Rate it!

11 votes

Ivan Klasnic struck a late winner as Bolton moved clear of the Premier League relegation zone with a 3-2 win over Everton at the Reebok.

The Croatian substitute (pictured), who had been knocked unconscious three minutes previously, drove a low shot past Tim Howard after a lucky rebound played him in.

Everton had come from two goals down, with Louis Saha and Marouane Fellaini levelling after Lee Chung-Yong and Gary Cahill put the hosts ahead.

The Trotters move up five places to 12th, above Everton on goal difference.

David Moyes made three changes from side that was demolished by Benfica in midweek, including handing Saha a start and brining back defensive duo John Heitinga and Lucas Neill.

The Toffees still looked shaky at the back though, as the hosts started like a house on fire with Tamir Cohen heading wide from a superb J'Lloyd Samuel cross to the Israeli, who was unmarked at the back stick.

The typically direct Trotters looked dangerous from wide, through the middle and from set-pieces, with Kevin Davies a nuisance as always but misjudging his header after a great delivery from a Matt Taylor free-kick.

They took the lead when the impressive Sam Ricketts bustled down the right and clipped a teasing low ball that Ricardo Gardner missed but Lee was on-hand to it knock across Tim Howard into the bottom right.

That was on 17 minutes and they doubled their lead 10 minutes later after a free-kick caught the Toffees cold.

Taylor swung the ball in from the right and Gary Cahill got clear of Sylvain Distin to power a header into the bottom right with Howard given no chance.

Everton pulled one back within five minutes thanks to the cultured left boot of Saha.

The French striker was released on the right by Neill and, after some neat skill to cut inside to the edge of the box, the former Fulham and Manchester United man unleashed an unstoppable drive that cannoned into the top left to halve the deficit.

Jo went close with a free-kick that flew just over in first-half stoppage time, but Bolton were good value for their lead going into half-time.

The second-half was a mostly scrappy affair, with Everton just shading it and deserving their equaliser seven minutes in.

A hopeful ball from Neill dropped to Belgium midfielder Fellaini on the right and, from an acute angle and faced with Gary Cahill, he managed to eke out a fantastic rising shot that flew into the roof of the net.

Bolton defender Zat Knight was very fortunate not to be shown a straight red after referee Phil Dowd and his assistants missed a clear and deliberate stamp on Tim Cahill's knee.

As the second half progressed, the hosts started to see more of the ball and Davies somehow headed wide when Lee's corner found him free on the edge of the six-yard box.

Gary Megson had switched from a lone striker to a front two by bringing Klasnic on to partner Davies and the move reaped dividends.

The former Werder Bremen striker, whose career hung in the balance after a double kidney transplant and who seemed to have been knocked out of the game by an accidental Neill elbow, was on hand when the Australian defender's defensive headed cannoned off the head of Davies, drilling low past Howard with four minutes of normal time remaining.

Bolton hung on to the lead to gain a valuable three points that puts them three points clear of the drop zone in a cluttered bottom half of the table.

Reda Maher / Eurosport