WANDERERS rescued a deserved point with a late goal from John McAtee – but were made to work hard for it by 10-man Barnsley.
McAtee grabbed his first goal of the season in the 86th minute, finally puncturing the stubborn Tykes rearguard, who had held firm after losing Vimal Yoganathan to a second yellow card at the start of the second half.
Davud McGoldrick had put Barnsley ahead and for a large portion of the second period it looked as though the Yorkshiremen would hold on to a precious win.
But McAtee’s goal triggered a landslide of pressure at the end, and Wanderers will be left wishing the onslaught could have started earlier.
The Whites kept with the same side that beat Plymouth in their last league outing but brought new signing Ibrahim Cissoko in on the bench, along with keeper Tyler Miller, who had made his debut in the midweek Carabao Cup defeat against Sheffield Wednesday.
Barnsley have been familiar foes this last few years, their style of football not changing drastically regardless of the coach in charge. Bolton have never been able to rid themselves of the annoying habit of conceding free kicks around the penalty box at Oakwell, however, and so it went again for the first half-hour.
Defensively, Wanderers stood up well. But the frequent opportunities offered to the hosts to load the box and use Luca Connell’s excellent set-piece delivery meant they placed themselves under more pressure than necessary.
Barnsley didn’t break through often – former loanee Nat Ogbeta produced one peach of a cross after getting a yard on Josh Dacres-Cogley, which David McGoldrick somehow managed to volley wide from close in.
Bolton fired in fits and starts. Amario Cozier-Duberry had one outstanding chance early on after a swift counter, Thierry Gale rolling a pass his way, but Murphy Cooper did well to block his shot.
Late in the half the Brighton loanee got another good chance, this time after a clever steal from Joel Randall. He spent a second too long trying to shift the ball to his left foot, and with it went the best angle to score, his shot looping just around the far post.
In between, it was the type of lusty Roses affair we expected. Mason Burstow clashed angrily with Vimal Yoganathan to bring 3,000 away fans to their feet and players from both teams steaming in at one stage. It also ensured his popularity continues to rise on the terraces.
Joel Randall struggled to get his game going, his late exchange with Cozier-Duberry aside, and Dacres-Cogley had one of those halves of football where nothing quite went right.
If the game had been frenetic to that point, it was nothing compared to the 10 minutes after the restart.
Barnsley took the lead on 47 minutes when a ball into the left channel dropped over Toal’s head and McGoldrick – at 37 years of age – showed an impressive turn of pace to get in behind and drive an angled shot past Sharman-Lowe.
Wanderers nearly produced an instant response. Sheehan’s free kick was won in the air by Gale and Toal connected with a header which bounced off the inside of the post.
Only a few moments later the Whites got a real break, Yoganathan made a rash challenge on Dacres-Cogley just inside his own half to earn himself a second yellow card from referee Leigh Doughty.
From there, Bolton faced another very familiar sight. Barnsley had the goal, and the points that would take them to the top of the League One table. Row after row of red shirts lined the penalty box and the game became one of patience and intricacy.
Schumacher brought on Cissoko along with Aaron Morley and Jordi Osei-Tutu but the space for them to affect the game was suddenly drying up. In fact, Barnsley were handling their numerical advantage just fine.
Morley went close with a dipping volley and Cissoko looped a header over the bar after getting on the end of Cozier-Duberry’s cross but the Tykes were holding firm, and the confidence around the home stands was growing with each passing minute.
Cissoko did show a few tricks to put a couple of good crosses into the box, Conway flicked one straight at the keeper, Murphy, but another late on found Cozier-Duberry at the far post and though he didn’t catch his volley clean, Shepherd was back on the line to make a vital clearance.
As the stewards lined in anticipation of the final whistle at the bottom of the away end, Wanderers won a corner. A last chance, perhaps, to leave South Yorkshire with something.
They had broken hearts in these parts before, of course, at an even later stage. But as the fans started to rhyme ‘Toal’ with ‘goal’ it would be a former Tykes hero who came up with the telling touch, diverting the Northern Irishman’s header to score his first of the season.
Little did we know it but the drama was still not over. As eight minutes of added time went up on the board Sheehan swung another dangerous corner in and Toal connected with another firm header, bringing a brilliant fingertip save out of Cooper.
As Bolton pushed for the winner, Ethan Erhahon put a ball in from the left and McAtee flicked a header which dropped agonisingly wide of the far post.
Morley also curled a late free kick which only needed a touch from a procession of Bolton players in the box to send it into the net.
WANDERERS rescued a deserved point with a late goal from John McAtee – but were made to work hard for it by 10-man Barnsley.
McAtee grabbed his first goal of the season in the 86th minute, finally puncturing the stubborn Tykes rearguard, who had held firm after losing Vimal Yoganathan to a second yellow card at the start of the second half.
Davud McGoldrick had put Barnsley ahead and for a large portion of the second period it looked as though the Yorkshiremen would hold on to a precious win.
But McAtee’s goal triggered a landslide of pressure at the end, and Wanderers will be left wishing the onslaught could have started earlier.
The Whites kept with the same side that beat Plymouth in their last league outing but brought new signing Ibrahim Cissoko in on the bench, along with keeper Tyler Miller, who had made his debut in the midweek Carabao Cup defeat against Sheffield Wednesday.
Barnsley have been familiar foes this last few years, their style of football not changing drastically regardless of the coach in charge. Bolton have never been able to rid themselves of the annoying habit of conceding free kicks around the penalty box at Oakwell, however, and so it went again for the first half-hour.
Defensively, Wanderers stood up well. But the frequent opportunities offered to the hosts to load the box and use Luca Connell’s excellent set-piece delivery meant they placed themselves under more pressure than necessary.
Barnsley didn’t break through often – former loanee Nat Ogbeta produced one peach of a cross after getting a yard on Josh Dacres-Cogley, which David McGoldrick somehow managed to volley wide from close in.
Bolton fired in fits and starts. Amario Cozier-Duberry had one outstanding chance early on after a swift counter, Thierry Gale rolling a pass his way, but Murphy Cooper did well to block his shot.
Late in the half the Brighton loanee got another good chance, this time after a clever steal from Joel Randall. He spent a second too long trying to shift the ball to his left foot, and with it went the best angle to score, his shot looping just around the far post.
In between, it was the type of lusty Roses affair we expected. Mason Burstow clashed angrily with Vimal Yoganathan to bring 3,000 away fans to their feet and players from both teams steaming in at one stage. It also ensured his popularity continues to rise on the terraces.
Joel Randall struggled to get his game going, his late exchange with Cozier-Duberry aside, and Dacres-Cogley had one of those halves of football where nothing quite went right.
If the game had been frenetic to that point, it was nothing compared to the 10 minutes after the restart.
Barnsley took the lead on 47 minutes when a ball into the left channel dropped over Toal’s head and McGoldrick – at 37 years of age – showed an impressive turn of pace to get in behind and drive an angled shot past Sharman-Lowe.
Wanderers nearly produced an instant response. Sheehan’s free kick was won in the air by Gale and Toal connected with a header which bounced off the inside of the post.
Only a few moments later the Whites got a real break, Yoganathan made a rash challenge on Dacres-Cogley just inside his own half to earn himself a second yellow card from referee Leigh Doughty.
From there, Bolton faced another very familiar sight. Barnsley had the goal, and the points that would take them to the top of the League One table. Row after row of red shirts lined the penalty box and the game became one of patience and intricacy.
Schumacher brought on Cissoko along with Aaron Morley and Jordi Osei-Tutu but the space for them to affect the game was suddenly drying up. In fact, Barnsley were handling their numerical advantage just fine.
Morley went close with a dipping volley and Cissoko looped a header over the bar after getting on the end of Cozier-Duberry’s cross but the Tykes were holding firm, and the confidence around the home stands was growing with each passing minute.
Cissoko did show a few tricks to put a couple of good crosses into the box, Conway flicked one straight at the keeper, Murphy, but another late on found Cozier-Duberry at the far post and though he didn’t catch his volley clean, Shepherd was back on the line to make a vital clearance.
As the stewards lined in anticipation of the final whistle at the bottom of the away end, Wanderers won a corner. A last chance, perhaps, to leave South Yorkshire with something.
They had broken hearts in these parts before, of course, at an even later stage. But as the fans started to rhyme ‘Toal’ with ‘goal’ it would be a former Tykes hero who came up with the telling touch, diverting the Northern Irishman’s header to score his first of the season.
Little did we know it but the drama was still not over. As eight minutes of added time went up on the board Sheehan swung another dangerous corner in and Toal connected with another firm header, bringing a brilliant fingertip save out of Cooper.
As Bolton pushed for the winner, Ethan Erhahon put a ball in from the left and McAtee flicked a header which dropped agonisingly wide of the far post.
Morley also curled a late free kick which only needed a touch from a procession of Bolton players in the box to send it into the net.
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