Stuart Holden nets first Premier League goal for Bolton

[Zeppo]

Stuart Holden nets first Premier League goal for Bolton

U.S. midfielder Stuart Holden scored his first Bolton goal Saturday to clinch a 3-2 victory over Wolverhampton in the Premier League on Saturday, while compatriot Brad Friedel conceded twice in four minutes as Aston Villa threw away a two-goal lead for a 2-2 draw with Manchester United.

Bolton is turning out to be this season's surprise, closing the gap on fourth-place Manchester City in the final Champions League qualification spot to three points with a third of the season gone.

Bolton went ahead at Wolves after just 45 seconds, with defender Richard Stearman heading into his own net.

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[Don1]

who cares

[Zeppo]

Stuart Holden planning big future with U.S.

A children’s charity fundraiser held a week ago probably wasn’t the place to be thinking about payback or a grudge, but you couldn’t have blamed Stuart Holden if he didn’t at least think about the idea of taking a run at Nigel DeJong.

The two players were celebrity bartenders at a charity fundraiser, but they shared more than just similar jobs as English Premier League midfielders. It was less than nine months earlier in Amsterdam where a reckless De Jong challenge broke Holden’s leg and risked jeopardizing his chances of staying with Bolton, not to mention his chances of making the U.S. World Cup team.

Instead of holding a grudge, Holden smiled and shook the Dutchman’s hand. The subject of the tackle didn’t even come up.

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