Huddersfield could be the catalyst we need
By Lee Sidebotham
I write this week’s column shortly after the win against Huddersfield Town on Thursday evening, still trying to comprehend what I just witnessed.
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I was convinced at half time that I’d be writing about the same old Wanderers problems once again. We created worryingly little in the opening half, and it felt as though we were watching a continuation of the game against Burton.
I thought the atmosphere would turn hostile very quickly following their goal, but everybody started singing their hearts out during the second half and it seemed to spur the players on. What a difference compared to last Saturday! Every bit of credit must go to the supporters in the away end tonight.
We started creating chances and despite everything going against us, including the referee, you suspected something would have to give eventually. That something came in the form of Sam Dalby’s head, and what a header it was. He’s deserved a league goal for some time now and he couldn’t have picked a better moment.
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Steven Schumacher celebrates after the final whistle(Image: CameraSport – Alex Dodd)
It would have been easy for us to take the point and run, but we pushed on and before we knew it grabbed the winner. A quality pass from Aaron Morley found the feet of Mason Burstow, who laid it off to Amario Cozier-Duberry and he smashed it in. It all happened so fast yet it was like it was in slow-motion. I’ll be watching those celebrations back all weekend long.
I can’t stress just how important it is that we now capitalise on tonight’s game. Suddenly the last handful of matches are all forgotten about and we’re looking forward to the next one. I said it at the start of the season and I still comfortably say it now; there is no team we should fear in this league. Bring on Cardiff, Luton, or whatever team is in our way.
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We’ve had so many opportunities to get a good run going this season yet always seemed to stumble at the second hurdle. The Northampton game after beating Wigan, or the Barnsley game after the Plymouth win come to mind. The last thing we need after a victory like this is a defeat to put us back down to where we were before tonight. How things look so much more different now.
We’ve got to take the momentum from tonight’s win and make it count over the next run of fixtures. It could prove to be the catalyst we needed to go all the way this season.
Football Rollercoaster
By Chris Evans
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Saturday was the first game I haven’t watched this season due to attending the Rugby League Grand Final. I saw the score, I saw the goals, I saw social media. It was bad. With the worst away record in the league, Schumacher’s words of how good we looked early season seemed to be fading away at a rapid pace.
Fast forward to Sky TV’s abomination of Thursday night football, but a bonus for me as I live in West Yorkshire and would have missed a Saturday fixture due to my travels. At half time, I was wishing I had set off to the airport a day early. We conceded first again, not bothering to mark up on a corner. We looked second best.
Town were pressing, full of energy. We looked lethargic, with Sheehan continuing Evatt’s slow build up legacy and Osei-Tutu giving the ball away more than the number of games he will be fit for over the course of the season.
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Sam Dalby celebrates(Image: CameraSport – Alex Dodd)
It looked like another inevitable loss but Huddersfield trying to sit back to protect their lead, with the usual keeper down antics and time wasting galore, coupled with more urgency form Bolton, and the season may just have turned on its head. Morley’s urgency replaced Sheehan’s caution. Taylor provided energy.
For once, the domination paid off and we were rewarded with two late goals that may well have saved our season. Of course, nothing is mathematically decided in October, but getting a win away from home; breaking the duck, may prove pivotal with tough trips to Stevenage and Luton on the horizon.
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The game showed that there is no stand out team this season. Anyone has a chance of going up, and we have kept our chances alive with a late late show. That has to be up there with the best away days in recent times. Close to home, great beer in the Sportsman pub, and a rare away win to kick start the season.
Roll on Cardiff, a real chance to put down a marker in this rollercoaster season.
Consistency is key
By Liam Hatton
Regardless of whether you’re the most level headed supporter or one who will emotionally collapse after every single loss, no football season will ever ebb and flow the way you want it to.
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Nine months is a long time to sustain a consistent and bulletproof run of form at any level, but outside of outliers Birmingham City last year who were manned with a huge war chest, recent history is a true indicator of how tough it is to get out of League One, especially in today’s climate.
However, when do you start to wonder if Bolton Wanderers have had a mixed start (which they have) or if this consistent run of inconsistent form is who they are at this point? A team perhaps good enough to be invited to the dance, but they maybe just aren’t good enough to shine on centre stage?
It is still relatively early in the season with just over a quarter of the games played, and you will always get a couple of teams coming out of nowhere, just as much as you are guaranteed that one or two of the big hitters will struggle mightily.
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It has been a few weeks since I last wrote an article, which was penned just before the Wigan game. Now, since that point Bolton did obviously batter their local rivals, which should have been used as a springboard for their season.
Except it wasn’t, because losses to Northampton and Burton Albion followed, with a win against Peterborough sandwiched in between those defeats. Nothing about those three performances were convincing whatsoever, but if you win then who cares, right?
Therein lies the problem, Bolton just aren’t winning enough and they can’t afford to flip flop around good wins followed by idiotic defeats. It mirrors the exact same problem under Ian Evatt, in which a team who create plenty of chances are quite simply so wasteful in front of goal.
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The defence was lauded to start the season, with some of the goals conceded either unlucky, or with the general feeling that the goalkeeper should have done better. However, in the last two defeats, complacency started to creep in and it’s more of a case of bad defending as opposed to ‘oh well, at least we’re a team who has conceded one of the lowest shots on goal per game over the course of the season.’
You can’t let it become a problem, if it hasn’t already. I’m writing this article before the Huddersfield game, but I feel the tone of this piece won’t be dramatically altered even if Bolton win.
Why? Because until this team show us who they are by winning a run of games and becoming more consistent, then we can forget about any hopes of promotion.
The two sides of Wanderers
By Daniel Conway
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We were well beaten by Burton Albion, out-fought and out-thought. That performance was unacceptable, in any way shape or form. A sold out away end, deserved more.
Questions were rightly being asked about starting Dalby and Burstow together. I believe it is harsh to solely blame Dalby on Wanderers not winning that game.
For some reason, so much emphasis has been put on getting that first goal. Whether that’s by the media or Schumacher, is up for debate. Why do we need to change a winning team so much? Chopping and changing at will it sometimes seems.
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Burstow kept dropping deep to try and get himself into the game. Why change that dynamic when he’s proven he is more than capable in the role up top by himself? Common sense says you do not change that dynamic when he is the league’s top goal scorer.
For the second and especially the third goal, we were culpable. Our defence doesn’t defend as a unit, there seemed to be no leadership on that pitch last Saturday. The only one I could see actually talking was Forino. TSL looked short of confidence and Johnston looked lost at sea.
As soon as Burton scored, we started playing exactly into their hands. Breaks in play, long throw ins. We couldn’t string three passes together, and every time we got the ball back it was just a ‘hit and hope’, which was not going to work at Burton.
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To blame the pitch was clutching at straws and quite frankly, rather embarrassing to hear from the manager. Poor quality of the pitch does not excuse that display, particularly the third goal.
Burton more than deserved their points. Not to mention, they also had a game midweek, whereas we had a full week without a game. We were, put simply, miles off it.
Onto Huddersfield, I was a little concerned when I saw the team sheet and once again so many changes. One does wonder whether Schumacher knows his best 11 yet?
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What a difference from Burton! Pure ecstasy in stoppage time and a result that us fans blumin’ deserved. This result, and the way it came about ‘should’ be a catalyst to really kick on now.
Really pleased for Dalby getting his first league goal for the club as well. Just for that six minutes, enjoy your football-free weekend Whites fans!
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