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Summary Bolton Wanderers snatched a dramatic late 2-1 victory in their clash with fellow strugglers QPR.
The debate over goal-line technology was reignited after a blunder from match officials.An 86th-minute winner from substitute Ivan Klasnic bagged a vital three points for Bolton after Djibril Cisses equaliser looked to have earned a draw for Rangers following Darren Pratleys opener.The win saw Bolton claw their way out of the relegation zone at the expense of Lancashire rivals Blackburn Rovers, although QPR are guaranteed to be left in the bottom three by the end of the day after the late matches.But the main talking point from an entertaining game was a disallowed goal from QPR centre-back Clint Hill after 20 minutes.Replays showed Hills powerful header had clearly crossed the goal-line yet despite QPR protests, neither the linesman nor referee Martin Atkinson were inclined to give the goal and Bolton escaped.Fuming Rangers coach Mark Hughes said the incident was further proof of the need for goal-line technology, which world governing body FIFA have said they hope to introduce by the end of this year.Im really disappointed in the performance of the officials, Hughes told the BBC. The referee was let down by his assistants. Clearly the ball was over the line. The linesman is there to see that -- that is what his job is.Laughably the FA have come out almost immediately and said theyre in favour of goal-line technology.What were finding is that key moments and key decisions in games are going against us. Please just give us an opportunity to play the game and show how well we can play. And do it on our own merits.Circumstances like today just bring us closer together. Today, it wasnt about football. We just need officials to give us a fair crack of the whip. Bolton manager Owen Coyle admitted his side had been the beneficiaries of a crucial decision.Theres no doubt we got a big break today, but we scored good goals. With 15 minutes to go, we threw on another striker and scored a terrific goal, Coyle said. Its a valuable three points, theres no doubt about it.I said prior to the game that it was going to be two teams going all-out to win, and so it proved. It was incident-packed and thats whats going to happen. Games will be like this until the end of the season.Nobodys a bigger advocate than myself for goal-line technology. I can totally understand how Mark Hughes will be frustrated.Among the later games on Saturday, Chelsea will aim to get their faltering league campaign back on track against Stoke City at Stamford Bridge, while Liverpool bid to bounce back from last weekends loss to Arsenal in their trip to Sunderland.League leaders Manchester City are playing Swansea City on Sunday, while second-placed Manchester United entertain West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford.—AFP
