Bolton's promotion hopes were given a shot in the arm with a comfortable win over fellow play-off contenders Fulham at the Reebok Stadium.

Paul Bracewell's side never looked like taking anything from the game as FA Cup semi-finalists Wanderers turned on a classy display to put paid to any theories that the Wembley trail has distracted Sam Allardyce's side from league duties.

Bolton's opener came on half-time - Barry Hayles was adjudged to have handballed in the area and Dean Holdsworth took the spot-kick despite the protests of the furious Fulham players and he gleefully hit the ball past Maik Taylor.

The second half saw Bolton take a firm hold on the game as Fulham struggled to come to terms with their pace. It took just five minutes after the restart for Holdsworth to collect Allen Johnston's cross, turn and fire past Taylor who saw the ball squirm from his grasp and trickle over the line to double Bolton's advantage.

Fulham failed to create a second-half opening until the 71st minute, but when they did they made it count. Hayles collected the ball from Lee Clark, who then latched onto the return pass to pull a goal back via a deflection from Mark Fish.

But Allardyce's side retained their composure and plugged away for a third, which came courtesy of top scorer Eidur Gudjohnsen after strike partner Holdsworth was desperately unlucky not to have claimed a hat-trick with a header from Michael Johansen's cross.

The introduction of youngster Kevin Nolan in place of Holdsworth saw more safety conscious approach from Bolton but it did little to limit their pressure which was unrelenting right up until the final whistle. Fulham were already resigned to the defeat before Gudjohnsen's left-foot strike made it 3-1 in injury time.