U23s: Bolton Wanderers 1-1 Watford

Wanderers Under-23s maintained their position at the top of the Professional Development League North on Thursday night with a 1-1 draw against Watford at Lancashire FA’s County ground in Leyland.

Connor Hall netted his 20th goal of the season late on to earn the young Whites a deserved share of the spoils as they extended their lead at the top of the table and moved one step closer to securing a play-off spot.

David Lee's side started brightly with wide men Jeff King and Dennis Politic posing a threat straight from the off.

Joy Mukena steered his header wide for the visitors, but Wanderers enjoyed the better opportunities in a fast-paced first half.

In-form striker Hall beat the offside trap to bear through on goal, but his strike was blocked well by the recovering Watford defence.

Jordan Allen then saw his shot flash wide from an acute angle following some tidy footwork by Politic.

King went close shortly after, drifting inside and cutting back onto his left foot, but his shot failed to trouble Sam Howes in the opposition net as both teams went in goalless at the break.

The deadlock was broken in the 48th minute as Watford were awarded a penalty after Chiori Johnson tripped up Dennon Lewis.

Lewis made no mistake from the spot, sending Jake Turner the wrong way.

Turner was called into action early in the second half, making two impressive saves to deny Dion Pereira and David Sesay.

Wanderers pushed for an equalizer and were agonisingly close to finding one when King’s deflected cross crashed off the crossbar.

Minutes later, King swung in an inviting cross which was met at the back post by captain Liam Edwards, but his header was tipped away for a corner.

The leveller came with just four minutes remaining as Cole Lonsdale crossed for Hall, who swivelled and slotted the ball home for his 20th goal of the season.

The result keeps David Lee’s side top of the table, two points ahead of second-placed Sheffield Wednesday with a game in hand.

Bolton: Turner, Johnson, Lonsdale, Edwards, Brockbank, Morris, Politic, Earing, Hall, Allen, King.

Subs: White, Aspinall, Jones-Griffiths, Moore, Navarro.

Source

Hall again! Wake up Parky for fucks sake

Norpig wrote:Hall again! Wake up Parky for fucks sake

We'll end up losing him at the end of the season.

It's ridiculous that he hasn't even put him on the bench recently, we are crying out for goals and he must be worth a go. What do we lose by playing him and giving him a chance?

Norpig wrote:It's ridiculous that he hasn't even put him on the bench recently, we are crying out for goals and he must be worth a go. What do we lose by playing him and giving him a chance?

There's others too, King, Earing all doing very well in the youth set up, but no Parkinson will stick with Wilbraham rather than giving a 20 goal striker a go, shows you all you need to know about Parkinson the goon.

He's from Slough. Sluffy should be bigging him up.

We should take the 'gamble' and see how he gets on.

Been saying it for ages, but I reckon that now he's realised we are still a long way from safety, Parky's instincts are to stick with what he knows. Hall should have been given a shot when Madine left but if he's introduced now it'll be the end of the season before he settles in properly. Plus he's not the tallest of strikers which means Parky would have to revisit his beloved system to get ball to feet. 
Notable that Obasi didn't get a game.

Obasi will never get a game, Parky didn't want him in the first place.

wanderlust wrote:Been saying it for ages, but I reckon that now he's realised we are still a long way from safety, Parky's instincts are to stick with what he knows. Hall should have been given a shot when Madine left but if he's introduced now it'll be the end of the season before he settles in properly. Plus he's not the tallest of strikers which means Parky would have to revisit his beloved system to get ball to feet. 
Notable that Obasi didn't get a game.

He's scored quite a few headers so height isn't a problem, Mcginlay wasn't the tallest but he could get above central defenders with the right service.

The statement that he's been scoring a lot of goals "in and around the box" is the problem right there because, as ALF has found out, we don't get the ball "in and around the box" anything like often enough. Maybe Parky sees him as a back up for ALF rather than contemplating a strike partnership? And as ALF was one of the few players to show both quality and work rate in the last couple of games, I'd be surprised if he got a shot. But unless we can get forward and deliver quality to feet in the striking area, there's not much point anyway.

All that said has has been putting them away for fun in the u23's, every other manager out there would have given him a go i bet. We have no real striker options on the bench as Grandad is well... just Grandad and Clough hasn't looked at his best in the few chances he's had so why not stick him on the bench and give him a chance.
Parky is far too negative and stubborn for me, what more does the lad have to do?

Norpig wrote:Obasi will never get a game, Parky didn't want him in the first place.

If that's really the case, Parky is being stupid and gambling with our future. If Obasi can do a job and add options or a different dimension to our game that's the only thing that matters. The lad is quick and can finish so we should at least have the option on the bench as the last two games have shown. Maybe he's just been shit in training?

He's agreed to come and only get paid if he plays so i imagine he's being going full pelt in training. I agree Lusty we should give him a go but i'd be surprised if he even gets on the bench this season.

Watch now tomorrow, both of them will be on the bench