I mean, really. This team. We lost by the same margin to Sunderland (Sunderland!) all of 4 days ago, and now we pull this off? I swear, I'm going to die young of a weak heart if they keep this up. Not that I'm complaining about the 3 points of the boost to our goal difference or anything, just the complete lack of consistency. If you missed the game, here's a link to some highlights.
First off, after I said in my preview that Elmander can do everything except find the net, he has the nerve to score 10 minutes in. I am incredibly pleased with the way he's been playing in the past couple of months. His workrate has picked up so much, now he's chasing down those balls that Kev used to, the kind you'll only get 1 times in 10. He setting up other players and making runs. This goal was quite nice as well, with a brilliant piece of work by Davies, to set up Elmander, who it must be said, controlled the shot wonderfully, sending it right between Kirkland's legs.
The first half was fairly crap, the goal aside, with neither team being very convincing. But after a short worrying spell for us Wanderers, after the break we settled nicely into complete dominance. It was nice to see us playing confidently, and while it may not have been the prettiest football ever played, it sure was effective. There were some nice runs, and Muamba's goal was lovely but I think there are some more important things to take from this game.
We're a team again. After what seems like quite a bit of frustration with each other everyone seems to be friends again. It was notable that after each goal, the whole team (sans Jussi, of course) came to celebrate in one huge man-hug. That's the kind of cohesion that I really like to see.
We actually have a good defense now. Don't quote me on this, but I'm fairly sure that Bolton has one of the worst defensive records in the league. We didn't keep a clean sheet until January, which speaks volumes. But now we've had our third clean sheet in a row at home. And that's how you stay up, by getting points at home.
That's all for now, though I'll do a quick Wilshere update before another Gunner comments and asks: the lad's got a killer left boot, but is pretty easily taken out of the game. He needs to work on not getting nullified, which is one of the things that comes more easily as a player matures.