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The problems may be mounting in attack for Wanderers boss Neil Lennon with two more strikers added to the injury list but he can at least take comfort in the form of his defence.
A third successive clean sheet at home to high-flying Ipswich Town on Saturday helped extend the Whites’ unbeaten league run to six matches.
In that run, the back line and in-form goalkeeper Andy Lonergan have conceded just twice and it has proved to be a solid base to build on since the new manager took the helm.
Lennon took charge of his 10th match at the weekend and in those games, Wanderers have kept clean sheets in half of them.
They have shipped just seven goals in total – a marked turnaround from the pre-Lennon part of this campaign when 27 goals flew into the Bolton net in 14 matches in league and cup and they registered just one shutout in the goalless home draw with Sheffield Wednesday.
Credit must go to Lennon and his coaching team who have clearly made an impact on the training ground at Euxton.
Like many sides, though, being able to pick an unchanged back four for most of his first 10 games has been a help.
In fact, Saturday’s draw saw the back line shuffled for the first time in six matches with fit-again David Wheater drafted into a central back three to cope with the threat of the division’s most potent strikeforce and it paid off as Wanderers became the first side to stop the Tractor Boys scoring in 17 matches stretching back to late August.
Whether that same set-up will apply at Millwall on Friday night only Lennon knows but whichever way he goes, it is unlikely he will deviate from his trusty charges that have served him so well since his arrival.
Vice-captain Matt Mills and summer signing Dorian Dervite have formed a good partnership in the centre while Tim Ream has again slotted in well at left-back like he did to good effect last season.
Kevin McNaughton’s troublesome hamstring injury has seen Josh Vela deployed on the right prior to the weekend and the talented midfielder has also shown he can play in that role.
With Lonergan in the best form of his Whites career behind them, Wanderers will head to South London on Friday no doubt confident they can maintain their miserly approach to conceding.
A third consecutive shutout on Saturday was the first time a Whites side has achieved the feat in the league for six years.
January 2008 was the last time they put together a hat-trick of clean sheets when they played out goalless draws at Newcastle and at home to Fulham before registering a 2-0 win at Reading.
Wanderers have kept three in a row since then, in February 2011, but that included 1-0 FA Cup wins at Wigan Athletic and Fulham.
Another clean sheet at The Den on Friday would make it four in a row in the league for the first time since September 2006.
A 1-0 home Premier League win against Watford was followed by a goalless draw with Middlesbrough before the Whites won 1-0 at Portsmouth and beat Liverpool 2-0 at what was then the Reebok Stadium.
In the middle of that run, Sam Allardyce’s side did concede at Walsall but that came in a 3-1 Carling Cup triumph.
The next target would then be five in a row, something Wanderers achieved back in October 2005 when they won five successive matches in different competitions without conceding, beating West Brom Charlton and Tottenham in the Premier League, West Ham in the Carling Cup and Zenit St Petersburg in Europe.
The club record for successive shutouts is not too much further than that.
It stands at seven matches and was set by the Wanderers team of the 1899/1900 season when they also set the club record of least goals conceded in a campaign – just 25.
Clean sheets have not been as regular in recent campaigns.
Wanderers have already surpassed the totals of five in each of the 2011/12 and 2008/9 seasons.
Last season, Dougie Freedman’s Wanderers kept 12 shutouts in total and 10 the previous campaign.
But in the past decade, it was Allardyce’s side that enjoyed most defensive success with 21 clean sheets in 2005/6.
Lennon’s Wanderers may not reach that level just yet but the early signs of stubbornness bode well for the future.
Source
A third successive clean sheet at home to high-flying Ipswich Town on Saturday helped extend the Whites’ unbeaten league run to six matches.
In that run, the back line and in-form goalkeeper Andy Lonergan have conceded just twice and it has proved to be a solid base to build on since the new manager took the helm.
Lennon took charge of his 10th match at the weekend and in those games, Wanderers have kept clean sheets in half of them.
They have shipped just seven goals in total – a marked turnaround from the pre-Lennon part of this campaign when 27 goals flew into the Bolton net in 14 matches in league and cup and they registered just one shutout in the goalless home draw with Sheffield Wednesday.
Credit must go to Lennon and his coaching team who have clearly made an impact on the training ground at Euxton.
Like many sides, though, being able to pick an unchanged back four for most of his first 10 games has been a help.
In fact, Saturday’s draw saw the back line shuffled for the first time in six matches with fit-again David Wheater drafted into a central back three to cope with the threat of the division’s most potent strikeforce and it paid off as Wanderers became the first side to stop the Tractor Boys scoring in 17 matches stretching back to late August.
Whether that same set-up will apply at Millwall on Friday night only Lennon knows but whichever way he goes, it is unlikely he will deviate from his trusty charges that have served him so well since his arrival.
Vice-captain Matt Mills and summer signing Dorian Dervite have formed a good partnership in the centre while Tim Ream has again slotted in well at left-back like he did to good effect last season.
Kevin McNaughton’s troublesome hamstring injury has seen Josh Vela deployed on the right prior to the weekend and the talented midfielder has also shown he can play in that role.
With Lonergan in the best form of his Whites career behind them, Wanderers will head to South London on Friday no doubt confident they can maintain their miserly approach to conceding.
A third consecutive shutout on Saturday was the first time a Whites side has achieved the feat in the league for six years.
January 2008 was the last time they put together a hat-trick of clean sheets when they played out goalless draws at Newcastle and at home to Fulham before registering a 2-0 win at Reading.
Wanderers have kept three in a row since then, in February 2011, but that included 1-0 FA Cup wins at Wigan Athletic and Fulham.
Another clean sheet at The Den on Friday would make it four in a row in the league for the first time since September 2006.
A 1-0 home Premier League win against Watford was followed by a goalless draw with Middlesbrough before the Whites won 1-0 at Portsmouth and beat Liverpool 2-0 at what was then the Reebok Stadium.
In the middle of that run, Sam Allardyce’s side did concede at Walsall but that came in a 3-1 Carling Cup triumph.
The next target would then be five in a row, something Wanderers achieved back in October 2005 when they won five successive matches in different competitions without conceding, beating West Brom Charlton and Tottenham in the Premier League, West Ham in the Carling Cup and Zenit St Petersburg in Europe.
The club record for successive shutouts is not too much further than that.
It stands at seven matches and was set by the Wanderers team of the 1899/1900 season when they also set the club record of least goals conceded in a campaign – just 25.
Clean sheets have not been as regular in recent campaigns.
Wanderers have already surpassed the totals of five in each of the 2011/12 and 2008/9 seasons.
Last season, Dougie Freedman’s Wanderers kept 12 shutouts in total and 10 the previous campaign.
But in the past decade, it was Allardyce’s side that enjoyed most defensive success with 21 clean sheets in 2005/6.
Lennon’s Wanderers may not reach that level just yet but the early signs of stubbornness bode well for the future.
Source