Ivan Klasnic edged Bolton into the FA Cup quarter-finals following a 1-0 win at Fulham.
Trotters striker the hero again as Bolton triumph at Fulham
Ivan Klasnic scored the only goal of the game as Bolton edged into the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 1-0 win at Fulham.
It was the second successive round in which Klasnic netted the winner, having scored in the 1-0 success over Wigan on Wednesday, and the Trotters now travel to Birmingham.
The Croatia international volleyed in from 12 yards on 19 minutes after Fabrice Muamba and Lee Chung-yong caused problems for the Fulham defence.
For Fulham, the most positive aspect of the game was the return of Bobby Zamora, who looked lively in his first appearance since breaking his leg in September.
Zamora replaced Zoltan Gera on 67 minutes and added a cutting edge to Fulham's attack, but it was not enough to spark a turnaround as the visitors held out.
Bolton have not graced the FA Cup final since the late, great Nat Lofthouse scored twice to beat Manchester United in 1958. They have now taken two significant steps in the space of a week.
This victory was not without its controversies, though, as tempers boiled over in the second half with an off-the-ball half between Chris Baird and Martin Petrov.
Both men were fortunate to only be booked as Petrov appeared to catch Baird with a flailing arm and the Fulham defender responded by shoving the Bolton winger in the face.
Bolton's physical centre-back pairing of David Wheater and Gary Cahill were effective in crowding out Andrew Johnson and Moussa Dembele, if not always legal.
Changes
Fulham boss Mark Hughes made one change to his starting line-up from Monday's Premier League draw with Chelsea, with Gera replacing the injured Damien Duff in midfield.
Bolton brought back striker Kevin Davies and midfielder Stuart Holden following their midweek cup win, while Marcos Alonso started at left-back in place of the injured Sam Ricketts.
Fulham started brightly. Clint Dempsey beat Cahill to flick the ball into the path of Dembele, whose shot was deflected away by Bolton keeper Adam Bogdan.
Holden had Bolton's first shot on goal as he latched onto a knock-down from Davies on the edge of the Fulham box but his left-footed effort flew wide.
Dempsey was dominating the middle of the park and he pounced on a loose piece of control from Alonso and released Gera down the right, who whipped in a teasing low cross that was just too far ahead of Johnson.
But it was Bolton who took the lead after 19 minutes with a left-foot volley from Klasnic after some clever approach play from Lee.
The South Korean completed a neat one-two with Klasnic on the edge of the Fulham box before Muamba drilled in a cross that Aaron Hughes failed to deal with cleanly.
As the ball dropped inside around the penalty spot, Klasnic was the first to react and he rifled his shot past Mark Schwarzer.
Fulham continued to press and Dembele's misplaced pass ended up creating a shooting opportunity for Gera but the Hungarian fired over the top.
Wheater was fortunate to receive only a lecture from referee Stuart Attwell after he hauled Dembele to the ground in the build-up to a promising move.
Johnson was lively up front for Fulham, trying desperately to steal a yard in between the two centre-backs but with little reward.
Cahill went through the back of Johnson once but the England international also pulled off a perfectly-timed interception on the edge of his own box.
Fulham were having to battle against Bolton's physicality but they did have chances, with Brede Hangeland playing Dempsey into space 25 yards out only for the American to drag his low shot wide of the near post.
Second half
Fulham made a lively start to the second half with Dembele lifting one shot over before forcing Bogdan into a smart save with a low curling effort from the edge of the box.
Muamba was booked by Attwell when he halted Dembele's run by scything him down from behind. Tempers were beginning to fray, with Petrov and Baird clashing off the ball.
Sidwell cut in from the left and tested Bogdan from distance while, at the other end, Baird denied Davies a shot on goal with a well-timed challenge in the box.
Schwarzer kept Fulham in the game by clawing away Klasnic's close-range effort after the Bolton striker had been picked out in the box by Lee.
Fulham won a free-kick 25 yards from goal after Davies was judged to have fouled Danny Murphy. Robinson charged furiously to protest and was booked for dissent.
Murphy tried to bend his shot around the wall but it floated over the far post.
Petrov then found himself in acres of space in the Fulham box but he took one touch too many and his fierce drive was tipped around the near post by Schwarzer.
Fulham threw the kitchen sink at Bolton in the closing stages but the Trotters clung on to seal the victory, with Cahill producing a magnificent block from Dempsey's shot inside the box.
