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THERE was a time when Wanderers used to take pleasure from giving the footballing artisans a bloody nose, and perhaps those days are on their way back?
Few gave Phil Parkinson’s side a snowball in hell’s chance of beating Aston Villa’s millionaires, who were surely going produce a response to their shock defeat at home to QPR a few days earlier.
The Sky TV cameras circled expecting a white-wash, and got one. Just not in the way they expected.
Ex-England boss Steve McClaren had mused pre-match about Villa’s plethora of attacking talents, pushing his computer-generated claret characters around the screen as if he was re-enacting the Battle of Little Bighorn.
But he, nor his studio companions were ready for this kind of old-fashioned Bolton performance, one which ranks alongside’s Parkinson’s best in his time as Wanderers manager. All that was missing was an orange ball.
Plenty of big-guns have mis-fired in the swirling winds of Winter Hill down the years but not until recently has this Bolton team looked quite so capable of producing such controlled aggression to take the likes of Villa down.
Experience soaked right the way through the team-sheet, not least up front where Adam Le Fondre’s boastful claim about guaranteeing goals if he got more game time is now coming to fruition.
The 31-year-old gave John Terry the sort of run-around he has rarely experienced since dropping down to the Championship from Chelsea.
Le Fondre scored the game’s only goal, a typically predatory finish after Darren Pratley had flicked on Sammy Ameobi’s cross superbly at the near post. With just 19 minutes on the clock you feared Wanderers had gone ahead too early – but that is where the aforementioned experience kicked in.
Karl Henry snapped at ankles, even getting a rise out of Steve Bruce on the touchline, keeping Villa’s 4,000-strong travelling support in a constant state of simmering fervour.
Full-backs Andy Taylor and Jon Flanagan dealt with wide threats Albert Adomah and Robert Snodgrass – two of the Championship’s most deadly customers on a fair day. By the end, even Bruce conceded his wingers had been outplayed by Bolton’s better mastery of conditions, and it was no surprise that both men failed to see out 90 minutes.
Mark Beevers’ form has peaked at a perfect time for Parkinson, too, just as questions were being asked about David Wheater’s exclusion – the big defender has struck up another useful partnership with youngster Reece Burke.
And Will Buckley, seemingly stuck on the comeback trail this season, made a mockery of Bruce’s assumption that players could not run with the ball on the icy surface, driving into Villa territory at every opportunity.
Wanderers had just two points from 11 games when they left Villa Park in September, leaving Parkinson answering questions about whether he was the right man to steer the club away from trouble.
Yet with eight games to go, if the Whites boss succeeds in saving his side from the drop, there is a case to be made for his achievements to equal – if not surpass – those of Nuno Santo, Neil Warnock and the Premier League wannabes.
A team built with nothing has punched way above its weight all season. Villa’s complaints about rough-house treatment were like music to the ears.
Wanderers have also had some unlikely heroes come to the fore in recent weeks, none more so than Ben Alnwick and Derik Osede.
Though Villa never mounted the attacking onslaught McClaren predicted, there were moments when Alnwick had to be at his best – tipping over a fine volley from Jack Grealish in the first half, then making a point-blank save from James Bree in the dying moments of the game.
Derik’s contribution may have gone under the radar but with the snow sitting atop his flamboyant hairdo, making him look more like a young Don King, he patrolled in front of the back four to minimise Conor Hourihane and Birkir Bjarnasson’s involvement completely.
It is hard to imagine the Spaniard had many nights like this growing up at the Bernabeu, yet his recent form has made a mockery of those who feared his game was not cut out for the constant cut and thrust of Championship football.
Perhaps the only disappointment on the night was Pratley’s withdrawal through injury after 27 minutes. The skipper had started the game well – but in Josh Vela, Parkinson found a replacement who clearly had the bit between his teeth.
Villa’s trials and tribulations over the last week are testament to the fact Bolton should not get ahead of themselves. A 4-1 win against champions-elect Wolves seemed to put them on track for automatic promotion but Saturday’s night second defeat in as many games now has those of a claret and blue persuasion worrying about missing out on the play-offs.
Wanderers might have made things easier for themselves in the second half when Le Fondre found himself with a clear view of Sam Johnstone’s goal, rushing a shot that arrowed narrowly wide.
The slender score-line added to the drama. As temperatures dropped to minus five at pitch-side, there was a genuine concern among the Wanderers staff that referee Rob Jones could call the game off on the grounds of player-safety.
Sky’s TV cameras had already struggled to pick up the yellow ball, introduced 15 minutes into the game once the goal-line technology had been rebooted. And in the final 10 minutes with the blizzard at its worst, the football was, at times, farcical.
A tip of the cap, then, to Chris Simm and his ground-staff, who raced around the pitch at the half-time interval to ensure as much of the snow had been cleared. This victory had indeed been a team effort.
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/16095215.big-match-verdict-bolton-wanderers-1-aston-villa-0/?ref=mrb&lp=2
Few gave Phil Parkinson’s side a snowball in hell’s chance of beating Aston Villa’s millionaires, who were surely going produce a response to their shock defeat at home to QPR a few days earlier.
The Sky TV cameras circled expecting a white-wash, and got one. Just not in the way they expected.
Ex-England boss Steve McClaren had mused pre-match about Villa’s plethora of attacking talents, pushing his computer-generated claret characters around the screen as if he was re-enacting the Battle of Little Bighorn.
But he, nor his studio companions were ready for this kind of old-fashioned Bolton performance, one which ranks alongside’s Parkinson’s best in his time as Wanderers manager. All that was missing was an orange ball.
Plenty of big-guns have mis-fired in the swirling winds of Winter Hill down the years but not until recently has this Bolton team looked quite so capable of producing such controlled aggression to take the likes of Villa down.
Experience soaked right the way through the team-sheet, not least up front where Adam Le Fondre’s boastful claim about guaranteeing goals if he got more game time is now coming to fruition.
The 31-year-old gave John Terry the sort of run-around he has rarely experienced since dropping down to the Championship from Chelsea.
Le Fondre scored the game’s only goal, a typically predatory finish after Darren Pratley had flicked on Sammy Ameobi’s cross superbly at the near post. With just 19 minutes on the clock you feared Wanderers had gone ahead too early – but that is where the aforementioned experience kicked in.
Karl Henry snapped at ankles, even getting a rise out of Steve Bruce on the touchline, keeping Villa’s 4,000-strong travelling support in a constant state of simmering fervour.
Full-backs Andy Taylor and Jon Flanagan dealt with wide threats Albert Adomah and Robert Snodgrass – two of the Championship’s most deadly customers on a fair day. By the end, even Bruce conceded his wingers had been outplayed by Bolton’s better mastery of conditions, and it was no surprise that both men failed to see out 90 minutes.
Mark Beevers’ form has peaked at a perfect time for Parkinson, too, just as questions were being asked about David Wheater’s exclusion – the big defender has struck up another useful partnership with youngster Reece Burke.
And Will Buckley, seemingly stuck on the comeback trail this season, made a mockery of Bruce’s assumption that players could not run with the ball on the icy surface, driving into Villa territory at every opportunity.
Wanderers had just two points from 11 games when they left Villa Park in September, leaving Parkinson answering questions about whether he was the right man to steer the club away from trouble.
Yet with eight games to go, if the Whites boss succeeds in saving his side from the drop, there is a case to be made for his achievements to equal – if not surpass – those of Nuno Santo, Neil Warnock and the Premier League wannabes.
A team built with nothing has punched way above its weight all season. Villa’s complaints about rough-house treatment were like music to the ears.
Wanderers have also had some unlikely heroes come to the fore in recent weeks, none more so than Ben Alnwick and Derik Osede.
Though Villa never mounted the attacking onslaught McClaren predicted, there were moments when Alnwick had to be at his best – tipping over a fine volley from Jack Grealish in the first half, then making a point-blank save from James Bree in the dying moments of the game.
Derik’s contribution may have gone under the radar but with the snow sitting atop his flamboyant hairdo, making him look more like a young Don King, he patrolled in front of the back four to minimise Conor Hourihane and Birkir Bjarnasson’s involvement completely.
It is hard to imagine the Spaniard had many nights like this growing up at the Bernabeu, yet his recent form has made a mockery of those who feared his game was not cut out for the constant cut and thrust of Championship football.
Perhaps the only disappointment on the night was Pratley’s withdrawal through injury after 27 minutes. The skipper had started the game well – but in Josh Vela, Parkinson found a replacement who clearly had the bit between his teeth.
Villa’s trials and tribulations over the last week are testament to the fact Bolton should not get ahead of themselves. A 4-1 win against champions-elect Wolves seemed to put them on track for automatic promotion but Saturday’s night second defeat in as many games now has those of a claret and blue persuasion worrying about missing out on the play-offs.
Wanderers might have made things easier for themselves in the second half when Le Fondre found himself with a clear view of Sam Johnstone’s goal, rushing a shot that arrowed narrowly wide.
The slender score-line added to the drama. As temperatures dropped to minus five at pitch-side, there was a genuine concern among the Wanderers staff that referee Rob Jones could call the game off on the grounds of player-safety.
Sky’s TV cameras had already struggled to pick up the yellow ball, introduced 15 minutes into the game once the goal-line technology had been rebooted. And in the final 10 minutes with the blizzard at its worst, the football was, at times, farcical.
A tip of the cap, then, to Chris Simm and his ground-staff, who raced around the pitch at the half-time interval to ensure as much of the snow had been cleared. This victory had indeed been a team effort.
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/16095215.big-match-verdict-bolton-wanderers-1-aston-villa-0/?ref=mrb&lp=2