THE VERDICT: Wanderers 2, Sunderland 0

11:19am Monday 5th May 2008

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AS parting shots go, it could not have been more impressive or more important.

Gary Megson asked wantaway striker, El-Hadji Diouf, to sign off in style and the Senegal striker did just that, scoring the goal that all but secured Wanderers' Premiership survival.

Nothing short of a last-day disaster can stop them celebrating their great escape at Stamford Bridge on Sunday and, although he is adamant that he will not be around next season to enjoy the rewards, Diouf will always be remembered in these parts for having played such a major role in the mission.

He will also be remembered for other less savoury aspects of his nature but, on this occasion, one of football's so-called bad boys lived up to his reputation as the Reebok's loveable rogue with a top-class performance and a world-class finish, just when it was needed.

And all on the 50th anniversary of the 1958 FA Cup Final victory - the last time Wanderers won a major trophy.

"The goal was important for me and important for Bolton," Diouf said, dedicating the performance to his family and to the fans.

"Today we told people that we wanted to stay in the Premier League. We didn't want to play in the UEFA Cup and go down in the same season.

"When you look at the last four games, you could see we wanted it. Before that, everybody thought we would go down but we believed in ourselves."

It was only his sixth goal of the season and his first in the league since he scored in the 3-1 defeat at Sunderland in December, but it was as valuable as any contribution he has made to the Bolton cause since he arrived from Liverpool four years ago.

"A £40million goal!" was how Jonathan Pierce described it to Match of the Day viewers, illustrating the financial consequence of relegation to the Championship.

More than that, considering that if and when they do come to negotiate Diouf's transfer, Wanderers will be in a much stronger position to demand a big profit on their £3.5m investment than if they were conducting a fire sale.

No fears of that now. Megson's men are safe, barring a disaster of titanic proportions next Sunday, and "Ginger Mourinho" will get the opportunity he yearned for, to shape things to his own liking.

Yes, they could get a beating at Chelsea and Reading could win at Derby while rejuvenated Fulham could win at Portsmouth. But Wanderers' goal difference is such that it would take an 11-goal swing for Steve Coppell's Royals to overtake them and there's less chance of that happening than there is of Diouf being persuaded to stay.

They have done it the hard way and there have been tough times along the way, but Wanderers have survived one of their most traumatic seasons of modern times with their Premiership status intact.

That in itself, given the destabilising events of the last year, should be seen as success. And, although he believes the accolades should go to his never-say-die players, Megson deserves the lion's share of the credit.

Wanderers were fighting a relegation battle when he replaced Sammy Lee in October and, although he inspired a mini-revival that nudged them towards mid-table, a nightmare run of eight games that delivered just a single point culminated in a morale-shattering 4-0 defeat at Aston Villa that made them odds-on favourites for the drop.

They needed a miracle but, somehow, the manager - under pressure from all quarters including sections of his own supporters - re-emphasised his back-to-basics philosophy and inspired a run of four of the unlikeliest results.

There was no Jussi Jaaskelainen or Ricardo Gardner, no Kevin Davies for two of the games and the natives were getting decidedly restless. But gutsy victories over West Ham and Middlesbrough showed the players and their fans united in adversity before the luckiest of draws at Spurs ensured their destiny was back in their own hands.

They were out of the bottom three and, once clear, they were determined there would be no slip-ups.

It helped knowing, when they kicked off on Saturday evening, that Reading had lost at home to Spurs and Fulham had beaten Birmingham. All that remained was for Wanderers to beat Sunderland and the job was done.

That was easier said than done. Until Daryl Murphy deflected Matt Taylor's corner over the line eight minutes from time, Sunderland's penchant for late strikes - nine of their points this season were achieved with goals in the last five minutes - looked ominous.

It was nail-biting at the time but, on reflection, once Diouf broke the deadlock three minutes before half time, Wanderers were not going to be denied.

They had only had one decent scoring chance, spurned when Davies - playing with a light splint on his broken hand - headed Diouf's cross over the bar from a great position, and the supporters were starting to voice their anxieties.

But frustration turned to celebration when Davies knocked the ball wide for Kevin Nolan and set off into the box in the hope of getting on the end of the eventual cross.

The inspirational Nolan duly delivered, but the ball was too high for Davies and fell instead for Diouf, who took a touch to compose himself before placing a rising, angled right-footer across Craig Gordon high into the net.

Roy Keane promised his players would not lie down but, what he could not guarantee was a performance.

Thankfully, Sunderland were poor, very poor, appalling in fact.

Better teams would have punished Wanderers for repeatedly giving the ball away in a nerve-wracking second half.

But the only time Ali Al-Habsi's goal came under serious threat was on 70 minutes, when Roy O'Donovan teed-up Andy Reid's cross and Kenwyne Jones failed to connect with the goal at his mercy.

It crossed the mind that Diouf's chance in the 54th minute, when he headed Taylor's cross onto the post, might prove costly.

But the pressure was off when Murphy and Gordon got in each other's way and Taylor's corner deflected off the striker's head and over the line, before Reid hacked it away.

Fortunately, the referee's assistant John Flynn was perfectly positioned to signal "goal" and the celebrations began in earnest.

Minds flashed back to "goal that never was" in September 1997 - in that identical spot - that robbed Wanderers of points that eventually led to them being relegated on goal difference at Chelsea on the last day of the season.

To their credit, the officials got this one spot on. So, unless things go horribly wrong, there will be no tears at Stamford Bridge this time.