It was ugly. It was tense.

And it was three points.

After a month and a half, Chelsea’s winless streak is finally over. In a tough match against a gritty Bolton Wanderers, Chelsea found 15 minutes of magic, 15 minutes that might save their entire season.

Because as Chelsea gained three points, Arsenal dropped two to Wigan and Manchester United let two slip to Birmingham City. And suddenly the gap to the top is just 4 points (albeit ManU have a game in hand.)

There was nothing in the first half to suggest that Chelsea were capable of changing their fortunes. It was grim. The errant passing continued. A lot of the attack came down the left side but Ashley Cole and Florent Malouda, best friends forever two months ago, looked like complete strangers. They couldn’t read each other or make the vital connection to break through. Essien, playing centrally, struggled to distribute. Drogba’s touch was as off as it’s been since his malaria attack.

Bolton’s big front men, Davies and Elmander, gave Ivanovic and Terry fits. Bolton looked by far the likelier team to score.

But there were promising signs. Lampard still can’t run the game. But he, at least, could find the open man and do so quickly. The much-maligned Ramires, freed from his defensive role, showed pace and penetration and awareness. There’s something there for the future.

The first half was discouraging. But a different team came out of that tunnel for the second half. For 15 magical minutes Chelsea found their game. The passing was quicker and more penetrating. They attacked Bolton’s high line with sharp forward passes and strong runs.

First Lampard made a visionary diagonal pass to tear apart Bolton’s defense and free Drogba, who hit the post.

Moments later Bosingwa battled for the ball, got it to Essien who fought off two fouls in a forward surge before knocking it on for a sprinting Drogba, who slid a lovely pass across the box to the wide-open Malouda. Offside? Maybe. Maybe not. But a goal. A badly needed goal.

The fluency didn’t last much longer. The game turned ugly again. But Chelsea’s defence held firm. And in fits and starts, with lovely touches again from Lampard and strong runs by Ashley Cole and Ramires, there was a suggestion of the future form Chelsea need to find to in order have a successful second half.

They’re not there. Not yet. But they’re a lot closer than they were, both in points and in style.