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Wigan and Bolton played out a goalless draw at the JJB Stadium which did no harm to either side's hopes of Premier League survival.

Both sides had chances to win a lively encounter, with Kevin Davies having a goal chalked off for off-side and Johan Elmander coming close in the final few minutes.

But despite plenty of energy and enterprise on display, neither side could break the deadlock as the teams eventually seemed happy to settle for a point each.

It was the home side who got off to the best start, completely dominating the first quarter of an hour of play as they were relentlessly good keeping the visitors off the ball.

And the pressure from kick off almost paid off in the opening few minutes, with Colombian striker Hugo Rodallega unleashing a lovely left-foot shot in the third minute that saw keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen push the ball onto the inside of the post, then look on nervously as the ball span straight across the goal line.

Seven minutes later Mido headed the ball on to Charles N'Zogbia, who again forced a terrific save from the Bolton keeper, and Jaaskelainen was again his side's saviour three minutes later when denying Rodallega again.

Rodallega's effort, however, came moments after Bolton saw Gary Cahill's effort deflected onto the bar in their very first incursion into the Wigan half, a move which finally sparked the visitors into action.

Tamir Cohen rose to meet a corner kick on 17 minutes but saw his effort go just over, but it would be the last effort for a while as the teams began to close each other down more effectively.

With chances at a relative premium after the wide-open beginning, Rodallega attempted a bicycle kick on the half-hour mark which only just dribbled wide of the post, and five minutes later Gavin McCann tried a pot shot from 25 yards at the other end.

The game continued to tighten up, however, until Davies's superb free-kick in the 44th minute found the back of the net - but the linesman's flag was raised for offside to rule out what seemed a good opener.

Bolton - the side with more to gain from forcing a result - pushed the harder as the second half began, and enjoyed a spell of dominance that saw them create several decent half-chances without ever looking like opening the scoring.

And indeed it was Wigan's Egyptian Mido who was next to come close, with a clear shot on goal at the 62 minute mark that he dragged wide of the left post.

As Bolton countered, however, Elmander then came close when his long-range effort almost span in after a heavy deflection of Emmerson Boyce's boot.

Wigan picked their feet up in the final quarter, with Amr Zaki's introduction bringing an injection of fresh pace despite the fact that he never came close to getting on the end of anything.

There would be one more clear chance, however, as five minutes from time Elmander rose to meet Davies's cross on the six-yard box - but a powerful header thumped against the crossbar and fell to Boyce for the clearance that denied Bolton the three points.

It was as close as either side got for the whole match, but the single point each will do no harm to either team. Wigan now look all but guaranteed to survive for next season, while Bolton too seem to have every chance of retaining their spot in the top flight.

Toby Keel / Eurosport