Bolton boss: '4-0 flattered Sunderland'
NO ONE needs to tell Owen Coyle how difficult it is to win games away from home in the Premier League.
The Scot didn't manage a single one while Burnley manager this season – something he was reminded of by a couple of Clarets fans sitting behind his dugout last night.
And his first as Bolton boss only came at the weekend, with a win at West Ham.
Last night, his Wanderers side never looked remotely like emerging with all three points after conceding inside the very first minute of the match. But Coyle did feel hard done by.
"It was never a four-niller," he said: "Full credit to Sunderland for the victory, but I think the scoreline flattered them.
"We came here in good form and looking to get something out of the game, but to concede in just 44 seconds handed us all sorts of problems.
"The first half was a bit scrappy, and that's maybe because Sunderland hadn't won a game for so long – both sides were giving the ball away quite cheaply at times.
"But I thought we were still very much in it at half-time.
"Maybe we could have worked Craig Gordon a wee bit more when we got into good positions in that first hour because we certainly paid a heavy price for it.
"A couple of goals later and we were really up against it.
"But I thought we were the better team in the first 20 minutes of the second-half, up until Sunderland's goal.
"Sure we looked jaded by the end, but you're going to be if you're down to 10 men and forced to put square pegs in round holes – we finished the game with four wingers on the pitch.
"Having said that though, we were very much in it until beyond the 70th minute mark and for that reason, I think the 4-0 scoreline is a bit tough on us."
Coyle felt that nothing had gone right for his willing side on the night.
And although referee Steve Bennett had incensed the home crowd at times, Coyle felt the reality was that Bolton were more sinned against than sinning.
"Everything conspired against us on the night," he said.
"The opening goal is one of those things, but I thought by the time Sunderland scored their second, they should have been down to 10 men.
"Lorik Cana had been yellow-carded in the first-half, and then he produced a foul on Vladimir Weiss at knee-high which looked like a sending off.
"For Sunderland's penalty I thought the initial touch on Darren Bent was outside the box, and then for their fourth I thought Jussi Jaaskelainen was obstructed.
"So I'm not too worried about the result because I thought a lot of things just went against us. Decisions didn't go in our favour and you can't legislate for that.
"Overall I'm pleased with our progress. In our last five games, four have been away from home, yet we've successfully got ourselves out of the relegation zone.
"It's very tight at the bottom of the league, the margins are minimal, but Steve Bruce will be delighted with the result because it is a big three points.
"I'm not too concerned as things stand though. We've had back-to-back wins going into the Sunderland game, and although we lost on the night, we've got another massive game coming up against Wigan this weekend.
"If we can win that game, it will be a giant stride towards safety, and, for anyone in it at the bottom right now, safety is all it's about."
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Monday 21 May 2012
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