Andranik Teymourian( Iranian player of Bolton ) scored two second-half goals to keep Bolton on course for Europe and pile the relegation pressure on Wigan, who lost 3-1 at home.
Emile Heskey's 100th league goal of his career was in vain as Sam Allardyce's side produced a stirring comeback at the JJB Stadium.Nicolas Anelka initially hauled Bolton level four minutes before the interval, before Iran midfielder Teymourian grabbed the first Premiership goals of his career in the space of five minutes.
Teymourian, signed on his performances at last summer's World Cup, appears to be another of those shrewd Allardyce captures.Starting only his second league match, the 24-year-old certainly delivered in a crucial local derby victory that keeps Bolton in the hunt for a possible Champions League place.Wigan, though, continue to hover precariously above the bottom three after two successive defeats.Manager Paul Jewell will again wonder how this one slipped away, in particular after taking a stranglehold on the game in the first half.For 35 minutes the Latics were barely troubled, with Heskey's ton-up strike after the half hour just reward for their
endeavourThroughout that period Bolton had done nothing more than pump long balls forward to their attacking trio of Anelka, Kevin Davies and El Hadji Diouf.Although Wigan were without inspirational captain Arjan de Zeeuw, the veteran centre-back seemingly rested, a defence marshalled by stand-in skipper Matt Jackson comfortably contained such a threat.Instead, it was Wigan who posed all the problems, in particular with the pacy Antonio Valencia down the right wing, while Josip Skoko and Paul Scharner formed an imposing partnership across the middle.Jewell's side should have taken a fourth-minute lead as a sleepy Bolton defence failed to pick up Lee McCulloch's unopposed run into the heart of the area in meeting a Ryan Taylor corner.But from eight yards the Scotland international winger, who had scored the winner in a 1-0 win at the Reebok Stadium earlier this season, side-footed narrowly wide.As Wigan applied the pressure, half-chances followed, with Caleb Folan steering a Valencia cross over the bar, while Abdoulaye Faye made a painful block on the edge of the area from McCulloch's shot on the turn.Abdoulaye Meite also produced a superb challenge to deny Heskey in the 27th minute after the striker had surged into the area on the back of a raking ball from Leighton Baines.Four minutes later Wigan made the breakthrough with a scrappy goal that epitomised the passage of play at that stage as the home side were just starting to lose their grip.Unsurprisingly, the move was started by Valencia,
robbing Tal Ben Haim of the ball before feeding Folan who in turn played in Scharner.The Austrian's run into the penalty area culminated in a low ball in for Heskey that should have been cut out by Jussi Jaaskelainen.However, Heskey managed to get a decisive flick goalwards for his seventh of the season, with the ball trickling over the line off Nicky Hunt.A perturbed Allardyce swiftly replaced struggling Ben Haim with Ricardo Gardner to combat Valencia's threat and within a few minutes a more solid-looking Bolton were level.A raid into the area initially saw Jackson block a close-range shot from Anelka from which Wigan failed to clear their lines.John Filan then flapped at a cross that was picked up at the far post by Diouf and the Senegal striker slid the ball into Anelka, who tapped home from two yards.Bolton could then easily have headed into the break with the lead, but after spilling a 20-yard shot from Teymourian, Filan made amends by superbly saving from Diouf on the follow-up.The goal, though, had given Wanderers the impetus heading into the break and it was one they built on as the second period ebbed and flowed before Teymourian's double breakthrough.There were half-chances again, this time for both sides, as well as yellow cards for Bolton's David Thompson and Davies.Then midway through the half Bolton completed their comeback, with Diouf again the supplier as he hauled down a long ball out of defence before splitting the Wigan rearguard with an incisive pass.It left Teymourian all alone and with only Filan to beat and he did so with aplomb by stroking the ball underneath the advancing Australian.Five minutes later and Teymourian sealed the points with a simple downward header from an unmarked position at the far post, after Davies had done all the hard work down the right.Although McCulloch rattled the crossbar in the 80th minute with a thunderous right-foot half-volley, Wigan are now staring at the prospect of the drop, while Bolton are on the rise again. Allardyce hails Teymourian
Bolton boss Sam Allardyce hailed Andranik Teymourian as his 'little diamond' following his match-winning double at Wigan. The victory keeps Bolton on course for a place in Europe next season, and Allardyce said: 'After starting the game poorly, we managed to cause mayhem in the last 10 minutes. 'I was getting worried, though, because we were creating chances and missing them, but we have found a little diamond who is progressing nicely. 'The clinical finishing he showed today was the difference between the two sides in the end, and they were two great finishes. 'For the first, most players would have taken a touch, but he didn't. He hit it first time and it was past the keeper before he could get down. 'Then he popped up at the far post on a late run completely unmarked, and I didn't know he could head the ball, but he showed me then he can do that. 'That put the game beyond Wigan's reach because I felt, at 2-1, they were always going to be dangerous. 'But to kill them off like that after going a goal down was terrific and it makes life very interesting for us now.' Bolton are now just two points behind fourth-place Arsenal in the race for a Champions League spot, while they are three clear of Everton - who they play at home on Monday - should UEFA Cup football be the order of the day. Allardyce, though, jokingly brushed aside suggestions that his team can beat the Gunners - who they face next Saturday - for the lucrative fourth place. 'UEFA only!' insisted Allardyce. 'Nothing else. It would destroy this club if we went into the Champions League. We are not big enough for that. It would be too much for us.' With a smile on his face, Allardyce added: 'But at the end of the day if it comes along then we will take it, of course we will. 'But I don't want it broadcast that we are looking for it because we are not really. 'We have already blown it once before by talking about it too much, so I don't want to talk about it any more.' Heskey deservedly gave Wigan the lead with a scrambled effort in the 31st minute, only for Anelka to poach the equaliser from close range 10 minutes before the break. Teymourian then put Bolton in front in the 68th minute with a firm first-time shot following a defence-splitting pass from El-Hadji Diouf, before then heading home a Kevin Davies cross in the 73rd minute. Allardyce insisted that what had happened in Iran - 15 British naval service personnel were held captive - had no affect on the player. 'If anything had happened to them it might have been a little different,' added Allardyce. 'But while it was happening, it was not something we brought up.' Defeat for Wigan leaves them in the relegation mire, just two points above the bottom three and with manager Paul Jewell demanding his players 'fight and dig deep'. The Latics have now thrown away 22 points after scoring first in a game, and Jewell said: 'We are the best in the league at doing that! 'I've said it before, but we seemed to be a bit milky, in that, when we come under pressure, we concede a goal. 'I thought we had got over that, but it was back today and now we are most certainly in a dogfight. 'We have to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and try to get a result at Aston Villa on Monday.'
Source :
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=199402&campaign=rss&source=soccernet&cc=5739
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