Bolton end travel sickness with win at West Ham

Bolton halted a torrid run of away league form on Saturday when they claimed their first victory on the road for six months by beating Gianfranco Zola’s West Ham 2-1.

Owen Coyle’s injury-ravaged side overcame the in-form Hammers thanks to first-half goals from Kevin Davies and on-loan Arsenal teenager Jack Wilshere to leapfrog the London side and move to 13th place in the Premier League.

It marks the Trotters’ first win away from home since their 2-1 triumph at Birmingham in late September and their first goals in more than seven hours of away league football.

West Ham went into the game in a hot streak of form, having not lost in five home games and failing to concede in their previous four home games.

But Bolton midfielder Wilshere proved to be too much for the team that he once supported as a boy and provided much of his side’s creativity going forward.

The 18-year-old scored his first goal for Bolton with a calm and collected left-foot finish past Hammers keeper Robert Green on 16 minutes when Tamir Cohen smartly flicked on a Davies centre.

West Ham rarely troubled Bolton custodian Jussi Jaaskelainen but Kieron Dyer, making his comeback after coming on as substitute, could have grabbed one back for the home side just after half-time.

The Hammers turned up the pressure when Bolton were reduced to ten men on 71 minutes after Cohen was sent off for a second bookable offence when he fouled Scott Parker.

Italian striker Alessandro Diamanti managed to grab his seventh league goal of the season as a consolation two minutes from the end, yet it proved to be too late for Zola’s side to scrape the draw.

Nine-goal top scorer Carlton Cole should have pulled it back to 2-2 in the final minute of injury time but he scuffed his shot and his effort was easily saved by Jaaskelainen.