It was no thing of beauty, but Stephen Ward’s goal for Wolves against Wigan at Molineux could prove vital come the end of the season.
The ample nosed Irish left back struck the third goal for the home side in a win that will move Mick McCarthy’s backside a little further away from the bacon slicer and heap pressure on Wigan boss Roberto Martinez.
Kevin Doyle provided the assist for Jamie O’Hara’s first half opener, while Stephen Hunt was involved at both ends of the pitch. He refused to go down despite being caught by Wigan’s Ali Al-Habsi and as a result didn’t get the penalty he probably deserved.
Before the break, he brought down Emerson Boyce in the area for Wigan’s equaliser, which was converted at the second attempt by Ben Watson.
Elsewhere, Bolton demolished Stoke at the Reebok, scoring five unanswered goals against a side that are obviously struggling to combine Premier League and Europa League commitments.
Kevin Davies opened the scoring on two minutes, while Chris Eagles and Ivan Klasnic both hit braces against a side that contained Irish internationals Glenn Whelan and Jonathan Walters as well as long throw merchant Rory Delap.
At Craven Cottage, Spurs survived a second half onslaught to earn a 3-1 win over Fulham. World’s greatest player Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon struck first half goals for the Spuds, but Fulham struck back with a Younes Kaboul own goal in the second half. Jermain Defoe scored late on to seal a win for the visitors, which would have delighted ‘Arry Redknapp watching on from his sick bed.
Premier League results:
Wolves 3-1 Wigan
Bolton 5-0 Stoke
Fulham 1-3 Tottenham
