Bowen Double Sends West Ham Top After 3-2 Win at Bolton

Jarrod Bowen scored twice as West Ham United beat Bolton Wanderers 3-2 at the Toughsheet Community Stadium and moved to the top of the Championship. BBC Sport reported that the West Ham captain struck the deciding goal in the 77th minute, securing a third successive league victory for Nuno Espirito Santo's side.

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Bowen opened the scoring after 13 minutes. Kyle Walker-Peters pulled the ball back into the Bolton area, where Josh Sheehan's attempted clearance fell to the forward, who drove his shot past debutant goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu. It was the start of a rapid exchange that produced four first-half goals.

Bolton responded when Ethan Erhahon scored his first goal for the club, shooting in off Konstantinos Mavropanos after the defender only partly cleared the danger. Ruben Rodrigues then put the hosts ahead from the penalty spot in the 27th minute after Walker-Peters caught debutant Kyliane Dong. West Ham were behind for only four minutes before Mavropanos headed Arne Engels' free-kick into the net at the back post.

The visitors applied more pressure after the interval. Manor Solomon, Joel Piroe and Mohamadou Kante all went close, while Bazunu earlier made a reaction save to deny Mavropanos a second goal. The decisive moment came when substitute Joel Veltman crossed from the right and Bowen's shot slipped beneath Bazunu's hand. BBC Sport said the goalkeeper had otherwise performed well on his Bolton debut.

The result was West Ham's first league win over Bolton since 2007 and extended the Hammers' winning run to three Championship matches, their first sequence of three consecutive league victories since December 2023. Bowen's double took him to five goals in all competitions this season. Bolton, meanwhile, suffered a fourth straight Championship defeat despite taking the lead and producing a stronger display than in their previous loss at Millwall.

Nuno told BBC Radio London that Bolton had made the match demanding and caused West Ham problems, particularly in the first half. He said his team showed character after the break and praised Bowen for leading by example. Bolton manager Steven Schumacher said his players had competed well and created chances, but acknowledged that the Championship had punished them. West Ham leave with first place in the table and momentum from three straight wins, while Bolton must turn improved performances into points.