Bolton Wanderers 0-3 Fulham | Premier league match report

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<div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.24.1.1/91665?ns=guardian&pageName=Bolton+Wanderers+0-3+Fulham+%7C+Premier+league+match+report%3AArticle%3A1728612&ch=Football&c3=Obs&c4=Premier+League+2011-12%2CBolton+Wanderers+%28Football%29%2CFulham+%28Football%29%2CPremier+League+%28Football%29%2CFootball%2CSport&c5=Unclassified%2CEuropa+League%2CPremier+League&c6=Joe+Lovejoy&c7=12-Apr-07&c8=1728612&c9=Article&c10=Match+report&c11=Football&c13=&c25=&c30=content&c42=Sport&h2=GU%2FSport%2FFootball%2FPremier+League+2011-12" width="1" height="1" /></div><p>Owen Coyle was named Premier League manager of the month for March after three successive wins, but his Bolton team are right back in the relegation mire after regressing into their bad old ways and subsiding to deserved defeat against the sort of opposition they need to be beating if they are to stay up.</p><p></p><p>Their defence was destroyed by Clint Dempsey, who scored twice in the first half to take his tally to 21 in all competitions. Fifteen of them have come into the league, which sees the American eclipse Louis Saha as Fulham's highest scorer in a Premier League season. The late <em>coup de grace</em> was supplied by Mahamadou Diarra.</p><p></p><p>In theory, their prospects of a rare away win were undermined by the absence, injured, of Pavel Pogrebnyak, the striker who scored a hat-trick against Wolves, and five goals in three games, after joining on loan from Stuttgart. So much for theory.</p><p></p><p>Danny Murphy was another notable absentee, also unfit, and Martin Jol gave a first start to Alex Kacaniklic, a 20-year-old Swede, on the left wing. The young man, who began his career with Liverpool, had impressed with a substitute's cameo against Norwich last weekend. He was less effective here.</p><p></p><p>Bolton, confidence bolstered by their recent improved results, should have had an early lead, but Ryo Miyaichi scooped his shot wastefully over from nine yards. Instead it was Fulham who went in front with half an hour played, when Dempsey took a free-kick from a central position, 25 yards out, and scored with a peach of a shot. Adam Bogdan, reaching high to his left, got a hand to the ball but could not keep it out.</p><p></p><p>Bolton beavered away diligently in pursuit of renewed equality, but nobody in their starting line-up had scored more than three goals in the Premier League all season, and their shortcomings were evident whenever they came within striking range.</p><p></p><p>Fulham have no problems on that score with Dempsey around, and minute into added time at the end of the first half they doubled the margin when he headed home unchallenged from Damien Duff's cross from near the byline on the right. It was a dreadful goal to concede, leaving Dempsey unmarked the amounting to a schoolboy error, and seconds later Bolton were booed off at the interval.</p><p></p><p>Coyle responded to the critical situation by making a double substitution, sending on attacking reinforcements in the shape of Kevin Davies, Chris Eagles and Ivan Klasnic. The changes produced a flurry of pressure, but Fulham were still more convincing when going forward, and Duff, who gave Marcos Alonso a torrid afternoon, took two good, low saves from Bogdan.</p><p></p><p>It was left to Diarra to complete the scoring, steering home John Arne Riise's centre at close range after 80 minutes</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/premier-league-2011-12">Premier League 2011-12</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/boltonwanderers">Bolton Wanderers</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/fulham">Fulham</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/premierleague">Premier League</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/joe-lovejoy">Joe Lovejoy</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" />
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