WOULDN’T you know Will Buckley would come back to haunt Wanderers?

The winger, now with Sunderland, scored twice for Oscar Garcia’s play-off chasers – then revealed he could have been wearing the white of Bolton instead.

Buckley, who eventually made his name under Boltonians Keith Hill and David Flitcroft at Rochdale, explained his early snub after netting a goal in each half to puncture Wanderers’ recent improvement.

“When I got released at Oldham, I had trials at quite a lot of local clubs and Bolton was one of them,” he said.

“I played a few games for a Trialists XI against Bolton’s Under 15s or 16s. But I never got asked back so that was just that.

“I think Sam Allardyce was manager then as I was only 15, turning 16. (I’m) not sure who the youth coaches were.

“But there were a lot of lads there, 20 or 30 of us at first.

“Then they would ask you back for another game and another game. It went on for a few months but nothing came of it.

“I probably played three or four games and had five or six training sessions as well. I was a striker at the time and I scored a few goals. I actually think I got a hat-trick in one of them.

“I was quite small in those days so that might have put them off.”

Chung-Yong Lee went closest for Wanderers, having a goal controversially ruled out for offside, while Medo Kamara also clipped the bar with a free kick.

Not for the first time, Dougie Freedman was left rueing a lack of quality in front of goal.

“I think that Brighton had the rub of the green but they were two really fantastic finishes from them and you have to take your hat off to them.

“The simple facts were when we got the ball into the box we just didn't take our opportunities.”