A PERFORMANCE that promised much and delivered just enough, and the first real reminder to the Wanderers hierarchy that simply maintaining the status quo in January might not be the way to go.
On the face of it, a point at Luton Town is by no means a poor return. Kenilworth Road has chewed up and spat out plenty of teams down the years, let alone one that had to play the final 25 minutes with 10 men, following the cheap dismissal of Xavier Simons.
Just two years ago the Hatters were Premier League, and there were still flecks of that top tier quality running through a squad now managed by Jack Wilshere, formerly of this parish.
There is nothing pretty about what Luton do, but having tinkered with possession football when he first arrived in the job, there is a sense that the ex-England midfielder is letting his players get back to the sort of direct football which got them to that exalted level in the first place.
There was something positive to take from the primal ‘head-it and kick-it’ defending from Wanderers at the end, even though sub Gideon Kodua managed to cancel out the lead given to the Whites by Kyle Dempsey’s early strike.
Schumacher will also be pleased with most elements of the first half, where his gameplan to draw Luton in and hit them hard on the break had worked a treat, for a while.
The head coach will be less enthused by what followed. The carelessness in possession, the fact Dempsey’s goal was the only shot Bolton got on target. Wanderers got away with it in the end, yet some of their deficiencies on the day raise some questions about what could be changed in the short-term, and what may be improved in the January window if this club is really aiming for the top two.
For starters, the wonderful run of scoring form enjoyed by Mason Burstow and Amario Cozier-Duberry in the first couple of months of the season has – for now – run dry.
The young pair certainly have credit in the bank but one wonders if this upcoming week of cup competition comes at a good time, where they can be taken out of the limelight for a moment?
It would be a push to say that Sam Dalby has yet done enough to nudge Burstow out of the centre-forward spot. Likewise, Marcus Forss has proven useful but hasn’t quite made himself an obvious starter in this team.
Joel Randall and Thierry Gale did some fitness work before the game, having not made the matchday squad, Ibrahim Cissoko was an unused sub. And after a couple of sterile performances there is scope for one of the club’s attacking players to grasp the nettle.
Dempsey put his side ahead with a smart finish into the bottom corner following some gorgeous build up play from Max Conway and Jordi Osei-Tutu, the latter having been Bolton’s most productive forward player on the day.
By the midway point in the first half home fans were starting to grumble. Had Wanderers found a final pass or finish to match their control of the game, a famous away win would surely have been on the cards.
Luton bludgeoned their way back into the contest. Two penalty shouts were turned down by referee Ruebyn Ricardo, whose decision-making on the day could best be described as ‘iffy,’ and Jerry Yates somehow conspired to turn Jacob Brown’s cross-shot over the crossbar from point-blank range.
Those let-offs aside, Bolton were in a good position at the break. Their lot could have been improved had Cozier-Duberry put a diving header on target from Osei-Tutu’s cross at the start of the second half.
From that moment on, Schumacher’s side started to retreat, their penalty box turning into a battle ground under mortar attack.
One poor pass from Josh Dacres-Cogley left Simons exposed on the counter, his challenge on half-way prompting referee Ricardo to issue his first yellow card. And 17 minutes later the midfielder rather rushed into a tackle on Kodua, forcing the official to make a decision. Given his prior performance, we knew which way it was going to go.
All of a sudden, Wanderers were at a numerical disadvantage.
Luton pummelled the penalty box with free kicks, crosses and corners. But for a smart save from Lamine Fanne’s skimming shot, Teddy Sharman-Lowe remained relatively untested.
Schumacher tried to changed the pattern of the game with a string of substitutions, including the return of Ethan Erhahon after several weeks out. The replacements failed to have a calming effect, though, and as the minutes ticked down it seemed almost inevitable that Luton would find some way through.
Bolton played into their hosts’ hands a little. Hacking and slashing at clearances, overplaying in their own half, punting into space when a sensible pass would have sufficed.
So, with seven minutes left on the clock a corner dropped for Kodua, and the Hatters had the breakthrough they had been threatening.
Including stoppage time there was still 12 minutes of near-constant penalty box pressure left to endure. Wanderers’ full-backs Dacres-Cogley and Conway, were absolutely swamped in the latter stages and though Rich Taylor did add a welcome dose of physicality towards the end, Aaron Morley ended up being shifted to the right side of defence, such was Schumacher’s concern at the time.
The final whistle blew and 1,300 in the sold-out away end applauded the rearguard action. Some – Eoin Toal, George Johnston and Teddy Sharman-Lowe in particular – completely deserved the adulation.
It hadn’t been pretty and we know from past experience in this division, it rarely is at this time of year.
It is a good sign that there was disappointment in the Bolton camp. Standards are high these days and there is a sense that this side has a better mentality than some of those which have gone before.
A review of this performance may raise a question on quality, however, particularly if a shining light like Cozier-Duberry is not at his best.
Unless it proves to be a real December to remember, there is a feeling that something more might be needed in the January window to turn this type of game from one point into three.
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