by Matthew Trow

GOING into this game I was quite confident we could get something, especially after a good performance against Liverpool on the back of two wins.

However, after seeing the starting line-up my hopes faded. Once again I was amazed at it.

So far this year it has been blatantly obvious that we are lacking that bit of creativity in midfield.

The main four midfielders are too similar which has resulted in our final ball lacking in quality all season.

Yet again, I was astonished to see our £10million star striker lining up on the left wing. Our so-called goalscorer playing out of position on the left just seems crazy.

As the game began, though, I was glad to see Elmander playing the central role up front, where he should be.

The decision to play Elmander more central didn’t take long to pay off, after he did brilliantly to win the Wanderers a free-kick on the edge of the box.

From the resulting free-kick Gretar Steinsson gave the army of Wanderers fans something to cheer about after he headed home Matt Taylor’s beautifully flighted free-kick at the back post.

Moments later we were celebrating again as Taylor did fantastically well, beating two defenders and finishing excellently right-footed in the far corner.

Bolton continued to boss the play and always looked on top.

In particular, Fabrice Muamba was fantastic. He controlled the midfield, broke up play and led the charge from the back as the Wanderers continued to heap pressure on Middlesbrough.

A revitalised Middlesbrough returned from the interval, but the Bolton defence, as we have come to expect, weathered the storm brilliantly.

The solid partnership of Cahill and O’Brien won everything in the air and made some crucial tackles.

Poor marking at the back post provided Middlesbrough with a glimmer of hope, as they snatched a goal back with just over 12 minutes left.

The Wanderers faithful prepared themselves for yet another nailbiting last 10 minutes.

Thankfully, that wasn’t the case, as moments later Elmander increased the lead to two.

This goal, regardless of the score, was the most pleasant of them all.

Elmander answered a lot of questions and eased the doubts of many fans with a stunning performance.

From the word go, he chased absolutely everything, he won everything, he battled hard, he linked well with the midfield and never stopped going the whole match.

His stunning finish capped of a great Bolton move and was the icing on the cake of a quite marvellous man-of-the-match performance.

With five minutes left he was replaced by Ebi Smolarek and left the field to a much-deserved standing ovation from the Wanderers fans.

Another great performance away from home by the Wanderers, they played some fantastic flowing football throughout and defended like their lives depended on it. The win was nothing more than the Whites deserved. Bring on Sunderland.