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“WE saw you cry at the Reebok” taunted the Wanderers fans in reference to Leeds United’s Premier League exit in 2004 – you only hope such bravado does not come back to bite them in the behind.
Wanderers have only themselves to blame for this defeat after making sluggish starts in either half, conceding goals to Caleb Ekuban and Pablo Hernandez.
Adam Le Fondre gave the Whites some hope by swiftly halving the deficit and Will Buckley missed a glorious chance to level the scores – but in truth, Bolton got what they deserved from the game.
Had it not been for Ben Alnwick’s brilliance Leeds would have been out of sight. And as the Yorkshiremen claimed their first league double over Bolton for 20 years to end a dismal run of league form, you only hope it spurs Bolton into action.
The only fragment of consolation Wanderers can take is that just down the road at Barnsley, Bristol City claimed a late equaliser to at least limit the damage done that afternoon, although wins for Reading and Sunderland cast a different shadow on events later in the evening.
The Whites did dominate possession for long spells and at 2-1 looked entirely capable of getting back into the game, yet Buckley’s miss seemed to suck the wind from their sails and even five minutes of injury time did little to increase the urgency.
Phil Parkinson had envisaged two scenarios in front of a bumper home crowd – either Leeds would rise to the challenge, or Wanderers would hold firm and ensure a traditionally-fickle home crowd would heap pressure on their own team.
In neither of those situations could he have envisaged the poor defending which eventually led to Leeds taking the lead.
First, a poor backpass by Andy Taylor put Ben Alnwick’s goal under all sorts of pressure. And no sooner had that danger been cleared, another raid down the right by Pierre-Michel Lasogga ended with Caleb Ekuban sweeping home the opening goal with only four minutes on the clock.
Hundreds of Wanderers fans were still queueing outside Elland Road to get into the stadium but those who had got to their seats for kick-off were the unlucky ones.
As the away section started to fill, the Whites did start to regain some poise. Jan Kirchhoff – in for the injured Karl Henry – headed their best opportunity of the half wide from Sammy Ameobi’s corner.
Otherwise, it was spells of Bolton possession broken up by a procession of well-executed counter attacks from a Leeds side showing little sign at that stage of their recent inconsistency.
Ezgjan Alioski was a constant menace on the right, and the Macedonian winger nearly created a second with a fine raking cross towards Lasogga midway through the half, volleyed just wide.
Wanderers wasted a number of set pieces – and though the midfield retained the ball as well as they have done for a long time, it was rare to see them get in behind the Leeds back four.
In contrast, the home side countered with electric pace. Alioski surprised Taylor when he ran on to a good ball from the back by Eunan O’Kane, ghosting in on the full-back’s blind side to drive another shot just wide of Ben Alnwick’s left-hand post.
On the interval, Lasogga got on the end of a corner to rattle the frame of the goal, leaving Parkinson with plenty to ponder as he disappeared back down the tunnel.
The dressing room edict must surely have centred on Leeds’ brittle confidence. If the Whites could keep it tight, the tension would surely rise as the game continued. But once again Bolton looked sluggish when the whistle blew.
Within a couple of minutes Alnwick had made a good stop to deny Pablo Hernandez. And when the Bolton keeper parried Alioski’s blast a couple of moments later, sending the ball looping into the air, he would have expected one of three covering defenders to do the rest. Instead, it was Hernandez who reacted fastest, poking home the second from close range.
Paul Heckingbottom’s side had won just once in their last 14 games. And there was an element of surprise around the home fans at the ease at which they had gained the advantage.
In an instant, the mood changed. Ameobi’s free-kicks had been frustratingly poor in the opening 50 minutes but after picking out Le Fondre at the near post with a perfect cross, the Whites’ goal-poacher extraordinaire did the rest, planting a fine header past Bailey Peacock-Farrell into the bottom corner.
Will Buckley had been desperate for a big performance against his former loan club but his big chance to make a dent in the game passed by moments before he was brought off the field.
Jon Flanagan clipped a great cross to the far post which begged Buckley to tuck it away – but the winger’s full-length header drifted wide.
Moments later Parkinson brought on Fil Morais, eventually switching to 4-4-2 with the introduction of Aaron Wilbraham for Kirchhoff.
Alnwick kept his side in with a shout by twice denying Ekuban one-on-one but as the minutes ticked down, Wanderers’ inventiveness appeared to completely run out.
Wanderers’ fans kept in high spirits despite many of them spending hours stuck on the motorway. Let’s hope they stay that way and are celebrating at the Macron come May, with no tears shed.
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Wanderers have only themselves to blame for this defeat after making sluggish starts in either half, conceding goals to Caleb Ekuban and Pablo Hernandez.
Adam Le Fondre gave the Whites some hope by swiftly halving the deficit and Will Buckley missed a glorious chance to level the scores – but in truth, Bolton got what they deserved from the game.
Had it not been for Ben Alnwick’s brilliance Leeds would have been out of sight. And as the Yorkshiremen claimed their first league double over Bolton for 20 years to end a dismal run of league form, you only hope it spurs Bolton into action.
The only fragment of consolation Wanderers can take is that just down the road at Barnsley, Bristol City claimed a late equaliser to at least limit the damage done that afternoon, although wins for Reading and Sunderland cast a different shadow on events later in the evening.
The Whites did dominate possession for long spells and at 2-1 looked entirely capable of getting back into the game, yet Buckley’s miss seemed to suck the wind from their sails and even five minutes of injury time did little to increase the urgency.
Phil Parkinson had envisaged two scenarios in front of a bumper home crowd – either Leeds would rise to the challenge, or Wanderers would hold firm and ensure a traditionally-fickle home crowd would heap pressure on their own team.
In neither of those situations could he have envisaged the poor defending which eventually led to Leeds taking the lead.
First, a poor backpass by Andy Taylor put Ben Alnwick’s goal under all sorts of pressure. And no sooner had that danger been cleared, another raid down the right by Pierre-Michel Lasogga ended with Caleb Ekuban sweeping home the opening goal with only four minutes on the clock.
Hundreds of Wanderers fans were still queueing outside Elland Road to get into the stadium but those who had got to their seats for kick-off were the unlucky ones.
As the away section started to fill, the Whites did start to regain some poise. Jan Kirchhoff – in for the injured Karl Henry – headed their best opportunity of the half wide from Sammy Ameobi’s corner.
Otherwise, it was spells of Bolton possession broken up by a procession of well-executed counter attacks from a Leeds side showing little sign at that stage of their recent inconsistency.
Ezgjan Alioski was a constant menace on the right, and the Macedonian winger nearly created a second with a fine raking cross towards Lasogga midway through the half, volleyed just wide.
Wanderers wasted a number of set pieces – and though the midfield retained the ball as well as they have done for a long time, it was rare to see them get in behind the Leeds back four.
In contrast, the home side countered with electric pace. Alioski surprised Taylor when he ran on to a good ball from the back by Eunan O’Kane, ghosting in on the full-back’s blind side to drive another shot just wide of Ben Alnwick’s left-hand post.
On the interval, Lasogga got on the end of a corner to rattle the frame of the goal, leaving Parkinson with plenty to ponder as he disappeared back down the tunnel.
The dressing room edict must surely have centred on Leeds’ brittle confidence. If the Whites could keep it tight, the tension would surely rise as the game continued. But once again Bolton looked sluggish when the whistle blew.
Within a couple of minutes Alnwick had made a good stop to deny Pablo Hernandez. And when the Bolton keeper parried Alioski’s blast a couple of moments later, sending the ball looping into the air, he would have expected one of three covering defenders to do the rest. Instead, it was Hernandez who reacted fastest, poking home the second from close range.
Paul Heckingbottom’s side had won just once in their last 14 games. And there was an element of surprise around the home fans at the ease at which they had gained the advantage.
In an instant, the mood changed. Ameobi’s free-kicks had been frustratingly poor in the opening 50 minutes but after picking out Le Fondre at the near post with a perfect cross, the Whites’ goal-poacher extraordinaire did the rest, planting a fine header past Bailey Peacock-Farrell into the bottom corner.
Will Buckley had been desperate for a big performance against his former loan club but his big chance to make a dent in the game passed by moments before he was brought off the field.
Jon Flanagan clipped a great cross to the far post which begged Buckley to tuck it away – but the winger’s full-length header drifted wide.
Moments later Parkinson brought on Fil Morais, eventually switching to 4-4-2 with the introduction of Aaron Wilbraham for Kirchhoff.
Alnwick kept his side in with a shout by twice denying Ekuban one-on-one but as the minutes ticked down, Wanderers’ inventiveness appeared to completely run out.
Wanderers’ fans kept in high spirits despite many of them spending hours stuck on the motorway. Let’s hope they stay that way and are celebrating at the Macron come May, with no tears shed.
Source