But make no bones about it - this was a fantastic victory. Spurs are a side brimming with talent and potential, which makes our win even better. Many have tipped Tottenham to enjoy another fine campaign, yours truly included. They were unbeaten in pre-season, Inter Milan being just one of their victims as Martin Jol aims to take his young side to the next level this season.
In contrast, things could not have been more different at the Reebok. Only once did we avoid defeat, whilst a failure to bring in many signings leaves our squad worryingly small. There was a real element of doom and gloom amongst the fans, several of which had already turned against the board, and possibly even Big Sam, long before August 19th rolled around.
From the off though, we were always the better side yesterday. Last season, we were the better team at the Reebok in nearly all of our matches, and that form showed itself again yesterday. Don't get me wrong, we weren't perfect, and Spurs did have the occasional chance. Defoe forced a fine save out of Jussi when he really shouldn't have found any space in which to shoot, whilst many Bolton fans found their hearts in their mouths when Berbatov burst through in the second half, only for Jussi to bravely thwart his efforts at his feet. And had Jermain Jenas had a better day at the office in regards to his free kicks, it could have been a different story yesterday.
But on the flipside, we should have added in the second half to our two-goal cushion. Kevin Nolan was guilty of a bad miss when he fired wide, whilst you would have expected someone to grab a goal in that late goalmouth flurry that saw three shots in quick succession. And El Hadji Diouf would have bagged his first goal in far too long but for a wonder save from Paul Robinson.
I think that what won it for us was the midfield battle. In Jenas, Edgar Davids and Didier Zakora, Spurs have a formidable midfield. But Nolan, Ivan Campo and Gary Speed were brilliant, controlling the play, winning most of the battles, and cutting off much of Spurs' supply to their forwards. Meanwhile, at the back, Abdoulaye Meite made a fine start to his Bolton career, making no mistakes, whilst Quinton Fortune performed a masterclass to keep the dangerous Aaron Lennon quiet for virtually the entire match.
It was pleasing to see Kevin Davies bag the first goal of the season. Too many are critical of Big Kev - not least the supporters of Jared Borgetti - but Davies' workrate in any match is outstanding. Several times in the match, his tackling brought the Reebok faithful to its feet in applause. It was a fine header from Kev that ended up in the back of the net, leaving Robinson with no chance as it sailed into the top corner. At first glance, it looked as though Kev had easily left his marker behind, which would have made the goal even better. Unfortunately, I would have to say that I think the Tottenham defender (not sure which one it was) was fouled. I thought he was pulled down, although I'll be honest - I'm not complaining!
Campo's goal, whilst delighting me, baffled me also, and still baffles me. I was uncertain at the time, but having seen it again, I realise that he certainly meant it, which makes it a fine goal. But it just seemed so casual. A low effort from distance (43 yards, apparently), which sailed into the bottom corner. It was a wonderful strike, but I feel that Robinson should have saved it. I don't know if he saw it late, or whatever his reasoning for letting it go in is, but England's number one certainly should have at least got a hand to that. He looked embarrased as he got the ball out of the net, and rightly so.
One disappointment, I thought, was Nicky Hunt. He certainly put in some fine tackles, I'll give him that - his block in the first half as one of the Spurs attackers was about to pull the trigger was phenomenal. But for every good moment he had, there were more bad ones. For a start, any meaningful pass he made didn't seem to reach his target. Normally, Nicky is very good at getting forward, but not yesterday. His crossing was poor, either failing to make it's target, or only reaching it when there was no-one in the box. And how he got away with a goal kick after his sliced intervention only Phil Dowd knows.
As for the ref, I felt sorry for him. Dowd, like the rest of us, is only human, and of course will make mistakes. Several of them went in our favour, mind you, not least the fact that he waved away any appeals Spurs might have had regarding the foul as Davies scored. Also, he did well to keep the cards out of his pocket, as there were moments where other refs wouldn't have been as card-shy.
All in all, a great win, and a great start to the new season. Although it's worrying that we're so short in depth, it's reassuring to see that our first team line-up is as good as it is, and can still cut it with plenty of the Premiership big guns. I wouldn't complain with another 37 performances like that!