Charlton 2 Bolton 0

CHARLTON'S new boss Iain Dowie hugged his players, the players applauded their supporters and 23,638 fans made a noise which flatly belied their numbers.

The Addicks were celebrating their first win of the season in the Barclays Premier League and it was impossible to deny them their satisfaction as they emerged triumphant through a flurry of red and yellow cards after being reduced to 10 men for the second time in eight days.

The first Charlton team to beat Bolton in the Premier League did so having lost central defender Hermann Hreidarsson after 27 minutes. Team spirit and urgency carried them through the next 44 minutes until Bolton forfeited their numerical advantage with Kevin Davies’s dismissal.

Goalkeeper Scott Carson bought the team time with a crucial 56th-minute penalty save from El Hadji Diouf and when referee Mike Dean sounded the final whistle, Charlton supporters found themselves needing a stiff drink after a tad too many thrills and spills.

Charlton had a penalty of their own when Darren Bent’s shirt was tugged by Tal Ben Haim as he latched on to Andy Reid’s pass. Bent made no mistake in sending goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen the wrong way.

Bolton were reduced to 10 men in the 71st minute when Davies’s elbow caught Amady Faye and Bent rubbed salt into their gaping wounds in the 84th minute with his third goal in as many games when he rifled the ball home after Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink helped on Carson’s clearance.

The London club had failed to beat Bolton in their last seven Premier League meetings. You have to go back to September, 1999 for their last success against them at The Valley.

Dowie said afterwards: "I’m enormously proud of the players because they stood up to be counted. Their commitment and desire was there for all to see. After we lost Hermann we were under immense pressure but their response was magnificent."