Football: Holdsworth says Dons defeat is business not personal
Bolton Wanderers 1 Wimbledon
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Your support makes all the difference.Dean Holdsworth helped Bolton to beat his old club but said afterwards he had not been motivated by any wish for revenge. The 28-year-old striker left Wimbledon in October in a pounds 3.5m deal amid reports of a series of disputes with Wimbledon and their manager, Joe Kinnear.
But, after seeing Nathan Blake's last-gasp goal claim a crucial victory for Bolton, Holdsworth said: "The three points were not about Dean Holdsworth against Wimbledon. It was about Bolton against Wimbledon. We edged it and could have had a couple of goals."
Holdsworth believes that the Lancashire club can pull further away from the lower reaches of the Premiership against Newcastle tonight. He was adamant that Bolton should not have needed to wait until the last minute for their winning goal. A Scott Sellars cross in the early stages of the first half was met by the head of Blake but cleared by the Wimbledon defence. But one of Wimbledon's players admitted to his former colleague that the goal should have stood. Holdsworth said: "Chris Perry admitted the ball was over the line from Nathan Blake in the first half."
Meanwhile, the Bolton manager, Colin Todd, could be without his defender Mark Fish for the Premiership games against Blackburn, Derby and Leeds. The South African has been selected for his country's friendly against Brazil in Johannesburg and the Confederation Cup in Saudi Arabia from 12 to 21 December. Todd, previously unaware of the Saudi tournament, will insist Fish only travels after Saturday's Ewood Park game.
Goal: Blake (89).
Bolton: Branagan; Frandsen, Pollock, Sellars, Blake, Thompson (Gunnlaugsson, 75), Bergsson, Todd, Fish, Whitlow, Holdsworth. Substitutes not used: Ward (gk), Beardsley, Johansen, Phillips.
Wimbledon: Sullivan; Cunningham, Jones, Blackwell, Thatcher, C Hughes, Gayle, Perry, M Hughes, Ardley, Cort. Substitutes not used: Heald (gk), Kimble, Earle, Solbakken, Clarke.
Referee: J Winter (Stockton-on-Tees).
Booking: Wimbledon: Perry.
Man of the match: Holdsworth.
Attendance: 22,703.
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