Home
Marking his debut for the club with the opening goal against Leeds United on Saturday, Shola Ameobi was pleased to open his account but was ultimately disappointed that Wanderers weren't able to take all three points in their latest Sky Bet Championship outing.
An early substitute coming into the game in place of the injured Gary Madine, the frontman opened the scoring for Bolton with a volley from Jose Manuel Casado’s corner-kick just after the half hour mark.
And although Leeds rallied in the second half to earn a share of the spoils from the penalty spot against the ten men of Wanderers following Prince-Desire Gouano’s dismissal, Ameobi was pleased with the character shown by his newly acquired teammates.
“Playing with ten men changes a game and it affects the ascendancy of the game – when you lose a man, you have to switch your mentality and stick together as a team.
“I feel that we did that very well,” he said. “It’s easy to fold in these kinds of situations, but we didn’t and that will stand us in good stead.
“The character that we showed today though when we went down to ten men is really what you’re looking for to win games.
“We continued to fight and push forward and there is quality in the team. We certainly feel that sooner or later, we’ll start to win games and do it consistently to help us climb up that table.”
He continued, “We started off great – in the first half, we were really dominant and had a couple of chances. We felt like we were on top, but football is a game of 90 minutes.
“Leeds started coming into the game a little bit in the second half, but the character that the boys showed was second to none and that will stand us in good stead.
“We didn’t get the win that we wanted, but we need to take the positives out of every situation.
“On a personal point, I didn’t expect to play as many minutes as I did having not played a game in a while, but I was delighted to be able to contribute to the team.”
With his move to Macron Stadium only confirmed just 24 hours before the game, the 34-year-old had something of a baptism of fire with his early introduction, but it was one which the striker was more than happy to throw himself into.
“The manager had asked me how many minutes I thought I could play, but I told him that I’m here to play games and I came here today with the mind-set of playing 90 minutes if he needed me,” he explained.
“I think that held me in good stead, especially with the early substitution and I was really focused when I did come on.
“Making your debut, you’re really excited anyway – you want to get on the pitch and I was no different. I was really delighted to be able to play my part in the game and ultimately help us get a point today.
“It’s always great when you go somewhere new and get that kind of reaction that I did from the fans. I am really excited to be here and it’s an opportunity for me to continue to show what I’m capable of.
“Bolton have been kind enough to accept my services and I’m really indebted to them for that – I want to repay them and hopefully I can do that.
“As a striker, goals breed confidence and it’s a great start for me. I’m not going to rest on that – I’m here to score goals and hopefully provide them too during my time here.”
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
An early substitute coming into the game in place of the injured Gary Madine, the frontman opened the scoring for Bolton with a volley from Jose Manuel Casado’s corner-kick just after the half hour mark.
And although Leeds rallied in the second half to earn a share of the spoils from the penalty spot against the ten men of Wanderers following Prince-Desire Gouano’s dismissal, Ameobi was pleased with the character shown by his newly acquired teammates.
“Playing with ten men changes a game and it affects the ascendancy of the game – when you lose a man, you have to switch your mentality and stick together as a team.
“I feel that we did that very well,” he said. “It’s easy to fold in these kinds of situations, but we didn’t and that will stand us in good stead.
“The character that we showed today though when we went down to ten men is really what you’re looking for to win games.
“We continued to fight and push forward and there is quality in the team. We certainly feel that sooner or later, we’ll start to win games and do it consistently to help us climb up that table.”
He continued, “We started off great – in the first half, we were really dominant and had a couple of chances. We felt like we were on top, but football is a game of 90 minutes.
“Leeds started coming into the game a little bit in the second half, but the character that the boys showed was second to none and that will stand us in good stead.
“We didn’t get the win that we wanted, but we need to take the positives out of every situation.
“On a personal point, I didn’t expect to play as many minutes as I did having not played a game in a while, but I was delighted to be able to contribute to the team.”
With his move to Macron Stadium only confirmed just 24 hours before the game, the 34-year-old had something of a baptism of fire with his early introduction, but it was one which the striker was more than happy to throw himself into.
“The manager had asked me how many minutes I thought I could play, but I told him that I’m here to play games and I came here today with the mind-set of playing 90 minutes if he needed me,” he explained.
“I think that held me in good stead, especially with the early substitution and I was really focused when I did come on.
“Making your debut, you’re really excited anyway – you want to get on the pitch and I was no different. I was really delighted to be able to play my part in the game and ultimately help us get a point today.
“It’s always great when you go somewhere new and get that kind of reaction that I did from the fans. I am really excited to be here and it’s an opportunity for me to continue to show what I’m capable of.
“Bolton have been kind enough to accept my services and I’m really indebted to them for that – I want to repay them and hopefully I can do that.
“As a striker, goals breed confidence and it’s a great start for me. I’m not going to rest on that – I’m here to score goals and hopefully provide them too during my time here.”
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]