Megson's delight over sub

Posted Saturday, September 26, 2009 by PA

Bolton manager Gary Megson praised the "quality finishing" of substitute Chung-Yong Lee after his late winner against Birmingham at St Andrews.

The Korean international looked like being the villain when he lost possession in the build-up to Birmingham's 85th minute equaliser from Kevin Phillips.

But the summer signing from FC Seoul made amends two minutes later when he was first to react after a Matthew Taylor free-kick had struck the woodwork.

Megson said: "Chung apologised for his part in gifting them 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 today.

"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."

McLeish also defended his decision to start the game with only one striker in Christian Benitez after fans began chanting for him to switch to a 4-4-2 system.

He said: "I heard what the fans were saying but there is no evidence in terms of our performance to suggest we create more when playing two up front rather than one."