Leicester win Championship with comfortable victory at Bolton
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Version 0 of 1. Leicester clinched the Championship title on Tuesday night with a 1-0 victory over Bolton at the Reebok Stadium. Leicester, who had maintained their position at the top of the division since before Christmas, needed three points for the title and were able to secure the Championship trophy thanks to a goal from a substitute, Lloyd Dyer, in the 62nd minute. Bolton's manager, Dougie Freedman, with little to play for, had fielded an experimental team that featured the teenage defender Hayden White on his full debut and a bench largely filled with players yet to feature for the first team. The first half was one-way traffic for Leicester, and it had seemed a matter of when, rather than if, the league leaders would score. The onslaught continued in the second half with a wave of Leicester attacks. The goal came straight after Bolton's Lee Chung-yong had run half the length of the pitch to clip a shot just beyond Kasper Schmeichel's far post. Just 36 seconds later Leicester went ahead when Dyer cut in from the left flank and smashed a right-footed drive into the top corner. Although Bolton came more into the game after that, the contest eventually petered out and as the final whistle blew, the champions banners were brought out. In the night's other Championship match, Reading beat Middlesbrough 2-0 to rise three places up the table and into the final play-off spot. Their home victory, courtesy of two first-half goals by Adam le Fondre and George Friend, pushed Brighton out of sixth place. |