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Fulham midfielder Sylvain Legwinski continues his goal spree with two goals against Bolton.
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Fulham eased to victory over Bolton Wanderers with five goals, three penalties and the first goal of the 2002/03 Premiership being the highlights from Loftus Road.
Goals from strikers Louis Saha, Steve Marlet and a brace from Sylvain Legwinski were enough for Fulham who responded magnificently to Michael Ricketts' opener.
Bolton looked a pale comparison to the team that had beaten Leicester 5-0 at this stage last season.
With a seven-match Intertoto Cup run already behind them, Fulham were unsurprisingly the first to settle as they put the Bolton defence under immediate pressure.
But with only three minutes on the clock, it was Bolton who opened the scoring with their first attack of the match.
French international Youri Djorkaeff danced into space just inside the Fulham area before being clumsily challenged by Cottagers centre-back Alain Goma.
Referee Alan Wiley immediately pointed to the spot and an ice cool Michael Ricketts - after a stop-start run-up - sent Edwin van der Sar the wrong way.
Despite the setback, Fulham hit back immediately, and Steve Marlet should have done better when he somehow sent a point-blank header wide.
But before Bolton could draw breath, Louis Saha had levelled from the penalty spot after another untidy challenge, this time by Bolton captain Gudni Bergsson.
Marlet, who hit the net just nine times after last season's £11.5m move from Lyon, missed another fine chance after 31 minutes as Fulham began to dominate the match.
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Key moments
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3 mins: Ricketts' penalty puts Bolton 1-0
up
11 min: Saha equalises from the penalty
spot
34 mins: Legwinski makes it 2-1
38 mins: Marlet's spot kick makes it 3-1
79 mins: Legwinski seals a 4-1 victory
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Legwinski showed his compatriot how it should be done three minutes later in a replica move.
The midfielder skilfully cut inside from the right wing before hitting a fierce left-foot shot beyond the helpless Jussi Jaaskelainen to give the home side a deserved 2-1 lead.
It got even better for Fulham seven minutes before the break when Luis Boa Morte was sent sprawling by full-back Bernard Mendy on the edge of the penalty area.
Referee Alan Wiley was in no doubt and this time it was Marlet's turn to get on the score sheet, confidently sweeping the ball to Jaaskelainen's left.
| Match Stats |
Fulham |
Bolton |
| Goal attempts |
12 |
3 |
| On Target |
5 |
2 |
| Fouls |
16 |
12 |
| Corners |
7 |
4 |
| Yellows |
1 |
2 |
| Reds |
0 |
0 |
| source: www.sportinglife.com |
Bolton boss Sam Allardyce's response at half-time was to take off summer signings Mendy and the ineffective Jay Jay Okocha.
But it was Fulham who started the second half as they had left off, passing the ball neatly around the midfield as Bolton sat back.
Japanese World Cup star Junichi Inamoto's introduction after 70 minutes sent the sizeable Japanese contingent in the home crowd into raptures - and his first contribution was to whip a corner onto Marlet's head, only for the Frenchman to head over.
Bolton tried to rouse themselves, but any hopes of an unlikely comeback were finally ended when Sylvain Legwinski grabbed his second 12 minutes from the end to send Fulham top of the table.
Fulham:
Van der Sar, Finnan, Melville, Goma, Brevett, Malbranque (Inamoto 69), Davis, Boa Morte, Legwinski, Saha (Sava 78), Marlet.
Subs Not Used: Taylor, Collins, Ouaddou.
Booked: Melville.
Scorers: Saha (11), Legwinski (34), Marlet (38), Legwinski (79)
Bolton:
Jaaskelainen, Mendy (Pedersen 45), Bergsson, N'Gotty, Charlton, Frandsen, Okocha (Whitlow 45), Gardner, Djorkaeff, Nolan (Warhurst 70), Ricketts.
Subs Not Used: Poole, Holdsworth.
Booked: Mendy, N'Gotty.
Scorer: Ricketts (03)
Attendance: 16,338 Referee: A Wiley (Staffordshire).
Fulham play at home against Bologna on Tuesday 20th August 19.45.