MOTM v Wolves: Martin Petrov

Bolton Wanderers were under siege through most of the first half yesterday. Wolverhampton had a lot of possession, and created several chances, although if we are honest none of them were really great chances.

Despite this territorial advantage, the defense looked much more organized than it has in most matches this season. This may sound strange, as Marcos Alonso was getting absolutely dominated by Michael Kightly, but I am looking at the way that was handled. When Kightly got past Alonso, Tim Ream came out and covered him, and Alonso dropped into the center of defense. This showed good communication and organization in the backline, and I think Ream deserves a lot of credit for that. He is forming a nice partnership with David Wheater and working well with the fullbacks.

Adam Bogdan had another very good game, and is quickly developing into one of the better goalkeepers in the Premier League. He still only 24, a baby in keeper years, and has made less than thirty career starts.

All that said, my pick for Man of the Match is Martin Petrov. He was definitely in the mood right from the opening kickoff, rampaging down the left side and putting in a great shift on the attacking and defending ends. He had several good-looking shots on goal and also put in a lot of very useful crosses. If Bolton are going to stay up this season, we will need more performances like this from the Bulgarian winger.