The 21-year-old had to bide his time after starting on the bench but he certainly made the most of his chance after coming on midway through the second half, although his goal owed everything to a moment of madness from Ronald Zubar.
With 60 seconds of injury time remaining, the Wolves defender woefully underhit a back pass, leaving Sturridge with the simple task of slotting in his first Trotters goal.
Golden though the chance was, Sturridge certainly took it with aplomb and Coyle could not have been more pleased with his new arrival.
He said: "I'm absolutely delighted. It's always nice after the event when you bring in a player who you believe can score goals and he pops up on his debut to do that.
"But more than that I thought what he brought to the game when he came on - he was lively, he's got a trick, he's got composure as we saw with the goal and it certainly augurs well for both the impact he'll make until the end of the season and indeed for Daniel's future."
Source: PA
Source: PA