ANOTHER difficult week for Bolton’s men saw them defeated 6-1 at home to Bury.

The first 10 minutes were tense with both sides playing some excellent hockey until a lapse in concentration from the Bolton defence led to Bury opening the scoring.

After some good pressure from the Bolton forwards a move down the right side ended with a cool finish from Keith Stanley to get Bolton back on level terms and take his personal tally to three in two games this season.

Unfortunately for Bolton they failed to see out the half as they conceded a late goal, a Bury forward latching onto a loose ball and slotting home from close range.

The second half started brightly for Bolton with a number of chances to draw level once again but Bury extended their lead after a well-directed penalty corner was despatched into the roof of the net.

With their two-goal advantage Bury did not ease up and despite some excellent saves by Bolton goalkeeper Matthew Gaskell Bury extended their lead with two further goals.

To add insult to injury a last-second penalty corner was again neatly dispatched to make the final score 6-1.

Bolton’s second defeat in as many games leaves the side second from bottom in The North West Hockey League Division Three North and facing a lot of work over the coming weeks.

Bolton’s second team travelled to Lytham St Annes for their Division Four North fixture, in a game that saw the return of goalkeeper Tom Brants and defensive midfielder Chris Lord to the team.

With the pair back in the side, the seconds kept their first clean sheet of the season with Brants making a number of important saves.

On the attacking front, Bolton got off to a quick start with a short-corner goal scored by former captain Phil Johnston inside the first five minutes.

Sam Williams doubled the lead before half-time as he broke into the opposition area and placed the ball neatly into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal.

With 10 minutes left to play, Adam Anwar rounded off a fine team performance as he played the ball through an opposition defender’s legs before powering the ball past the helpless goalkeeper, completing a 3-0 win for Bolton who, with four points from two games, are third in the table.