Gardner harvests reward for battling Bolton

Bolton Wanderers 1 West Ham United

Under the cosh for most of the second half from a depleted West Ham who might have won easily had they been able to turn possession into goals, Bolton held on to a first-half lead from Ricardo Gardner to celebrate their first Premiership win in 13 matches and the first at home since the heady days of last August, when they led the table.

Relegation threatens now and there was evidence yesterday in how Sam Allardyce pulled back to defend an advantage that the Bolton manager is resorting to siege tactics. At times, it seemed the pressure on Bolton's goal must bring some reward to Glenn Roeder's side but the home defence held out, goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen coming up with the final act of defiance with an acrobatic leap to claw down Paul Kitson's header in stoppage time.

"It was backs to the wall in the second half and it wasn't pretty," Allardyce said afterwards. "I thought we could get a goal and after that it was a matter of doing the job properly and not making mistakes."

West Ham had been forced to make significant changes in the wake of last Wednesday's closely fought but unsuccessful FA Cup replay against Chelsea. Injuries claimed Trevor Sinclair, Don Hutchison and Nigel Winterburn, while the Czech defender Tomas Repka was suspended. Frédéric Kanouté returned after injury and the 20-year-old Australian midfielder Richard Garcia made his debut.

Allardyce made changes, too, from the side outplayed by Tottenham in midweek, although he was in the happier position of welcoming back players, including the striker Fredi Bobic and key midfielder Paul Warhurst, as well as giving a debut to the Danish midfielder Stig Tofting, a midweek signing from Hamburg, who made a solid start. Warhurst had limped out of the action before half-time, however.

West Ham had the first real chance, after 12 minutes, when Cole, charging down Bruno N'Gotty's attempted clearance, laid the ball into the path of Jermain Defoe. The young forward, confidence high after a double strike against Chelsea, hit a decent first-time shot but made the save a shade too easy for Jaaskelainen.

West Ham suffered for the absence of Hutchison and Sinclair in midfield, where Tofting quickly imposed himself, and Bolton's first-half play made them the better side. They should have taken the lead after 21 minutes when Tofting's ball over the top sent Ricketts clear only for the front man to squander the opportunity by shooting straight at David James.

Seven minutes before half-time, however, the home side nosed in front – and deservedly. Tofting's long throw-in from the right was not dealt with by the West Ham defence, reaching Bobic, with his back to goal, and his touch set up Gardner, who shot home cleanly.

The balance shifted in the second half, Bolton adopting a conservative attitude to being in front. Their midfield quartet retreated, inviting West Ham to attack, and it seemed only a matter of time before their possession bore fruit. Cole, set up by Kanouté, would probably have equalised had the ball not bobbled unkindly, then Kanouté hooked wide after Cole's running had threatened Bolton again, and both Garcia and Christian Dailly missed with headers, the latter from the clearest opening of the game.

Inside the final 15 minutes, with their own lines subject to only the occasional breakaway raid, West Ham sent on Kitson to add more thrust to their attack but the goal that had looked on the cards for much of the second period would not come. Roeder was left to reflect on a fourth consecutive away defeat and the worry that unless improvement comes soon, his side's mid-table comfort may be short lived.