Megson wary of Madrid trip to come

Manager Gary Megson acknowledged that "1-0 is a slender lead to take to an exceptional side" like Club Atlético de Madrid after his Bolton Wanderers FC team won the home leg of their UEFA Cup Round of 32 tie on Thursday night.

'Slender lead'
El Hadji Diouf sored the only goal after 74 minutes, with Atlético still reeling from the dismissal of Argentinian prodigy Agüero a minute earlier, but while fans in Lancashire rejoiced at the final whistle, Megson remained calm. "I know that 1-0 is a slender lead to take to an exceptional side like Atlético," he said. "I know what we are capable of but I'd still say that Madrid are the favourites." The 48-year-old Megson has restored Bolton's battling spirit since taking over in late October with relegation a distinct possibility.

Busy Bolton
Bolton showed their tenacity again against Atlético and also demonstrated some attacking vigour, with visiting Christian Abbiati the busier of the two goalkeepers on the night. "We stressed the importance of keeping a clean sheet," said Megson, whose side are now 15th in the 20-team Premier League. "We've kept four clean sheets out of our last five games. We're doing OK, not just as a back four but as a team. We would have liked to have scored more goals, but we couldn't have tried harder. Their keeper played well – he has been worked very heavily tonight, as has Madrid's back four."

Aguirre frustrated
Controversy over the dismissal of substitute Agüero – seemingly for spitting in frustration – added to the frustration of Atlético coach Javier Aguirre. "This defeat is hard to digest," he said. "I thought we weathered the storm and with eleven men we were getting into the game but then came the incident which cost us."