Late Okocha penalty ends Bolton's frustration

Bolton Wanderers 1 Tottenham Hotspur

An injury-time penalty from Jay-Jay Okocha gave Bolton three invaluable points last night that could make the difference between relegation and Premiership survival.

A night of growing frustration was into its 92nd minute when Youri Djorkaeff chased Pierre-Yves André's header into the Tottenham area and was tripped by Gary Doherty for the clearest of penalties. The question, with Djorkaeff injured by the tackle and not looking too keen, was who would take it, but it was typical of Okocha's contribution that he should take the responsibility. The Nigerian's spot-kick was straight and true beyond Kasey Keller's left hand.

Okocha said: "It's a great feeling. We are very, very happy because normally we are the ones who concede goals very late." It was a goal Bolton must have thought would never come. They played compelling football in the second half, but so many clear-cut opportunities came and went that they looked like having to settle for a draw that would have lifted them above West Ham on goal difference, but would not properly have been enough to show for the evening.

When you carve out four glorious chances in four minutes and fail with all of them, you begin to think it is not your night. Henrik Pedersen was the first in the queue, volleying wide from Djorkaeff's header. Okocha's brilliant pass to Anthony Barness – the only Briton in Bolton's side and a substitute at that – set up a shot that came back off Keller for Okocha to head over and Gudni Bergsson's header skimmed the foot of the post from a Djorkaeff free-kick.

When Djorkaeff himself turned and shot only to see Keller tip over it seemed that Spurs were destined to survive, even though André had a fine shot saved after coming on as another of Bolton's substitutes and Pedersen just failed to get a touch to Djorkaeff's cross.

Such was the quality Djorkaeff and Okocha brought to proceedings that it was only fitting they should be instrumental in the winner. Manager Sam Allardyce paid tribute to them, but also picked out a newer member of his foreign legion, the French defender Florent Laville.

"He's one of the reasons we're becoming hard to score against," he said. "That's two wins and two clean sheets in a row. It's clean sheets that will keep us in the Premiership."

Spurs, with vague hopes of still pinching a European place, had their share of a lacklustre first half, during which Per Frandsen cleared Goran Bunjevcevic's shot off the line.

"We got what we deserved tonight," said Allardyce, who has calculated 41 points as his survival target. "Our second-half performance was outstanding and we pegged Tottenham back from the first whistle to the last."

Two of Allardyce's better friends in football management, Birmingham's Steve Bruce and the Leeds caretaker Peter Reid, were at the Reebok last night. "They'll be driving down the motorway now thinking that they're right in it," he said.

Bolton Wanderers (3-1-4-2): Jaaskelainen 4; N'Gotty 6, Laville 6, Bergsson 6; Campo 6; Mendy 5 (André, 72), Frandsen 5, Okocha 7, Gardner 4 (Barness 5, h-t); Pedersen 5, Djorkaeff 7. Substitutes not used: Poole (gk), Nolan, Ballesta.

Tottenham Hotspur (4-4-2): Keller 7; Carr 5, King 6, Thatcher 4 (Doherty 6, 29), Taricco 5; Davies 5, Bunjevcevic 5, Poyet 5, Anderton 6 (Etherington, 86); Sheringham 6, Keane. 6 Substitutes not used: Sullivan (gk), Slabber, Toda.

Referee: G Poll (Hertfordshire) 6.