7 |
Territorial Advantage |
48.3 |
|
