ENDLESSLY entertaining, impossibly imperfect, we learned nothing new about Steven Schumacher’s play-off bound Wanderers in a haphazard 90 minutes that followed the script so far.
There are aspects of this team’s make-up that you can eulogise about for hours on end, and it has been a rare occasion – maybe Peterborough, Port Vale, Cardiff or Burton – that they have left you with nothing positive to take from a performance.
Examples in which they have left no doubt lurking in the mind, however, are rarer still. Seldom do we see an accomplished defensive display coupled with ruthlessness in attack. This team, it seems, will always give you an opportunity to half-empty your glass.
And so it goes for the play-offs and a two-legged tie against Graham Alexander’s combative Bradford City where nothing is guaranteed other than Bolton putting their fanbase through the emotional mill once more.
This, lest we forget, was an afternoon where only Wanderers had secured their place in the top six. Their supporters were supposed to be sitting comfortably and yet for the most part shifted uneasily in their seats, giddy from adrenaline, unable to tell if their team were going to score five, or ship six.
Luton needed the win to stand any chance of gatecrashing the party. For about 10 seconds the winner claimed by substitute Shayden Morris looked to have granted them a miracle akin to the one Birmingham City’s Paul Caddis performed at the same end 12 years ago.
Some 190 miles down the road, however, Stevenage’s scrappy winner against Wigan Athletic denied the Hatters a shot at promotion within a heartbeat and allowed the home fans to taunt mercilessly for the remainder of stoppage time. One can only hope that their prediction about travelling to Tottenham and not Bromley next season proves true.
There was an element of controversy about Dan Sweeney’s winner down at Boro and how ironic that it should happen in the summer where this level of the EFL is finally considering goal-line technology, having eschewed the opportunity to get video replays available for referees.
Up at the Toughsheet we could tell you a tale about the pain a ‘ghost goal’ can cause, and with Jordan Clark’s opening goal from the penalty spot, there is another good case for allowing the officials to take another look at incidents they might have missed first time around.
It took precious little contact from Max Conway to send Izzy Jones tumbling and for Carl Brook to point towards the spot 15 minutes in. But when Clark slipped, Bolo Zenden style, to scoop the ball into the net from 12 yards, there obviously should have been a retake.
Ref Brook was apparently looking at Jack Bonham to check his positioning and was not helped by his assistant, leaving about 20,000 other folk mystified inside the stadium.
Luton had already hit the inside of the post through Emilio Lawrence and had clearly come to attack. Bolton recovered their poise quickly, however, and a quick corner from Ruben Rodrigues allowed Amario Cozier-Duberry to shift the ball to Jordi Osei-Tutu, who finished neatly into the bottom corner.
The two sides traded blows – Luton hitting the bar with Kasey Palmer’s header, Bolton having chances to forge ahead through Ibbi Cissoko, Mason Burstow and Osei-Tutu.
In the end, Cissoko continued his purple patch by putting the Whites in front just before half time, played in by a pass of supreme quality from Rodrigues, he lashed an angled shot across Josh Keeley for his sixth of the season.
There was still time for Mads Andersen to hit the outside of the post with a header – a reminder of Luton’s immense threat from set pieces, which would come back to win them the game after the restart.
Wanderers should have killed off any hope the visitors had in the second half. Keeley made a great double save to deny Cozier-Duberry, with Burstow turning a follow up on to the woodwork.
Hakeem Odoffin then took advantage of some slack defending and dithering goalkeeping from Bonham to head in the equaliser on 62 minutes.
Cozier-Duberry was denied by another superb save from Keeley but both he and sub Thierry Gale had chances to bury Luton’s hopes before the end. Another replacement, John McAtee, wasted another glorious position in the last minute before the Hatters did find the goal they were looking for through Morris, their dreams shattered by Stevenage an instant later.
Though Chris Forino shone brightly in his one-on-one defending, particularly against the dangerous Palmer, Bolton’s rearguard walked around the pitch to thank the supporters with plenty to think about.
Lacking the injured George Johnston, Max Conway had pitched in on the left but looked vulnerable without sufficient cover in front of him. Bolton’s tendency to attack first and defend later guarantees plenty of chances – but can it be a policy that works in the pressure cooker atmosphere of the play-offs?
We even had a saved penalty to add to the mix before the end. Eoin Toal’s tug on Ali Al-Hammadi’s shirt was penalised but Bonham blocked Wells’ shot, which by then was purely incidental.
If football is an entertainment business, then Bolton are doing it right. A crowd of more than 25,000 were treated to a proper show, with thrills, spills and everything.
Nine years ago, Phil Parkinson’s side got out of this league playing a very different style - effective with a capital ‘E’ – and things felt decidedly less unpredictable.
This version of Wanderers could very easily sweep Bradford aside over two games and then tear our hearts in two at Wembley. There are no guarantees.
You can’t take your eyes off them for a second but you know where hope often gets you in football…
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