Stelios Giannakopoulos and Henrik Pedersen scored their first goals of the season as Bolton Wanderers went through to the Fourth Round of the Carling Cup with a confidence boosting 2-0 win over a spirited Gillingham side.
It was the perfect tonic for Wanderers who needed to come back from two recent defeats in the Premiership, which has seen them fall into the relegation zone.
The opening fifteen minutes of the game where end to end with Giannakopoulos and Emerson Thome both firing half chances towards Jason Brown in the Gillingham goal whilst Player-Manager Andy Hessenthaler had the Kent club's best effort in the early stages but he fired wide of Kevin Poole's goal.
Paul Shaw thought he had given the away side a shock lead on 21 minutes when he headed home a crossfield pass from former Blackpool defender John Hills but the effort was ruled out for offside by the officials.
Wanderers responded a few minutes later by converting their first clear cut chance of the game when Giannakopoulos headed home his first goal for the club following a cross by defender Nicky Hunt which caught the Gills goalkeeper Brown in no mans land.
Mario Jardel could of further increased Wanderers lead shortly before half time but his deflected shot sailed over the Gillingham crossbar untroubling the Welsh international Brown. It was further match practise for the Brazilian who lasted the full game in his bid to push for a permanent first team place following his move from Sporting Lisbon.
Gillingham manager Andy Hessenthaler brought himself off at half time and introduced Marlon King in a bid to improve the Gills attacking options but the highly rated frontman was later to withdraw from the game himself through injury.
Kevin Nolan had Bolton's best chance of the opening minutes of the second half but the England U21 midfielder's shot was well saved by Brown in the Gillingham goal.
Bolton introduced regulars Jay-Jay Okocha and Ricardo Gardner in place of Stelios Giannakopoulos and Ibrahim Ba in an effort to push for the second goal and within minutes of their introduction Henrik Pedersen had scored his first goal of the season.
Nolan picked out the Dane who beat former Burnley defender Ian Cox to the ball before firing a low left foot shot past Brown to put the game beyond doubt and send Wanderers through to the next round in a competition which has seen the Trotters come under much critisism in previous seasons but their critics cannot argue with their efforts in the rounds of this years tournament so far.
Wanderers lost defender Emerson Thome through injury with 25 minutes to go and young Academy prospect Charlie Coymn-Platt was pressed into action for only his second appearance for Wanderers to replace the big Brazilian as Sam Allardyce anxiously waits for news on his fitness ahead of the weekend clash with Tottenham Hotspur.
Bolton Captain Jay-Jay Okocha could of added a third for the home side but he saw his effort go agonisingly close following a mazy run by the Nigerian international which caught the Gills defence out.
Nayron Nosworthy could of pulled a goal back for the Kent club but the attacking full back saw his shot well saved by veteran stopper Poole in the Bolton goal.
And in the final minutes Jardel missed an easy chance to seal the game when he balooned over the crossbar when it seemed easier to score following a goalbound cross from Nicky Hunt.
However Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce will be pleased to have gotten back to winning ways in what was a potential banana skin against a commited Gillingham team who where spurred on by ex-Wanderer Nicky Southall.
It was the perfect tonic for Wanderers who needed to come back from two recent defeats in the Premiership, which has seen them fall into the relegation zone.
The opening fifteen minutes of the game where end to end with Giannakopoulos and Emerson Thome both firing half chances towards Jason Brown in the Gillingham goal whilst Player-Manager Andy Hessenthaler had the Kent club's best effort in the early stages but he fired wide of Kevin Poole's goal.
Paul Shaw thought he had given the away side a shock lead on 21 minutes when he headed home a crossfield pass from former Blackpool defender John Hills but the effort was ruled out for offside by the officials.
Wanderers responded a few minutes later by converting their first clear cut chance of the game when Giannakopoulos headed home his first goal for the club following a cross by defender Nicky Hunt which caught the Gills goalkeeper Brown in no mans land.
Mario Jardel could of further increased Wanderers lead shortly before half time but his deflected shot sailed over the Gillingham crossbar untroubling the Welsh international Brown. It was further match practise for the Brazilian who lasted the full game in his bid to push for a permanent first team place following his move from Sporting Lisbon.
Gillingham manager Andy Hessenthaler brought himself off at half time and introduced Marlon King in a bid to improve the Gills attacking options but the highly rated frontman was later to withdraw from the game himself through injury.
Kevin Nolan had Bolton's best chance of the opening minutes of the second half but the England U21 midfielder's shot was well saved by Brown in the Gillingham goal.
Bolton introduced regulars Jay-Jay Okocha and Ricardo Gardner in place of Stelios Giannakopoulos and Ibrahim Ba in an effort to push for the second goal and within minutes of their introduction Henrik Pedersen had scored his first goal of the season.
Nolan picked out the Dane who beat former Burnley defender Ian Cox to the ball before firing a low left foot shot past Brown to put the game beyond doubt and send Wanderers through to the next round in a competition which has seen the Trotters come under much critisism in previous seasons but their critics cannot argue with their efforts in the rounds of this years tournament so far.
Wanderers lost defender Emerson Thome through injury with 25 minutes to go and young Academy prospect Charlie Coymn-Platt was pressed into action for only his second appearance for Wanderers to replace the big Brazilian as Sam Allardyce anxiously waits for news on his fitness ahead of the weekend clash with Tottenham Hotspur.
Bolton Captain Jay-Jay Okocha could of added a third for the home side but he saw his effort go agonisingly close following a mazy run by the Nigerian international which caught the Gills defence out.
Nayron Nosworthy could of pulled a goal back for the Kent club but the attacking full back saw his shot well saved by veteran stopper Poole in the Bolton goal.
And in the final minutes Jardel missed an easy chance to seal the game when he balooned over the crossbar when it seemed easier to score following a goalbound cross from Nicky Hunt.
However Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce will be pleased to have gotten back to winning ways in what was a potential banana skin against a commited Gillingham team who where spurred on by ex-Wanderer Nicky Southall.