Managerless Bolton overcame League Two strugglers Lincoln City 4-0 to ease into the FA Cup fourth round.
Bolton avoid Lincoln banana skin
Managerless Bolton overcame League Two strugglers Lincoln City 4-0 to ease into the FA Cup fourth round.
Caretaker coach Chris Evans has already stated that he has no desire to succeed Gary Megson at the Reebok Stadium but he, alongside head coach Steve Wigley, helped to oversee a comprehensive success on Saturday which will do wonders for team morale.
The Trotters did have to wait until the 48th minute before forcing a breakthrough, when Moses Swaibu put through his own net, but were comfortable from that point on.
Chung-Yong Lee bagged a second a minute later for the hosts before Gary Cahill and Mark Davies wrapped things up in the latter stages.
Bolton should have taken the lead after 13 minutes when the ball broke to Lee on the edge of the area.
He took a touch but failed to test goalkeeper Rob Burch, hoisting his shot high over the bar.
Then Cahill strode forward for Bolton, only to see his effort from inside the area cleared to safety.
Testing
Bolton stepped up the pace and Ivan Klasnic came close to making the breakthrough after 18 minutes.
Klasnic, with five goals in six games, was set up by Fabrice Muamba, only to curl his shot the wrong side of the post before testing Burch from an acute angle.
Klasnic was beginning to worry Lincoln and hooked a shot wide in the 28th minute after being set up by Matt Taylor.
Six minutes later the visitors again found themselves on the back foot when Gretar Steinsson whipped in a cross from the right.
Taylor peeled away from his marker but failed to find the target from inside the six-yard area.
Lincoln, however, launched a swift counter attack in the 37th minute and Joe Anderson set up Chris Herd.
He rattled in a shot from the edge of the area that Ali Al Habsi gathered at the second attempt.
Bolton quickly got into their stride and rocked Lincoln with two goals in quick succession.
Fortunate
The first one was slightly fortunate, however, with Swaibu deflecting the ball into his own net following a ball from Taylor.
The second a minute later was a clinical finish from Lee, who was left unmarked at the back post when Klasnic set up the opening.
Bolton almost added a third goal in the 64th minute after some sloppy defensive play but Taylor's effort came back off the underside of the bar.
Substitute Johan Elmander sent a shot from close range over the bar before Cahill extended Bolton's lead in the 83rd minute.
The defender got on the end of a cross from Kevin Davies to send a header beyond Burch for his sixth goal of the season.
Lincoln hit back and Herd tested Al Habsi, with the goalkeeper doing well to turn his effort around the post.
However, substitute Davies added a fourth for Bolton in stoppage-time from close range after being set up by Paul Robinson.
| Bolton Wanderers |
Team Name |
Lincoln City |
| 55% |
Possession |
45% |
| 4 |
Goals |
0 |
| 4 |
Shots On Target |
3 |
| 7 |
Shots Off Target |
4 |
| 0 |
Blocked Shots |
2 |
| 7 |
Corners |
8 |
| 15 |
Fouls Conceded |
10 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
2 |
| 0 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
|
