Bolton 1-0 Huddersfield

Huddersfield: Smithies, Smith, Hudson, Lynch, Robinson, Butterfield, Coady, Poyet, Scannell, Holt, Wells 
Subs: Dixon, Hogg, Ward, Wallace, Lolley, Allinson, Peltier

gloswhite wrote:I change my prediction from Lee to C Davies for our first

Now give us the lottery numbers mate.

And don't forget we get to play Huddersfield again in 4 weeks!

Just very happy with 3 more points.

Solid hard fought 3 points clean sheet more progress = good day

Report: Bolton 1-0 Huddersfield

IN BRIEF

Wanderers recorded their fourth consecutive home victory with a 1-0 win over Huddersfield Town at Macron Stadium.

Craig Davies’ fifth goal of the campaign half way through the second half proved to be the difference on the afternoon, with the striker having earlier hit the crossbar from close range.

Huddersfield did enjoy opportunities of their own during the clash, but a number of impressive saves by Andrew Lonergan kept them at bay as the Whites picked up all three points.

TEAM NEWS

Wanderers named an unchanged side to the team who started against Blackpool last weekend, while Adam Bogdan took his place amongst the Bolton substitutes for the first time since sustaining a hand injury back in September.

FIRST HALF

Following a minute’s silence in memory of Roy Hartle, the game began in tempestuous fashion with Grant Holt testing Lonergan early on with a curling effort from just inside the area which the shot stopper scooped to safety.

The visitors continued in a similar vein, with Josh Vela forced under pressure by Sean Scannell soon after, but Wanderers were soon on the attack themselves as Lee Chung-Yong found Craig Davies who in turn just failed to get his shot on.

The pressure from Huddersfield continued, with Scannell proving himself a nuisance as Chris Powell’s side pushed forward in their numbers.

Wanderers almost snatched the lead however with 11 minutes on the clock as Darren Pratley fed Craig Davies in the area, but the striker’s effort crashed off the underside of the crossbar with Alex Smithies beaten.

The chance appeared to rejuvenate the Whites, with Davies in particular causing problems in and around the Huddersfield backline.

Up the other end of the field meanwhile, Scannell attempted to drill the ball home through a crowded penalty area, but the body of Neil Danns blocked the Huddersfield man’s effort at the death.

As the half wore on, neither side were really testing their respective goalkeepers with the game falling into a lull of sorts.

It wasn’t to be until the half hour mark that Wanderers enjoyed their next real opportunity as Davies was upended whilst in on goal, with the forward adamant that the foul was committed inside the area.

Unfortunately for Bolton however, the referee deemed it just outside the box with Liam Feeney’s resulting free-kick flying over the crossbar.

Scannell, a constant threat on the left flank, caused havoc with 11 minutes of the half remaining as he skipped past Tim Ream and powered in on goal, but his eventual ball across the face of goal eluded any of his teammates, much to Wanderers’ relief.

As the clock ran down, Bolton were the team in the ascendancy but were struggling to penetrate through the Terriers’ defence with the Whites being restricted mainly to long range efforts as Huddersfield stood firm.

With the game heading into added time at the end of the first period, Wanderers were the side asking the questions with Max Clayton, Lee Chung-Yong and Dorian Dervite all enjoying opportunities.

Huddersfield on the other hand also enjoyed a chance to open the scoring, with the fist of Andrew Lonergan denying Nahki Wells from a tight angle while former Bolton loanee Jacob Butterfield fired narrowly wide of the far post.

SECOND HALF

Huddersfield were the only side to make a change at the break, with Murray Wallace coming into the fray in place of Joel Lynch.

The visitors were to enjoy the first clear cut opportunity of the second period too, with Butterfield being denied from close range by a superb reflex save by Lonergan with 48 minutes gone.

Grant Holt was next to test the Bolton keeper, with Lonergan having to be on his guard to put the frontman off his stride with him seemingly certain to slot the ball home after collecting a smart through ball.

Having withstood some early pressure from the Terriers, Wanderers came within a whisker of breaking the deadlock with 63 minutes gone as Davies’ half volley took a wicked deflection and flew agonisingly wide of the post with the Macron faithful already on their feet.

The Whites did not have to wait long however to finally open the scoring, with Craig Davies given the simple task of tapping home from 12 yards following good work from Feeney on the right flank in the 68th minute.

Deserved given Wanderers’ dominance in the possession, Feeney almost had a goal of his own soon after as goalscorer Davies turned provider, but Smithies was out quickly to smother the ball to safety with the winger lurking.

With time ticking away, Wanderers pushed forward in a bid to put distance between themselves and the Terriers, while the visitors themselves were certainly not a beaten team just yet with Powell’s men breaking on the counter attack on numerous occasions.

Rob Hall was introduced into the mix in place of Liam Feeney with four minutes to go, with the winger’s free-kick being cleared away at the death soon after his introduction.

With four minutes of added time indicated, Wanderers pushed forward in a bid to extend their lead with Danns’ long range effort fired straight down the throat of Smithies, but the one goal was to be enough as the referee blew for full time.

FULL TIME

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first half we were a bit flat i thought and didn't press as much or as well as the last few home games. The second half was much better, back to the high tempo and pressing game and we looked fairly comfortable at the back. Dervite was excellent and is looking better and better and Ream had a good game as well.

A great 3 points BUT we were really a bit lucky. Our finishing was woeful through most of the match and while we did rattle the bar and have a possible penalty given as a free kick instead we also had some lucky escapes and some decent saves by Lonergan kept it 0-0 and later 1-0. 

Overall I think we were the much better side but we really do desperately need to improve our finishing. Teams higher up the league will not let us off the hook as easily as Huddersfield did and while our defence and midfield were fairly solid unless we find a way to convert a lot more of the chances we make we're going to lose a lot of points. 

For me top priority in January is keeping CYL and getting at least one quality striker. Neil may have to offload some bodies to do it but if that's the case I'd say bite the bullet and move as many out as needed to ensure we can get someone in who can really finish at this level.

LPP......and that someone would be......??

He's talking about Rob Earnshaw.

I'd hope we'd aim higher than Earnshaw. Doesn't seem like a Lennon-type to me......

okocha wrote:I'd hope we'd aim higher than Earnshaw.

Just because he's small doesn't mean he won't score goals.

okocha wrote:LPP......and that someone would be......??

That is a really good question mate, one I don't have a glib answer to because of course our finances are in such poor shape we can't (apparently) afford a player who costs around one million (Juke) or the wages of someone established. But that doesn't mean such a striker can't be found. It just shows why I'm NOT a football manager or scout. 

Personally I think there are some decent players around league 1 and 2 that might make a worthwhile investment but the downside is we are so broke it's difficult to justify the risk on an unknown while the ones who are getting noticed will cost more than we can apparently afford. 

Sorry I can't rattle off a bunch of names but I really do think Neil probably has his eye (or the scouting network's) on some targets that we can get. It comes down to money, how much he'll be allowed to spend and what he has to do to get it.

luckyPeterpiper wrote:

okocha wrote:LPP......and that someone would be......??

That is a really good question mate, one I don't have a glib answer to because of course our finances are in such poor shape we can't (apparently) afford a player who costs around one million (Juke) or the wages of someone established. But that doesn't mean such a striker can't be found. It just shows why I'm NOT a football manager or scout. 

Personally I think there are some decent players around league 1 and 2 that might make a worthwhile investment but the downside is we are so broke it's difficult to justify the risk on an unknown while the ones who are getting noticed will cost more than we can apparently afford. 

Sorry I can't rattle off a bunch of names but I really do think Neil probably has his eye (or the scouting network's) on some targets that we can get. It comes down to money, how much he'll be allowed to spend and what he has to do to get it.

I believe that Burnley ended up paying nearer £2 million for Juke as there was interest from a couple of clubs. Just goes to show how difficult it is to get quality on a budget.

Difficult to spot a bargain in the lower leagues as strikers thrive or die depending on the service they get and the team they are playing in so Eoin Doyle for example is banging them in at Chesterfield but that is to some extent a reflection of their style and all-round quality.

With our midfield labouring to get forward at times and then struggling to break down packed defences when we do get forward I'm still not sure what kind of striker we need. If we could be confident of getting in and around the box a lot more I'd be happier with someone with quick feet and an eye for goal, but if we can't get there enough we'd need a Beckford type - only one that can actually finish.

Hooper would be good for us, but we'd never be able to keep him so we should be looking elsewhere.