Football can be a cruel game. The West Bromwich Albion manager, Gary Megson, will testify to that.

Megson's men were coasting against Bolton yesterday. Leading 2-0 with 10 minutes remaining, they already had a foot in the final. But then some of their players lost the plot.

The footballing philosophy of Megson is built around hard work. When all of his players were at full pelt yesterday, they were coasting. When some of them eased up, they allowed Wanderers to snap up their get-out-of-jail card.

"It was disappointing," admitted Megson, whose team went two ahead thanks to a well-taken Jason Roberts strike just before half-time and a Lee Hughes penalty, awarded after Roberts was brought down by Colin Hendry in the 55th minute.

"We played them off the park for 80 minutes with football that was as good as we have put together all season. But one or two of our players got away from the script in the last 10 minutes. They took their foot off the gas and, because of that, we were punished."

Megson's feelings were not lost on his opposite number, Sam Allardyce. He knows his side were outfought and outplayed for the majority of an entertaining game.

Nevertheless, his side take two precious away goals back to the Reebok Stadium for the return leg on Thursday evening. A Gudni Bergsson header in the 81st minute and a Per Frandsen penalty only two minutes from time - given for Phil Gilchrist's foul on Bo Hansen - rescued what appeared to be a lost cause.

If Bolton can deal with the twin threat of Roberts and Hughes in the return leg then it should be all over. But that will be easier said than done.

The Albion front pairing caused Bolton's defence headaches all afternoon with their relentless running, pace and power. Indeed, Hughes could have killed off the match but squandered two fantastic first-half opportunities that may prove extremely costly.

West Brom: Hoult, Lyttle, Clement, Butler, Van Blerk, Fox (Jordao 69), Sneekes, Hughes, Roberts (Taylor 83), Appleton, Gilchrist. Subs Not Used: Jensen, Sigurdsson, Adam Chambers. Booked: Sneekes. Goals: Roberts 44, Hughes 55 pen.

Bolton: Clarke, Bergsson, Elliott, Charlton, Hendry (Whitlow 55), Barness, Farrelly, Ricketts (Marshall 87), Hansen, Holdsworth (Frandsen 71), Gardner. Subs Not Used: Banks, Nolan. Booked: Hendry. Goals: Bergsson 81, Frandsen 88 pen.

Referee: D Laws (Whitley Bay).