Coyle had slight cause for concern as Bolton failed to kill off Swans

Bolton manager Owen Coyle hailed an excellent performance from his side in this fourth-round win over Swansea but felt the victory at the Reebok Stadium should have been more emphatic.

After the hosts had applied virtually all the pressure without breaking the deadlock it was the Swans who went 1-0 up in the 43rd minute through Luke Moore’s deft chip.

Darren Pratley, who left the Welsh outfit for Wanderers in the summer, squared things by heading home an equaliser in first-half stoppage time before Chris Eagles netted the winner 11 minutes after the break, reacting when goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel could not hold on to Martin Petrov’s strike.

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Swansea substitute Danny Graham almost secured a replay in the final few minutes with a header that came back off a post and Coyle thought his team should already have put the matter beyond any doubt by that point.

“It was more than a win – I thought we were excellent,” Coyle said.

“We started the game really well and felt really hard done by to lose the opening goal, because we had various chances to be in front.

“The reaction was great and we went in at half-time level, but we should have been in front.

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“Then in the second half we scored a great goal and should have added to it if the truth be told.

“When there is only the margin of a goal between teams, anything can happen.”

While Coyle only made three adjustments to his first XI for the match, Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers completely reshuffled his pack with 10 changes but insisted his selection was not disrespectful.

“It was about using the squad,” Rodgers said. “I really wanted us to go through and I felt I had picked the team to do that.

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“It certainly wasn’t a case of disrespecting the tournament because the FA Cup is the best domestic cup competition in the world.”

Bolton forward Kevin Davies has been linked with a move to Sunderland but Coyle remains adamant the 34-year-old has a future at the Reebok Stadium.