Wanderers fan Paul Winward watched his first Wanderers match in 1971 against Mansfield and picks out the Division One play-off clash with Wolves in 1995 as his most memorable match

THERE are few games that firmly plant themselves in the memory like this one.

It was a season that saw Bolton play 58 games, reach the Coca-Cola Cup Final and win promotion to the Premiership after the play-off final against Reading.

Following the 2-1 reverse in the first leg at Wolves, Bolton knew there was work to be done.

Now play-off matches are notoriously cagey, safe games with neither team willing to be courageous. But Bolton, on that night, went for it with gusto and I believe it was the night John McGinlay became “Super John”.

He had been the proverbial thorn in the side of Wolves and a goal in the first half followed by his winner in extra-time to take Wanderers to Wembley 3-2 on aggregate cemented his place in folklore.

The atmosphere that night and the sheer volume of support contributed to Bolton’s passage. Yes, there had been games when full houses generated great atmospheres that season, but this was special. Even the Wolves fans bombarding Lofty the Lion with pies at half-time didn’t dampen him or the supporters’ spirits. It created much more support.

When the second goal went in during extra-time, great times had returned to Burnden Park. However, after witnessing the 4-3 play-off final victory over Reading at Wembley (again after extra-time) it was debatable whether it could overshadow this game? But, personally, this was the special one because it was played at home, while Wembley was far removed from good old Burnden.

We can always wax lyrical about games, but this match stands firmly in my memory during the time when the Whites came out of the doldrums and was the catalyst for a much brighter future.