WANDERERS (4-2-3-1)
TEDDY SHARMAN-LOWE…7.
Two big saves late in the second half that briefly looked to have preserved the clean sheet. Deserved to be on the winning side.
CYRUS CHRISTIE…6.
Blindsided a bit by Nombe as he cleared on the edge of the box but can’t have too many complaints with the penalty award. Busy with Reece James.
EOIN TOAL…7.5.
Dominant for 80-odd minutes and came up with some important headers at the end, too. Playing as well as he ever has for Bolton right now.
GEORGE JOHNSTON…7.
Set up a few real bone-shaking challenges and snarled his way around the pitch keeping Rotherham quiet for the most part.
MAX CONWAY…7.
Ran himself into the ground again. Doesn’t get too much defensive help from Gale but the two combine so well going forward.
JOSH SHEEHAN…8.
Two goals and impeccable timing. Sets the tempo for the team and after an off-day through illness at Wycombe, this was a distinct return to form.
ETHAN ERHAHON…7.5.
Went down with some cramp before the end of the game but had done a fine job chipping away at Rotherham’s midfield.
THIERRY GALE…7.
His pace had the visiting defender’s retreating deeper and deeper. Unlucky with one effort in the first half and always a threat.
JOEL RANDALL…6.5.
Nothing wrong with his overall performance, and a shade unlucky with the first half header. The miss was a flashpoint, could have been costly, but didn’t deserve the reaction after his substitution.
AMARIO COZIER-DUBERRY…7
Scrapping right to the bitter end and came up with a driving run for Sheehan’s winning goal. Some sparkling moments in a hard-fought game.
MARCUS FORSS…6
Didn’t quite get enough space to make a real impact in his first start at number nine. Maybe worth having another look at him, though.
Subs: Dalby 7, 70 (for Forss) – Made a positive contribution at the end.
Simons 80 (for Erhahon) – Won some important challenges late on.
Dempsey 80 (for Randall) – Bombed forward at the end.
Burstow 85 (for Gale) – Played wide left and got involved.
Not used: Miller, Forino, Cissoko.
Rotherham United (3-4-3): Dawson; Jules, Douglas, Baptiste; Hall, Gore, Yearwood, James; Powell, Etete, Martha.
Subs: Nombe 52 (for Yearwood) Hugill 52 (for Etete), Holmes 80 (for Douglas).
Not used: Cann, Rafferty, Kelly, Raggett.
Attendance: 23,416
Referee: Elliott Bell 5/10 – On the plus side, he got two of the major calls correct, getting the input of his linesman on Sheehan’s first goal and pointing to the spot after Christie’s foul on Nombe. No issues there.
The problem was the minor stuff, which added up to a hugely frustrating afternoon. Rotherham defenders were not exactly subtle in the way they went about winning the ball, there were maddeningly inconsistent views on timewasting, and Douglas got away with a handball on the line too.
MAN OF THE MATCH – Josh Sheehan
Hard to give it elsewhere when a midfielder has scored the first brace of his football career. Sheehan looked Bolton’s best bet to pick the Rotherham lock but you assumed it would be via a pass, rather than being on the end of a cross.
Honourable mentions for Ethan Erhahon, Teddy Sharman-Lowe and Eoin Toal. Some decent performances on another testing day.
MOAN OF THE MATCH – Why do Wanderers have to make it so difficult for themselves? So much pressure, so many shots on goal, but we have to wait until stoppage time for the punctuation mark to be put on the end of this story. Is it too late to expect them to find that clinical edge?
MAGIC MOMENT – Amario Cozier-Duberry produced a turn on the right side of the penalty box in the first half that had Zak Jules struggling to remember which stadium he was playing in.
ATMOSPHERE – Considering this was another big attendance, the Toughsheet was nowhere near its loudest. The tension played a part, and a second half spent at 1-0 always added that level of jeopardy, but the stadium has certainly sounded a lot better than this.
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