Bolton Wanderers’ Papa Johns Trophy win over Plymouth Argyle sent a statement out to the fellow promotion hopefuls in Sky Bet League One. Despite it not being considered by some as one of the most sought-after trophies, it put an end to Bolton’s 34-year wait for a piece of silverware.
Ian Evatt’s side currently occupy fifth place in the third tier and their goal for the remainder of the season will be to secure promotion back to the Championship. But following the recent EFL Trophy triumph, will this help in the Wanderers’ goal for League One promotion?
It has to be said that their victory over Plymouth was very impressive. They started like a house on fire as Kyle Dempsey netted four minutes in, before Dion Charles doubled their lead six minutes later.
Steven Schumacher was desperate for the half-time whistle but only four minutes after the interval, Bolton grabbed their third. The Wanderers secured the trophy on the 62-minute mark when Gethin Jones headed home.
Bolton have eight games left to ensure that they cement their play-off spot but automatic promotion seems very unlikely now. In their last league encounter, they secured a 1-1 away draw at top of the table Sheffield Wednesday which is one of the hardest places to go in the division.
They have fallen to a few disappointing results of late, most notably defeats to Ipswich Town and Portsmouth. The defeat to the former is one that shouldn’t be complained about, especially looking at their recent run of results.
Football Web Pages’ predicted table suggests that the Wanderers will finish in fifth place, their current position. If this predicted table was the true outcome, this means Bolton and Plymouth could meet once again, this time in the play-off semi-finals.
All of Bolton’s remaining games are against teams that are below them in the table, therefore they should be expected to win them. The highest-placed team they face is against Shrewsbury in tenth, while they face a number of teams that are in a relegation battle.
This coming Saturday, the Greater Manchester-based side face Exeter City and then Cambridge United at home. After the action over the Easter weekend, they have two away trips to Oxford United and Burton Albion before three home games against Shrewsbury, Accrington Stanley and Fleetwood Town. Bolton then finish their campaign at the Memorial Stadium as they face Bristol Rovers.
Writer’s view
I think that Bolton’s EFL Trophy win will help them as the run-in approaches. They will have momentum on their side as they look to return to the second tier for the first time since 2019.
However, a host of other teams are also in the promotion picture and looking to earn promotion.
