Bolton vs Bradford
Leasing.com Trophy Nth Group F
7:00pm Tuesday 3rd September
University of Bolton Stadium
(Att: 9062)
Bradford City win 4-3 on penalties.
Penalty shootout beats are meant to be heartbreaking. For Boltona club on the brink of extinction a week Tuesday night’s was a cause for celebration.
After a 1-1 draw at home to Bradford, despite the 4-3 reverse, it still felt as a significant landmark for the thousands of fans that flocked since Football Ventures’ takeover.
It may have only become a Leasing.com Trophy game – the significance of which was highlighted by Bolton fielding the youngest team in their background – but it represented a new start for its 9,062 who headed to the University of Bolton Stadium, penalizing kick-off by 10 minutes.
Long queues formed out an hour as hope sprung eternal for fans who have experienced their fair share of distress over the past couple of years only minutes off from liquidation weekly.
That optimism has been set on manager Keith Hill’s back and assistant David Flitcroft – both Bolton born and bred – that made a short appearance prior to the beginning on the pitch.
Duties were relinquished by the group to previous caretaker Jimmy Phillips, that picked on a group to face.
“It’s almost a type of rebirth of all Bolton Wanderers using the takeover last week,” explained Phillips afterwards. “We stopped the rust in a losing string of matches and we’ve got a new supervisor and assistant and the audience were fantastic .
“I believe they had been really encouraged by the operation and everybody will have left this scene with expectation for your future and it’s set up well for the first team to get some more points on the board in their next league game.”
Each Bolton’s starting XI had played with some role in a demoralising opening to the season that had seen a group woefully out of their thickness concede five goals in each of their past four games.
However, they showed no ill-effects from these pummellings as the feeling that the slate was wiped clean too, energised them and they seemed to visibly increase in prestige when a cheer approached the winning of their attacking throw.
Wanderers’ goal in the eighth minute has been a metaphor for the optimism currently flowing through the bar.
Dennis Politic, whose previous claim to fame was scoring an 45-yard lob which went viral on societal media while on loan at Salford City last year, confidently made two or three stepovers before unleashing a 25-yard shot which goalkeeper Sam Hornby got a hand to but could not stand out.
Twenty minutes to the game, fans were still streaming in the lower grade of the Nat Lofthouse Stand, belatedly opened after the other two sides of the ground stuffed up, and they had been greeted by a party setting, with a passing of possession viewing every pass accompanied by an”Ole” in the crowd.
Following their troubles off both the area and on – with lost five and drawn one of the matches this year – Wanderers were due the fantastic chance of Jordan Gibson and Harry Pritchard.
Even reverses were greeted with positivity like Paudie header half an hour after half-time brought a roar from the home supporters which drowned out the small band of travelling supporters.
The ground, such as the team, buzzed with electricity having been on life care days past as’Wanderers you are loved by us’ and’Wanderers till I die’ reverberated across the stadium. Even defeat on penalties could not dampen their enthusiasm. Both teams picked up a point in the team, together with Bradford for winning on penalties earning a bonus point.
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