‘My misses have cost Wanderers’ — Ricardo
3:42pm Wednesday 19th April 2006 in Sport By Gordon Sharrock
RICARDO Vaz Te shot a sympathetic smile in Kevin Nolan's direction at The Hawthorns on Monday night as his captain agonised over the last-gasp miss that cost Wanderers a vital victory.
"I think he's got my boots on," the young Portuguese striker said, sensitively making light of the squandered chance.
For, while he is still only 19 and still having to be satisfied with the odd first team start, he knows as much as any other Bolton player what it means to miss match-winning chances.
In fact, he is keeping count.
"Aston Villa, to put us 2-1 up Blackburn to make it 1-0 Chelsea on Saturday when it was nil-nil and the one I put wide the other night, just before Nobby missed his " he said, running down the golden opportunities he has had to break his Premiership duck and equating his misses to 11 dropped points.
"If I look at all the chances I've missed and the points we could have had, just look where we could be now."
Nolan was having none of that. Hearing his young team-mate's self-analysis, he offered a piece of sound advice.
"Stop trying and don't think about it," said the captain, whose impressive record 11 goals already this season make him as much an authority on goal scoring as any player in the Reebok dressing room.
"Just don't worry about it."
But Vaz Te, for all his laid-back demeanour, is finding it difficult to be philosophical, especially when he is struggling to get games on a regular basis and is so desperate to make an impact when he does get the call that he is often guilty of trying that bit too hard.
But the Portugal Under-21 ace has had his moments and has done enough to suggest that he has the talent, if he can only channel his energy and effort in the right direction.
His three senior goals so far have all been important: the match winner at Oldham in the FA Cup last season; the dramatic point-saver in Portugal to rescue a vital UEFA Cup draw with Guimaraes in November; and, six days later, the decisive second goal that earned Wanderers a Carling Cup victory over Leicester.
And he certainly made his presence felt when he went on for the last 10 minutes at The Hawthorns.
He could have won the game with his first touch, if he hadn't done precisely what he did when he hit the post against Chelsea at the weekend "shinning" the ball when a clean strike was all it needed. But at least he managed to shrug off the disappointment and proceeded to torment the Albion defence until setting up Nolan's big chance just seconds from the end.
"Nobby was unlucky because I don't think he calculated where the ball was going to bounce and it was a bit behind him," he said, going over the chances for the umpteenth time. "I hit mine with my shin instead of my foot.
"I must admit my confidence, when I'm shooting at goal, is a bit low at the moment, because I haven't scored for ages.
"I'm trying to get it right and I'm trying to make an impact and get the lads going when I get on. I've got this thing that I want to play more and I am trying my best.
"I am trying to feel relaxed but I can't, because I still haven't scored a Premiership goal yet, and I'm really getting impatient.
"I'm happy with my boots, though. I think I've just been unlucky."
click2find
