FA CUP FIFTH ROUND Fulham 0 Bolton Wanderers 1:BOBBY ZAMORA returned to the Fulham first team yesterday after five months absent through injury but the England striker was upstaged by Bolton Wanderers' bit-part player Ivan Klasnic.
The Croatia forward, who learned last week that he will not face charges over an alleged rape in Manchester last October, volleyed home in the 19th minute to send Bolton through to the FA Cup quarter-finals – where they will visit Birmingham – for the first time since 2005.
Klasnic has not started a Premier League game this season but he also scored the winner against Wigan Athletic in a fourth-round replay last Wednesday, and Owen Coyle, the Bolton manager, hopes there will be more to come.
“We were delighted to find out there was no case to answer,” Coyle said. “Ivan was in a bad position, and the football club, but we could not say anything. But we knew from the outset that he did nothing wrong.
“A lot of people [in Croatia] look up to Ivan and it was horrible for them to read that, particularly when he was totally innocent. We are glad that it’s away and hopefully we can see the best of Ivan in the run-in.”
Zamora, who broke his leg and damaged ankle ligaments in a match against Wolves in September last year, took the field as a substitute after 67 minutes but was unable to inspire Fulham, who barely troubled Adam Bogdan, the Bolton goalkeeper.
It was only Fulham’s second defeat in 10 games, but for Mark Hughes, their manager, who was linked in a Sunday paper with a possible vacancy at Chelsea, it was little consolation that his side had remained in the FA Cup a day longer than their west London neighbours.
“If we take positives, the appearance of Bobby Zamora was huge for us,” he said. “Everybody saw what ability he has got and what we have lacked this year at times, that focal point and big physical presence up there.
“He is going to give us that between now and the end of the year, so we pick ourselves up and we carry on. We won’t be affected confidence-wise by this because we are playing well.”
Bolton overcame injuries that restricted them to six substitutes and forced Paul Robinson to play out of position at right-back but Fulham should have taken the lead before they settled. Instead, Moussa Dembele hit his shot at Bogdan with the net at his mercy.
Fulham paid when Aaron Hughes and Brede Hangeland both failed to clear Fabrice Muamba’s low cross from the right and Klasnic volleyed past Mark Schwarzer from 12 yards – the first goal Fulham had conceded in five home games.
Fulham tried to hit back but could not find the final pass that would unlock the Bolton defence. “They got lots of bodies behind the ball and made key tackles, good challenges, and we found it difficult to break them down,” Hughes said.
Bolton came closer to doubling their lead than Fulham did to equalising. Muamba’s shot drifted inches wide, Chris Baird took the ball off the toes of Kevin Davies, and Schwarzer saved Martin Petrov’s angled shot. Baird was lucky still to be on the pitch after appearing to strike Petrov.
“I don’t recall too many chances where Fulham could have scored,” Coyle said. “I don’t think there’s any doubt we deserved to win.”
Guardian Service
