A WEEK really is a long time in football.
For much of January, the prospect that a bloated first team squad at Wanderers might implode on their promotion mission seemed plausible.
The mood of disgruntled players on the fringes was starting to bleed into the squad and Steven Schumacher suddenly had as much of a task on his hands controlling the training ground as he had directing matters on the pitch.
A much-celebrated win at Wigan Athletic, a battling point at Stevenage and now this, imperfect but wholly welcome three points against Leyton Orient leaves Bolton third in the table with a different outlook on life.
Some dramatic but necessary cuts have been made, and we are yet to see Wanderers make a signing that really moves the needle, confirming their intention to be automatic promotion chasers; and yet, the table does not lie, they most certainly are.
Mason Burstow’s stoppage time penalty turned this clunky, disjoined, but whole-hearted performance into something else entirely and speaks of a team that has dug deep in a testing run of games.
Psychologically and physically, Wigan is a difficult game with more riding on it that a normal 90 minutes. Stevenage at home are as awkward an opponent as there is in League One, so to be faced with Richie Wellens’ Leyton Orient, a buzzing bundle of energy at the best of times, was unfortunate timing.
Schumacher admitted after the game that he had effectively picked his ‘fastest’ team, hoping that there was ample fizz left in his players to match the frenetic elan that the O’s have brought for a couple of years now.
Dom Ballard, like Charlie Kelman before him, has been able to capitalise on the incessant movement around him, concentrating solely on being a number nine and racking up 15 goals in the process. But League One’s top scorer didn’t get a shot on goal against Bolton and for all the flaws in a jaded performance, Jack Bonham never had a serious save to make.
Wanderers were not their normal, reliable selves on the ball. Without the steadying influence of Josh Sheehan in midfield they looked rushed at times, and though both Xavier Simons and Ethan Erhahon covered a lot of yards for the cause, they were never able to control the tempo of what was going on around them.
Amario Cozier-Duberry was levelled by a challenge by Jack Simpson 20 minutes in which eventually forced him off the field. Referee Seb Stocksbridge had booked Jordi Osei-Tutu a few moments earlier for a rash challenge on Theor Archibald on the edge of the penalty area but decided to let Simpson off with a warning.
Bolton have had reason to question a few refereeing performances of late, and unfortunately this was another erratic example.
The first half lacked any real quality from either side. Max Conway failed to turn a Thierry Gale cut-back towards goal, as did Demetri Mitchell after the excellent Archibald had arrowed in a ball from the left for the visitors.
The mood around the Toughsheet bordered on the negative, each backward or sideways pass given instant disproval. By the half time break, and with the scores still level, a scattering of boos greeted the half time whistle.
Gale cheered things up temporarily 29 seconds after the break, collecting Erhahon’s pass and lashing a shot past Killian Cahill for his sixth goal of the season. But the mopey atmosphere returned when three minutes later Erhahon and Gale conspired to lose the ball in their own half, and Ollie O’Neill crossed for Archibald to net the equaliser.
This was a real test of Bolton’s resolve. The effort of Wigan and Stevenage was clearly weighing on some, and the loss of Cozier-Duberry had left the Whites without one of their chief sources of creativity. And it was here that the real graft started.
Sam Dalby scrapped for everything up front, Cyrus Christie – who had replaced Cozier-Duberry – got himself up and down the right flank and added the necessary touch of calm. Substitutes Kyle Dempsey, Aaron Morley and Chris Forino also got straight up to speed.
Wellens complained that his side should have had a penalty when Ballard collided with Jack Bonham on the edge of the box – Schumacher insisting afterwards that his keeper got to the ball first. In real time, it was a heart in mouth moment for the home fans.
That was the only moment in the final third of the game where Wanderers’ control was threatened, however, and Dalby, Forino and Christie all had chances to restore the lead.
Enter Burstow. Everything he touched early in the season had turned to goals but his drought was now entering a 20th hour of solid football, and though fans have continued to appreciate his hustle, few honestly expected him to be the matchwinner.
Azeem Abdulai had already produced a comical handball in the first half in what could have been a presentable chance on the edge of the box. He was carrying a yellow card in the last minute of the game when Morley put in a peach of a cross and, for some inexplicable reason, the midfielder stuck out a hand as he tried to clear.
The last league penalty given to Bolton was against Leyton Orient in February 2025, and recently it has become a running joke in Schumacher’s pre-match press conferences for him to predict that the run was going to end. Burstow grabbed the ball immediately and the whole stadium held its breath, exploding into joy when the striker lashed his effort down the middle to score.
It didn’t matter how they got there, Bolton were in the lead. There was still time for another bizarre decision from referee Stocksbridge, who cancelled an indirect free kick to Bolton in the Orient box, seemingly on advice from his linesman.
Ten minutes of stoppage time had been indicated by the fourth official but to their credit, Wanderers saw out the game with consummate ease.
The hellish schedule doesn’t end here. Gary Bowyer’s Burton Albion will want to take advantage of any vulnerability on Tuesday night – and if Cozier-Duberry is also missing for any great length of time, Bolton simply cannot afford to leave themselves short.
Schumacher and his team have done their bit over the last week to put the club back into the promotion race. It’s now over to Fergal Harkin et al to get the business done in the boardroom, so this momentum can continue.
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