Ivan Klasnic scored his second FA Cup goal in the space of four days as Bolton overcame Fulham 1-0 in a fractious encounter to seal a quarter-final trip to Birmingham.
The Croatian striker scored the only goal in Wednesday's fourth-round replay against Wigan and he was on target again with a volley from 12 yards.
Bolton have not graced the FA Cup final since the late, great Nat Lofthouse scored twice to beat Manchester United in 1958. They have now taken two significant steps in the space of a week.
This victory was not without its controversies. Tempers boiled over in the second half with an off-the-ball half between Chris Baird and Martin Petrov.
Both men were fortunate to only be booked. Petrov appeared to catch Baird with a flailing arm and the Fulham defender responded by shoving the Bolton winger in the face.
Bolton's physical centre-back pairing of David Wheater and Gary Cahill were effective in crowding out Andrew Johnson and Moussa Dembele, if not always legal.
Fulham were at least able to cheer the return to action of striker Bobby Zamora, who came off the bench after five months out with a broken leg.
Mark Hughes made one change to his starting line-up from Monday's Premier League draw with Chelsea, with Zoltan Gera replacing the injured Damien Duff in midfield. Bolton brought back striker Kevin Davies and midfielder Stuart Holden following their midweek cup win, while Marcos Alonso started at left back in place of the injured Sam Ricketts.
Fulham started brightly. Clint Dempsey beat Cahill to flick the ball into the path of Dembele, whose shot was deflected away by Bolton keeper Adam Bogdan.
Holden had Bolton's first shot on goal as he latched onto a knock-down from Davies on the edge of the Fulham box but his left-footed effort flew wide.
Dempsey was dominating the middle of the park and he pounced on a loose piece of control from Alonso and released Gera down the right, who whipped in a teasing low cross that was just too far ahead of Johnson.
But it was Bolton who took the lead after 18 minutes with a left-foot volley from Klasnic after some clever approach play from Lee Chung-yong.
| Match Stats |
Fulham |
Bolton |
| Goals |
0 |
1 |
| Possession |
51% |
49% |
| Goal attempts |
16 |
5 |
| On Target |
7 |
3 |
| Corners |
10 |
4 |
| Off-sides |
7 |
3 |
| Saves |
4 |
9 |
| Fouls |
8 |
10 |
| Yellows |
1 |
3 |
| Reds |
0 |
0 |
| source: Soccernet/SkySports |
The South Korean completed a neat one-two with Klasnic on the edge of the Fulham box before Fabrice Muamba drilled in a cross that Aaron Hughes failed to deal with cleanly. As the ball dropped inside around the penalty spot, Klasnic was the first to react and he rifled his shot past Mark Schwarzer.
Fulham continued to press and Dembele's misplaced pass ended up creating a shooting opportunity for Gera but the Hungarian fired over the top.
Wheater was fortunate not to receive only a lecture from referee Stuart Attwell after he hauled Dembele to the ground in the build-up to a promising move.
Johnson was lively up front for Fulham, trying desperately to steal a yard in between the two centre backs but with little reward.
Cahill went through the back of Johnson once but the new England international also pulled off a perfectly-timed interception on the edge of his own box.
Fulham were having to battle against Bolton's physicality but they did have chances, with Brede Hangeland playing Dempsey into space 25 yards out only for the American to drag his low shot wide of the near post.
Fulham made a lively start to the second half with Dembele lifting one shot over before forcing Bogdan into a smart save with a low curling effort from the edge of the box.
Muamba was booked by Attwell when he halted Dembele's run by scything him down from behind. Tempers were beginning to fray, with Petrov and Baird clashing off the ball.
Sidwell cut in from the left and tested Bogdan from distance while, at the other end, Baird denied Davies a shot on goal with a well-timed challenge in the box.
Schwarzer kept Fulham in the game by clawing away Klasnic's close range effort after the Bolton striker had been picked out in the box by Lee.
Fulham won a free-kick 25 yards from goal after Davies was judged to have fouled |Danny Murphy. Robinson charged furiously to protest and was booked for dissent.
Murphy tried to bend his shot around the wall but it floated over the far post.
Petrov then found himself in acres of space in the Fulham box but he took one shot too many and his fierce drive was tipped around the near post by Schwarzer.
Fulham threw the kitchen sink at Bolton in the closing stages but the Trotters clung on to seal the victory, with Cahill producing a magnificent block from Dempsey's shot inside the box.
Owen Coyle praised Ivan Klasnic's character after the Croatia striker put the pressures of a police investigation behind him.
Greater Manchester Police have confirmed that Klasnic will not face charges over the alleged rape of a teenage girl, following an investigation dating back to October.
Coyle, the Bolton manager, said: "We are delighted the news broke there would be no case to answer. We knew from the outset he had done nothing wrong. Ivan was in a bad position because we couldn't really say anything because of the extent of what was involved.
"A lot of people look up to Ivan because of his fanbase in Croatia and Germany and the level he has always played at. It was horrible for him that they would have to read that, particularly when he was totally innocent.
"He has tried to deal with it with a smile on his face. He probably felt his family were hurt more than himself because he knew he had done nothing wrong. We are glad it is away and hopefully we can see the best of Ivan now in the run-in. Ivan is a natural goalscorer. There is still more to come from him."
Bolton have not graced the FA Cup final since the late, great Nat Lofthouse scored twice to beat Manchester United in 1958. They have now taken two significant steps in the space of a week.
Coyle felt Bolton deserved their victory at Fulham today and he is relishing a clash with Birmingham, a tie he vowed to attack from the outset.
"It was a hard-fought game. Fulham have been in terrific form. We had to be at our best to win the game and I thought every player was terrific," Coyle said.
"We scored a very good goal and looked a threat on the counter-attack. We were under pressure at times from a very good Fulham side but we dealt with that.
"Over the piece there is no doubting Bolton deserved to win.
"We are delighted to be in the quarter-finals. Alex (McLeish, the Blues manager) is a friend of mine and somebody I have a lot of time for.
"He was my manager at Motherwell and he'll be loving the cup this year because every draw seems to result in a home game for him!
"They are not in the other (Carling Cup) final by accident. Alex will look to do that in the FA Cup.
"We will be positive. We will look to win the game at the first time of asking. It has all the makings of a great quarter-final tie."
Bolton's win was not without its controversies. Tempers boiled over in the second half with an off-the-ball clash between Chris Baird and Martin Petrov.
Both men were fortunate to only be booked as Petrov appeared to catch Baird with a flailing arm and the Fulham defender responded by shoving the Bolton winger in the face.
Fulham manager Mark Hughes was critical of referee Stuart Attwell's performance.
"There were a couple of situations where you think the referee needs to make a positive decision and just waving your arms for an advantage can be a cop-out," said Hughes.
"In and around the box you don't particularly want advantage. You want free-kicks and set-plays, which we didn't seem to get. In the second half, there were a few decisions we found difficult to understand."
Fulham were at least able to cheer the return to action of striker Bobby Zamora, who came off the bench after five months out with a broken leg.
"If we take the positives, the appearance of Bobby Zamora was huge for us and everybody saw what talent he has and what we have missed this year," Hughes added.
Fulham Schwarzer, Baird, Hangeland, Hughes, Salcido, Dempsey,Murphy, Sidwell, Gera (Zamora 67), Johnson, Dembele.
Subs Not Used: Stockdale, Kelly, Pantsil, Kamara, Etuhu,
Greening.
Booked: Baird (58,f (Off the ball Petrov appeared to catch Baird with a flailing arm and Baird responded by shoving Petrov in the face).
Bolton Bogdan, Robinson, Cahill, Wheater, Alonso, Lee, Holden,Muamba, Petrov, Klasnic (Elmander 79), Kevin Davies.
Subs Not Used: Jaaskelainen, Taylor, Moreno, Blake, Cohen.
Booked: Muamba, Petrov, Robinson, Holden.
Goals: Klasnic 19.
Att: 19,571
Ref: Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire).