Substitute Ivan Klasnic snatched the winner for Bolton but was then sent off in the victory over Stoke.
Striker has mixed fortunes in Trotters' first home win of season
Substitute Ivan Klasnic snatched the winner for Bolton but was then sent off in the victory over Stoke.
In an atmospheric encounter at the Reebok Stadium, the Trotters broke against the run of play to net the opener through a Chung-Yong Lee curler past Thomas Sorensen.
Wanderers battled well and often broke down City's attacks with Kenwyne Jones and Jon Walters having a thankless task up front. Jermaine Pennant also saw his free-kick cannon back off the bar in a tense clash in Lancashire.
However, straight after the interval the Potters were level when Rory Delap snuck in at the far post to drill home the equaliser from a Robert Huth flick-on.
Tensions ensued when substitute Klasnic came on in the 78th minute and found himself on the scoresheet after he turned well and struck the ball past Sorensen in added time.
However the 30-year-old was then given his marching orders after first getting a yellow for pushing Dean Whitehead in the face and then his second for an elbow.
In the run-up to the game Stoke looked a side on the rise after a run of three wins and a draw from their previous four league matches.
Their play exuded the greater degree of confidence, and arguably they should have taken a 15th-minute lead from an inswinging corner by Matthew Etherington which both Huth and Abdoulaye Faye failed to apply the finishing touch to.
Three minutes later a rare gap opened up in the Bolton defence but winger Etherington struck a weak effort into the hands of Jussi Jaaskelainen from 18 yards out.
Scoresheet
As the midway point of the half approached, Wanderers broke against the run of play which found South Korean Lee on the scoresheet.
The 22-year-old played a one-two with skipper Kevin Davies and then saw his ball into Fabrice Muamba cannon back off Faye into his path, Lee instinctively pounced on the loose ball and curled his shot into the far corner.
Not for the first time this season it left Stoke needing to come from behind and the visitors were almost level when Pennant's dipping 25-yard free-kick struck the top of the crossbar.
At that stage, with chances flowing at both ends, Muamba should have made it 2-0 but the 22-year-old saw his first-time drive sail wide of the mark after good work from Davies.
Referee Peter Walton was then in the thick of the action as he ignored furious penalty appeals from Stoke when a loose ball had rolled over the arm of an unaware Zat Knight.
Martin Petrov then saw his excellent left-footed rasping drive tipped expertly away by Sorensen.
From the ensuing corner to the far post, Davies missed a sitter as he steered a header wide when the ball should have been nestling in the bottom corner of the net.
It proved costly because within three minutes of the restart Stoke were level from an Etherington corner. Huth rose highest to flick-on a header towards the far-post and into the feet of Delap who volleyed home from five yards.
Just before the hour Stoke almost completed another comeback as Jones and Walters combined to set up Dean Whitehead for a first-time effort which Jaaskelainen saved with his legs.
Flick-on
Wanderers were far from out of the picture as Davies was again the supplier shortly afterwards with a flick-on from a long ball for Johan Elmander, whose steered effort through the six-yard box was inches beyond the far post.
After a looping Danny Collins header from a deep Pennant cross also failed to fall inside the far post moments later, the game appeared set to peter out.
Following several subsitutions from both managers, including Tony Pulis having to bring off Ricardo Fuller with a shoulder injury despite having only just come on ten minutes earlier, Owen Coyle's changes proved pivotal when Klasnic bagged the winner.
However the striker soon turned from hero to villain when he was off for his second-bookable offence following an altercation with Huth in what was a frantic and heated finish. Even the fans in the Reebok Stadium were involved in a clash which led to police having to intervene in the stands.
Despite the heated finish, Coyle's men held on for the three points and their first home win of the season.
| Bolton Wanderers |
Team Statistics |
Stoke City |
| 2 |
Goals |
1 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 6 |
Shots on Target |
3 |
| 5 |
Shots off Target |
5 |
| 1 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 5 |
Corners |
6 |
| 13 |
Fouls |
7 |
| 1 |
Offsides |
4 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
| 1 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 66.4 |
Passing Success |
59.6 |
| 20 |
Tackles |
11 |
| 70.0 |
Tackles Success |
81.8 |
| 61.2 |
Possession |
38.8 |
| 50.9 |
Territorial Advantage |
49.1 |
|
