Following their 2-2 draw with Exeter City the previous Saturday, Bolton needed to bounce back. After a dreadful start to the second half, a late goal by Eoin Toal saved a point, although this felt more like the antithesis of the late comeback against Barnsley.
When Tuesday finally arrived, the Sky cameras were in the city, but oddly, Kevin Davies was not present in the studio. Davies is always there whenever Bolton performs on television.
There was pressure, as there usually is at this stage of the season, especially since Wanderers are attempting to get promoted and their recent performance has made any advantage over playoff opponents disappear.
Victor Adeboyejo, who is anticipated to miss the rest of the season, is the most recent victim of an injury that has continued to rear its ugly head. Carlos Mendes Gomes, Dan Nlundulu, and Dion Charles are the only attackers who are out of action as he joins them on the sidelines.
Considering Oxford United was competing for a postseason spot, one would assume that the matchup would be difficult—certainly more difficult than Exeter a few days before, right?
The problem with football is that things don’t usually turn out that way. There are games where you just dominate a team from start to end, games where you can dominate a team and lose by a single goal, and games where you lose because the opposition deserves to win.
Tuesday’s performance could definitely be classified as “dominated.” led by the duo of Aaron Collins and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, the latter of whom is only starting to find his rhythm while the former has been receiving some attention lately.
Although both players performed excellent, it is impossible to single out one player as a standout performer following a 5-0 goal explosion.
Even while Ian Evatt’s Bolton team does a lot of good, one worry that should be considered outside of a “plan B” (we’re over that debate now) is that Wanderers don’t consistently put on a full 90-minute show.
It is possible to have a strong first half, similar to the Exeter match, but then give up after making two simple mistakes. You can outplay a Wigan team and yet lose when they get their first meaningful opportunity. A game like Blackpool can have a good beginning before the plot entirely unravels.
However, one thing you can say is that “Evatt Ball” does not appear to be half bad when it functions. The fourth goal served as a reminder of what the endless hours of work on the training pitch achieve, and Tuesday was solid evidence of that.
The last delivery for Collins to smash, the run by Bodvarsson, the back heel by Collins, and the ball from Maghoma to feed in Ogbeta home.
Bolton is always on when they are. There aren’t many teams in this league that can play like Bolton does; the problem is that they don’t consistently put together games that last the whole ninety minutes.
That being said, there is still the small problem of playing Derby. I would settle for a spirited 1-0 victory with a deflected corner off Toaldini’s head, forget about Evatt Ball.
To Mrs. Thompson’s dismay, I’m now finishing Nathanael Ogbeta’s cross off in my sleep after seeing the Aaron Collins goal back so many times. What a magnificent piece of art.
I love every aspect of that goal—big Jon Dadi Bodvarsson charging forward and getting the ball back, Collins’ backheel, Paris Maghoma’s Carlos Alberto-esque roll out to Ogbeta, his cross, and the finish. Yes, exactly.
Is it superior to the well-known goal Frank Worthington scored against Ipswich? Naturally, it wasn’t.
Is it superior to Wolves’ goal scored by Johan Elmander? Sadly, no.
Does it surpass Mark Winstanley’s goal versus Wrexham in quality? Believe me when I say that it wasn’t. All I want is for it to be available on YouTube so I can show everyone how amazing it was.
Some have compared it to Mark Davies’s save against Ian Evatt at Blackpool, and I am more comfortable with that comparison—even if by that point in the Tuesday night’s second half, Bolton were practically playing like the Harlem Globetrotters.
Oh, for a show like that at Derby on Saturday. Naturally, no one is holding their breath because, being Bolton, the universe will inevitably find a way to counteract such extremes of happiness.
Nonetheless, I believe that people are placing far too much emphasis on a single weekend’s worth of results, given that most clubs still have seven or eight games remaining.
I haven’t planned out how I think the run-in will go; perhaps it will be covered in next week’s column. However, once Derby is sorted out, I won’t be as concerned about facing Stevenage or Pompey at home. Whenever we are able to bring teams to our yard, I am always confident.
This is not an indication of overconfidence. That’s not anything that anyone can ever say of me as a long-time Bolton Wanderers supporter!
The way they brought Oxford to the dry cleaners the other evening gave me the impression that they were taking a step back. a sensation I haven’t truly experienced since the season’s opening couple months.
It was similar to receiving a sorbet of a slice of melon during a fancy lunch in between dishes. A palate cleanser prior to the enormous main course that follows.
I just hope that before they get at Pride Park, Ian Evatt and his guys haven’t overcommitted on goals.
