Extra-special Stelios Steals Fulham's Thunder

What had been a largely forgettable match was made memorable by a superb opening goal, a volley struck from well outside the penalty area by Bolton's young on-loan midfielder Danny Guthrie. David Healy equalized but though Fulham's Ireland striker twice hit the woodwork in extra time, the Bolton substitute Stelios Giannakopoulus scored with his first touch to win the game for the visitors.

As has become customary, the respective managers' attitude to the competition was apparent on the team sheets. Fulham were close to full strength, while Sammy Lee made nine changes to the team which drew with Tottenham on Sunday - some, such as the reintroduction of the previously injured Gavin McCann in midfield, for the better; others, such as giving another chance to the fallible French defender Gerald Cid, less obviously so.

The formations, however, were oddly similar - five in midfield, two or sometimes three of whom were charged with getting forward in support of a single striker - which, along with the element of unfamiliarity, resulted in a horribly compressed opening quarter.

Surprisingly perhaps, it was Bolton who first began to inflict some sort of order on the chaos. After their troubled start to the season, Lee's team went back to the tried and trusted direct methods which brought them success under Sam Allardyce against Spurs, and so it was here, with Kevin Davies the focus in open play, and the centre-backs in the penalty area for the set-pieces.

They looked the more comfortable side, if not the most accomplished, during a first half in which the nearest the game came to a goal was a deflected shot from Mikel Alonso which spun just wide, though the Fulham goalkeeper Kasey Keller made good saves from Lubomir Michalik and twice from Daniel Braaten.

Ten minutes into the second half, Bolton took the lead that on the balance of play, they just about deserved. The ball may have sat up nicely for Guthrie, but his strike from around 22 yards was a bolt from the blue in every sense; certainly Keller had no chance as the ball screamed beyond his reaching right hand and into the top corner of the net.

Bolton pushed for a second, while Fulham's manager Lawrie Sanchez sent on Diomansy Kamara and then Healy to give his team more invention and pace up front. It paid almost immediate dividends, when Healy found space on the right and equalized with a low shot.