Amr Zaki scored the only goal of the game with a well taken penalty after Henri Camara was brought down by Andy O'Brien.
Chris Kirkland was injured in the warm up and so Mike Pollitt was a last minute replacement at the Reebok Stadium. The Bolton born goalkeeper put in an impressive performance between the sticks.
Whilst up front, Emile Heskey suffered a reccurance of an old hamstring injury that forced him off midway through the first half.
Bolton had claims for a goal as a Danny Shittu header rocketted towards goal, but replays as to whether the ball crossed the line or not have proved inconclusive as Wilson Palacios headed away.
None-the-less, a fantastic result for the Latics who have been playing as well as their lofty position suggests.
Here is the reaction of the two managers.
Steve Bruce
I think in this calendar year we've taken around 58/60 points, which is a fantastic achievement for the club and the players.
I think everyone who has watched us and seen how we play will agree that it's no fluke where we are in the league, and our aim is to stay there if we can.
This time last year we came here, got rolled over and basically surrendered. The team today showed what we're about, and the progress we've made in the last 12 months.
I thought my two centre backs were brilliant. Bramble has been putting in performance after performance lately. Together with Scharner and Pollitt I thought they were all outstanding.
Although Pollitt wasn't going to be in the squad originally, he was still out there warming up before the game to keep fit.
Zaki's as strong as an Ox with unbelievable energy levels and I thought he did very well today.
He got a bit of a smack from a corner and has a lump above his eye so I suppose you could say 'welcome to England!' But to be fair he can stand his corner very well.
Gary Megson
You try to be objective as you can but we think the ball was over the line.
We had what we thought was a legitimate goal turned down but we did not play particularly well. A lot of our well-known players did not perform.
The Table
Latest match Sunday, 28th December 2008 | Pld | Home | Away | Overall | Pts | GD | |||||||||||||||||
W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | |||||||||
1 | Liverpool | 20 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 7 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 35 | 13 | 45 | +22 | ||||
2 | Chelsea | 20 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 3 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 40 | 9 | 42 | +31 | ||||
3 | Manchester United | 17 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 28 | 10 | 35 | +18 | ||||
4 | Arsenal | 20 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 33 | 23 | 35 | +10 | ||||
5 | Aston Villa | 19 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 32 | 22 | 35 | +10 | ||||
6 | Everton | 20 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 15 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 27 | 25 | 32 | +2 | ||||
7 | Wigan Athletic | 19 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 24 | 21 | 28 | +3 | ||||
8 | Hull City | 19 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 19 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 28 | 36 | 27 | -8 | ||||
9 | Fulham | 19 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 18 | 14 | 26 | +4 | ||||
10 | West Ham United | 20 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 24 | 28 | 25 | -4 | ||||
11 | Bolton Wanderers | 20 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 11 | 22 | 28 | 23 | -6 | ||||
12 | Portsmouth | 20 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 21 | 33 | 23 | -12 | ||||
13 | Newcastle United | 20 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 26 | 32 | 22 | -6 | ||||
14 | Sunderland | 20 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 21 | 29 | 22 | -8 | ||||
15 | Manchester City | 19 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 24 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 36 | 28 | 21 | +8 | ||||
16 | Tottenham Hotspur | 20 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 20 | 25 | 20 | -5 | ||||
17 | Middlesbrough | 19 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 17 | 28 | 20 | -11 | ||||
18 | Stoke City | 20 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 22 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 18 | 33 | 20 | -15 | ||||
19 | West Bromwich Albion | 20 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 19 | 5 | 3 | 12 | 16 | 35 | 18 | -19 | ||||
20 | Blackburn Rovers | 19 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 19 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 20 | 34 | 17 | -14 |
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