Megson glee over South Korea Lee´s late winner

Bolton manager Gary Megson saluted South Korean midfielder Lee Chung-Yong after his cool finish secured a crucial 2-1 win over Birmingham at St Andrews.

Lee came on as a second half substitute for his fifth Bolton appearance since his August move from FC Seoul and looked like being the scapegoat when he lost possession in the build-up to Birmingham’s 84th minute equaliser from Kevin Phillips.

But the 21-year-old made amends two minutes later as he was first to react after a Matthew Taylor free-kick had struck the woodwork.

Lee calmly dummied the ball before slotting home to give Bolton their second league win of the season and ease the pressure on Megson.em the equaliser but then had the presence of mind to be in there for the winner.

“It was a quality piece of finishing. If he had struck his shot first time I am sure it would have been blocked by the keeper.

“But he had the composure not to panic. It was a terrific finish and it was fortunate for us that the opportunity fell to him.

“He is doing well. He actually turned the game for us against West Ham in midweek and we know what we are getting from him.

“We sometimes struggle with his Korean accent but as a player he is getting stronger and better.”

Megson felt Bolton deserved a second successive away win – a sharp contrast to their home form which has seen them go six matches without a victory.

He said: “We put a lot of effort in on Tuesday night with the game going to extra-time and I think we deserved it.

“I was disappointed we didn’t finish the game off when 1-0 ahead. We sat too deep.”

Blues manager Alex McLeish bemoaned his side’s poor defending for both goals including the Bolton opener from Tamir Cohen – his third of the season.

McLeish said: “After we had equalised I don’t know if the players thought that the game was over. It looked like they were in a trance for a couple of minutes.

“It was poor defending for their winner and was another harsh lesson of what can happen in the Premier League.

“We also lost the first goal to a set-piece, the sort of thing we practice on the training ground to make sure it doesn’t happen. But we were punished again.”