The Wanderers made four changes from the side that was in UEFA Cup action just three days ago as Kevin Davies, Gary Speed, El-Hadji Diouf and Radhi Jaidi all returned to the starting line-up.

For Jaidi in particular it proved to be a bad afternoon as American forward McBride gave him a tough battle in the opening stages which culminated in the African being withdrawn by Wanderers shortly after the half hour.

Referee Graham Poll proved to be card happy on a number of occasions throughout the afternoon as he cautioned a total of nine players during the ninety minutes, seven of whom where from the visiting side.

Fulham named a strong attacking line up with a lot of pace in the shape of Tomasz Radzinski, Collins John, Luis Boa-Morte and McBride and it was the latter who gave the Cottagers the lead after four minutes.

Two former Everton players combined well as McBride flicked the ball on to Radzinski who used all of his experience to ghost past the Wanderers defender Joey O'Brien and provide a cross from the left which McBride converted neatly.

On seven minutes a similar move took place between the Fulham forward pairing but this time Tal Ben-Haim was on hand to clear away any potential danger and save Bolton's blushes.

In-form Bolton midfielder Kevin Nolan then tried to test Mark Crossley with a long range shot at the other end but the veteran Welsh international keeper was equal to the attempt fired in by the newly appointed Trotters captain.

McBride got his and Fulham's second in the 18th minute as he hooked a volley past Wanderers keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen following a long punt upfield by Crossley.

Sam Allardyce identified Bolton's Tunisian defender Radhi Jaidi as the weak link just after the half hour and Bruno N'Gotty came off the bench to replace his fellow centre half.

Prior to the change Jaidi had made his most important contribution of the match as he guided away another Fulham attack whilst at the other end the returning Kevin Davies continued his goal drought by heading straight into the arms of Crossley following a free kick by Gary Speed.

French midfielder Steed Malbranque showed similar style to that of ex-Bolton favourite Youri Djorkaeff as he controlled the game for the home side through the majority of the contest.

Radzinski also caused Bolton a number of problems down the left flank and he nearly claimed his second assist of the game when setting up team mate Collins John with ten minutes of the half remaining.

As the first half came to a close referee Poll issued a number of cautions out to the players and the momentum that was built up by Fulham earlier in the game was unable to be continued.

The second half saw an overall better performance by the Wanderers but it was to be the impressive Malbranque was to be the first to sting the fingertips of Jaaskelainen with the half still in its infancy

Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye had put in a solid performance in his usual defensive midfield role for the visitors but a clash of heads with goalscorer McBride forced his early exit from the game.

The head wound suffered by the Senegal star Faye needed extensive treatment and he was eventually replaced by Martin Djetou who was making his first Premiership appearance for the Wanderers against his former employers.

Jay-Jay Okocha was also introduced by Bolton in place of the ineffective Hidetoshi Nakata as the Trotters looked to bring themselves back into the game in the last quarter.

On 64 minutes German wing back Moritz Volz fired in a powerful drive for Fulham that Jaaskelainen saved well but it was the introductions of Okocha and Djetou that seemed to give Bolton some renewed hope.

Ten minutes later the hard working forward Davies saw his quick shot on the turn saved by Crossley after Bolton substitute Okocha had pumped a trademark long throw into the danger area.

Fulham substitute Legwinski then fired wide in the closing minutes of the game but it was his mistake in steering the ball past his own goalkeeper that gave Bolton a consolation goal in added on time.

Bolton must now pick themselves up for the first of three home games starting this coming Wednesday evening as Championship side Leicester City come to the Reebok Stadium in the Carling Cup.

Bolton Wanderers: Jussi Jaaskelainen, Joey O'Brien, Tal Ben-Haim, Radhi Jaidi (Bruno N'Gotty), Ricardo Gardner, Hidetoshi Nakata (Jay-Jay Okocha), Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye (Martin Djetou), Gary Speed, Kevin Nolan, Kevin Davies, El-Hadji Diouf

Subs Not Used: Ian Walker, Ricardo Vaz-Te

Fulham: Mark Crossley, Moritz Volz, Alain Goma, Carlos Bocanegra, Liam Rosenior, Steed Malbranque, Papa Bouba Diop, Luis Boa-Morte (Sylvain Legwinski), Collins John (Heidar Helguson), Brian McBride, Tomasz Radzinski

Subs Not Used: Tony Warner, Zat Knight, Ian Pearce

Referee:

Graham Poll

Attendance:

19,768

Booked:

Gary Speed (Bolton)

Tal Ben-Haim (Bolton)

El-Hadji Diouf (Bolton)

Kevin Davies (Bolton)

Liam Rosenior (Fulham)

Jay-Jay Okocha (Bolton)

Kevin Nolan (Bolton)

Joey O'Brien (Bolton)

Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham)

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