West Ham 1 Bolton 3

On a wet and windy afternoon West Ham seemed to have left their good form of recent weeks somewhere in the dressing room, with Green - usually one of the Irons' most reliable performers - putting in possibly his most disappointing display since joining the club over two years ago.

On the half-hour, Green - under no real pressure - dropped a high, looping ball from Jloyd Samuel as he advanced to the edge of the box.

His mistake proved costly as Kevin Davies, always a handful for the Hammers' backline, was on hand to gently guide the ball into the unguarded net.

And four minutes later the keeper could only parry Gretar Rafn Steinsson's fierce drive, allowing Gary Cahill to stab home from four yards as he followed up unchallenged to double Bolton's advantage.

It had all started promisingly for West Ham, with Mark Noble looking lively and Herita Ilunga causing Bolton problems down the left flank with some powerful running.

But there were also worrying signs for the Hammers. They looked vulnerable down the right, where Julien Faubert had a very poor game at right-back, and were often outmuscled in midfield.

And David Di Michele continued to disappoint up front, putting in another lacklustre shift before being replaced by Craig Bellamy with less than an hour gone.

The introduction of the Welshman did at least put some belligerence back in the Irons' play, although too often he was forced deep to find the ball.

With the home crowd growing increasingly restive over their side's poor performance it took a goal from Carlton Cole, his fourth in six games, to inject some belief into his team-mates.

The 24-year-old nodded home from close range after Matthew Upson had nodded Matty Etherington's corner back across the goalmouth in the 69th minute.

But it was all to no avail as substitute Taylor caught Green, and the West Ham defence, napping when he blasted a ferocious free-kick home from all of 30 yards five minutes from time.

That was the cue for a mass exodus from the stands as the home fans realised the game was up, leaving the vociferous travelling support to cheer their boys home.

For Zola it was a first defeat in the Premier League, giving him plenty to work on during the international break next week.

He admitted it was a result that disappointed him.

"We need to improve certain things," he said.

"We were 1-0 down but we have to react to that, and don't accept it.

"The only pity is we can't play next week, but football is like that."

And as for Green, so long overlooked for international recognition despite some excellent club form, but now sweating on inclusion in Fabio Capello's England squad for next weekend's World Cup clash with Kazakhstan at Wembley?

"I hope Robert Green is in the England squad and I expect him to be," said Zola

"He's a great goalkeeper but had a bad day. Who knows, in the next game he might save two penalties.

West Ham: Green, Faubert, Ilunga, Neill, Upson, Parker, Noble, Etherington (Sears, 79), Behrami, Di Michele (Bellamy, 53), Cole. Unused subs: Lastuvka, Lopez, Boa Morte, Mullins, Davenport.

Goals: Cole (69)

Bookings: Parker, Noble, Faubert, Bellamy.

Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Samuel, Cahill, Steinsson, A O'Brien, Nolan, Muamba (J O'Brien, 80), Elmander (Taylor, 73), Gardner, Davies, McCann. Unused subs: Al-Habsi, Hunt, Smolarek, Riga, Shittu.

Goals: Davies (30), Cahill (34), Taylor (86)

Bookings: A O'Brien, Nolan

Attendance: 33,715