Bolton Wanderers have been branded as ‘a strong a team as you’ll see’ after an emphatic win over Manchester City under-21s in the EFL Trophy last night.
The Trotters have tasted defeat just once in normal time this season, with that coming on the opening day when they fell 2-0 to Stockport County Despite that, they have become somewhat draw specialists during the early stages of the campaign, with five 1-1 ties in League One. They also exited the Carabao Cup on penalties after their first round clash with Sheffield Wednesday finished 3-3 after 90 minutes.
Head coach Steven Schumacher has remained optimistic throughout, and his team look to have turned a corner in recent weeks. This culminated in an impressive 4-1 win over rivals Wigan Athletic on Saturday.
Bolton Given High Praise
The EFL Trophy offered a chance to build on that success as Manchester City’s young stars were welcomed to the Toughsheet Community Stadium. Bolton showed no mercy and raced into a three goal lead after just 23 minutes.
From there is was plain sailing for the hosts, with City’s lead coach Ben Wilkinson full of praise for the Greater Manchester-based side. Speaking after the game, he said:
“Firstly, we’re playing against a good team. You know, it’s probably as strong a team as you’ll see, I think, in this competition.
“But it goes without saying that the first 20 minutes or so absolutely killed us. I think what’s disappointing, really disappointing from our point of view is the nature of the goals.
“We have clear rules and responsibilities defensively [but] we made some really bad decisions in that first 20 minutes and made errors in that aspect of our game which, against a team like Bolton, means you will get punished.”
The result leaves Bolton top of their group after two games played. They beat Rotherham United 1-0 in their first game and round off against Oldham Athletic in November.
Writer’s View
Considering that the EFL Trophy consists of League One, Two and development teams, Wilkinson’s comments suggest that he believes that Bolton will be one of the favourites to earn promotion from the third this season. Although they are only 10th as things stand, they have lost just once and have started turning draws into wins. Last night’s result now means that they have emerged triumphant in four of their last five games in all competitions. A similar result over Northampton Town could see them break into the top six.
