Everton 1 Bolton 0:Everton boss David Moyes had pleaded before this north west derby for someone to step up to the plate and provide the goals that the Toffees will be denied by Tim Cahill's two-month injury lay-off.
And he could not have got a better response than the first goal of the season from Spanish star Mikel Arteta. In a game based so strongly on toil, work rate and setpieces, it was good to see that sheer skill was able to secure the points.
Arteta took the ball almost from halfway in the second period before unleashing a rising 25 yarder that crashed into the top corner.
Bolton worked hard, pinned Everton back with their relentless set plays, but have now managed just one point from the last 12 on offer, with Everton claiming revenge for the four-goal beating the Trotters handed out at Goodison Park last term.
Everton were not only without Cahill, their top scorer, with a serious knee injury that will sideline him for eight weeks, but also lost Welsh international Simon Davies with an ankle injury picked up playing for his country in midweek.
Moyes was able to bring back Nuno Valente after a toe injury while recalling James Beattie up front.
Bolton were without Liverpudlian midfielder Kevin Nolan, whose partner Hayley went into labour overnight and gave birth to a baby girl some 45 minutes before kick off in a Merseyside hospital.
El-Hadji Diouf got the predictable welcome reserved for ex-Liverpool men at Goodison Park, but the the home defence made him feel more at home by allowing him acres of space to work in on the left.
Twice in the opening minutes he galloped into the wide expanses and produced dangerous crosses, Campo firing one just wide from 18 yards.
Diouf was Bolton's most dangerous player throughout, and if he could manage to stay on his feet long enough, he would get more praise for his efforts.
Everton opted for a 4-4-2 formation without Cahill, with Joseph Yobo at right back, Phil Neville back in midfield and Beattie working tirelessly alongside Andrew Johnson.
Neville was booked for one of a string of fouls on the ever-tumbling Diouf, this one seeing ex-Everton man Idan Tal force Tim Howard into a leaping save.
Beattie saw a header from Arteta's corner slip wide, but much of Everton's attempts floundered on the strength of Tal Ben Haim and Abdoulaye Meite.
Arteta then reclaimed the ball after one of his corners had been cleared, drove into the box and saw his low shot through a cluster of players, kicked away by Jaaskelainen on 37 minutes.
Four minutes from the break Tim Howard almost presented Bolton with a gift goal, kicking clear, but only to Gary Speed 30 yards out and the Welshman saw an instinctive header bounce wide of the 'keeper and the left hand post.
Bolton almost profited from one of Campo's long throws soon after the break, the ball being headed down for Tal to unleash an 18 yarder that flashed inches wide of an upright.
Diouf cut inside Yobo to force a fine block from Howard, seconds before Everton grabbed a stunning lead on 59 minutes.
Johnson fed Arteta out on the right, and the Spaniard set off on a high speed run, beating first Meite and then Tal before unleashing a superb 25 yarder into the top corner. It was a goal out of step with the mundane fare beforehand.
Bolton's response was to hit the woodwork twice in as many minutes. First Campo saw a header from Tal's cross clip the bar and then Tal cracked a 20 yarder against the foot of a post.
Speed forced a fine save from Howard before Valente was on hand to block an Anelka effort after Diouf had cruised past two men in the box to provide the cross.
With just seconds of normal time left Bolton took off Speed and Davies and sent on Faye and Ricardo Vaz Te. But one last bombardment, with Jaaskelainen up in the opposition box, failed to save the day for Bolton.
