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The odds on Stoke City dropping straight back into the Coca-Cola Championship have been cut even by the betting firm owned by Peter Coates, their chairman, after an opening day defeat that looked worthy of a punt even at the shortest of prices.

Already behind to Gretar Steinsson’s fortuitous goal, Stoke presented Bolton Wanderers with two more, when Kevin Davies and Johan Elmander were given easy headers from set-pieces. Stoke were expected to be limited at this level, as they were thought to be in the Championship, but the least that Tony Pulis, the manager, expected was defensive solidity.

Although the contest was all but settled by half-time, Pulis’s team can look on their second-half performance as a positive. It was important that they scored and Ricardo Fuller obliged, heading in Carl Dickinson’s cross in added time, otherwise a hammering by five or six goals could have been terminal to their confidence.

“It’s not all doom and gloom,” Andy Griffin, the Stoke captain, said. “There are some positives, we can’t feel sorry for ourselves. You dust yourself down, try and correct a few things and look forward to the next game.”

With Rory Delap’s long throws causing problems, Stoke were in the game until Steinsson’s mis-hit cross flew in off the bar just after the half-hour mark. Stoke were unlucky with that one, but two markers then allowed Davies to head home Gary Cahill’s long free kick and Ryan Shawcross failed to track Elmander’s run and the Sweden forward scored on his debut. Davies was pleased with Bolton’s £11 million record signing. “Johan is a threat,” he said. “He looks to be decent at everything and he even tracks back.”

Bolton Wanderers (4-5-1): J Jaaskelainen 6 – G Steinsson 7, G Cahill 8, A O’Brien 7, J Samuel 7 – K Davies 7, J O’Brien 6, F Muamba 7, K Nolan 7, M Taylor 6 – J Elmander (sub: G McCann, 76min). Substitutes not used: A Al Habsi, T Cohen, D Shittu, R Gardner, Riga, N Hunt. Booked: Steinsson. Next: Newcastle United (a).

Stoke City (4-4-2): T Sorensen 6 – A Griffin 5, R Shawcross 4, L Cort 6, A Wilkinson 5 (sub: C Dickinson, 7) – R Delap 6, S Olofinjana 5, G Whelan 6 (sub: L Lawrence, 55 6), R Cresswell 6 – D Kitson 6, M Sidibe 5 (sub: R Fuller, 65 7). Substitues not used: S Simonsen, V Péricard, S Diao, A Faye. Booked: Olofinjana, Lawrence. Next: Aston Villa (h).

Referee: C Foy. Attendance: 22,717.