Henderson 7/10 – Had little to do first half at all as they did not have any real efforts of note and his main play was getting us moving from his feet. Second half he made a more comfortable save than it should have been from Donaldson’s poor header and then recall him sprinting out to save when 2-0 and he had to smother himself to a long through ball. Outside of this he was well protected and kept another clean sheet at home – the third in a row in the league.
Baldock 7.5/10 – Thought he was very good today especially second half. He was busy all game actually and a bundle of energy. He defended well against a tough opponent as Ameobi was on his side most of the time but he stuck at him and did not let him get away despite him being a powerful runner. Gradually as the game went on; he came forward more and more. Second half he seemed to be everywhere with some runs across the field and then popped up down the left. Often his final ball is still poor and he does not always pick men out but his fitness and running were a huge plus as we played higher up the field the more the game went on.
Stevens 6.5/10 – Big fan of his but he was a bit off it today. First half especially he was poor in his touch and passing and took too long to do things. He played a few short balls or miscontrolled it on a few occasions. Defensively he was ok most of the game but by his high standards he did not do much in an attacking sense. 2nd half he was better in most things but we had more of a threat down the right today.
Egan 6.5/10 – Like the above; not sure it was his best game today. He panicked a bit on the ball and a few times was sloppy with it. I also thought that he was a little careless with his marking a few times and not tight enough. There was one spell second half where he lost it, then lost it again soon after and they had a few corners as a result. Regained his composure and finished the game well with a few solid headers.
O’Connell 7/10 – Solid game apart from one moment when he completely lost Donaldson and that could have led to a goal. Other than that, he got forward well and was very advanced a lot of the game for a centre back and even when we switched to a more orthodox 2 – he still was attacking a lot as they had little threat and sat back further and further. He does not seem to be much of a goal threat currently from set plays when he used to offer more but often when he gets there, he heads them up in the air.
Basham 7.5/10 – Another all action performance where he seemed to be all over the place again. Began in his normal position but then was moved into a more midfield role as Wilder saw they had extra bodies in this area early on and had a lot of the ball. He got his foot in, won bits and pieces and then second half he played almost as a right winger at times as he seemed to drift from centre back to midfield to up front! Made one crucial block on Ameobi at 1-0. He had a few of the slalom runs and linked well with Baldock. One run where he was fouled twice by Wheater but somehow span round and kept running through and then won a corner summed him up. His final ball (or shot as it was today!) also was poor again and is the one weakness in his game which is largely consistently excellent.
Fleck 7.5/10 – Much better game today and back to standards of old. Just more involved generally and seemed to run with the ball more. 1st half he was ok; but second half especially he started to drive at Bolton and commit men. He linked well with others and was playing further forward. He had two really good chances but both shots were really poor with the one 2nd half badly over. He seems to lean back a lot when he shoots so no coincidence, he rarely gets any on target or even close. Overall though he was much better and hopefully he can kick on and have a series of consistent games.
Norwood 7/10 – Decent enough. He started the game slowly and I felt midfield wise we did not have as much of the ball as we normally do or should do for a top side. They had quite a bit of the ball but slowly we started to get more of it; with Basham stepping out helping in this respect. He then started to dictate more and play some of his passes. He does try and play the Hollywood ball a bit too much but when it comes off, we are delighted. He put one great pass into Sharp’s path first half and then on the 2nd goal it was a tremendous free kick waiting to be finished.
Duffy 7.5/10 – First half he was our best player. He got into good areas, linked well and was constant motion. He looked like the player who would make things happen and little passes or touches almost got us in. I also felt even after the break he was a threat and that when he had it, they look worried as he was able to control things or carry the ball in our moves. Not sure the end product was quite there despite a few clever balls to Sharp and McGoldrick that were intercepted. Came off for Stearman when they threw the extra lad up top which seemed an odd move but it did not affect things.
Sharp 8/10 – First half did not get involved too much and one chance from a lovely ball he miscontrolled. Did link well when he could but did not see much of the ball as he would have liked as they were quite tight on him. He stepped up hugely second half and was superb. He looked like an old-fashioned target man as against bigger players, he held it up, knocked them about and was a constant menace. Made the first goal with a superb bit of play to outmuscles Hobbs and then coolly roll it across for a tap in. He then held up for Fleck and then also McGoldrick for chances with more selfless work. He then scored his goal – another header and a poacher’s effort. Seems to be getting better and better with age and now the joint leading scorer in the Championship.
McGoldrick 8/10 – Might have edged Sharp for my man of the match, thought he was excellent throughout. First half he was able to drop deep and link with others and showed once again a lovely array of flicks, touches and clever play to retain possession. Slows the game down and makes it look easy. They struggled to pick him up and he often came deep. Had one run and shot blocked. 2nd half he was even better. He was able to run with the ball and linked well with Sharp. He got a poacher’s goal but then linked a few more times that led to half chances. Just a very clever footballer.
Subs –
Stearman – A rare league appearance – he was able to come on and help us to another clean sheet. Cannot recall him touching the ball much. Won one header they punted forward but they actually did not cause too many problems near the end.
Madine – Came on and knocked the defenders about and held it up a few times too. He had a half chance right at the end but took too long to get his shot away and was blocked.
Dowell – Played just behind Madine and got on the ball quite a bit in the limited action he saw and won a corner and then nearly led to a chance. Did look lively when he came on.
Wilder 7.5/10 – 2-0 win; a clean sheet, both strikers scored and we got some game time for some of the newer players. Also, after a sub part first half we stepped it up and his words saw us play higher up the field and at a greater tempo. We were much better and started to do things at a quicker pace and we also saw every player improve in terms of winning their battle.
I was concerned about the change when Duffy was withdrawn for Stearman as I felt Duff was playing well and we were still in control at 1-0 but maybe Wilder felt they now had three big lads up top but not sure Ameobi or Donaldson or really big headers of the ball. Magennis was another big lad though who came on so Wilder maybe was concerned about even more long balls or set plays. In the end this did not materialise but we got the 2nd and Bolton kind of gave up after this stage and he also got Madine and Dowell some minutes too.
Referee – He was ok actually. Very small guy and seeming he stood next to Ameobi was quite amusing and the fact his ten yards he marked out was actually quite a lot less due to his small legs! Joking apart he was decent and much better than some of the recent ones we have had. He let things flow when he could and kept his cards in his pocket. They were no really bad fouls although the late one by Connolly on Fleck was deservedly a yellow – the only one of the game. The rest of the game went by with little incident. I actually felt a few of the 50-50’s went for us today which has not always happened at home. Recall a shove on Sharp given when one a minute earlier on their man was not given. Parkinson was going crazy; but then he was arguing and shouting for everything.
Sadly, his team are just rotten and that is not the officials’ fault. The big calls were the goal. I felt the assistant or referee would pull it back even though I did not think it was a foul. It was a legitimate shoulder barge but often they are given these days so was pleasantly surprised when it was rightly allowed to stand. I also had a look at the assistant for an offside but again think it was played across and so not offside at all. What was telling was that Hobbs did not even muster much of an appeal nor did many Bolton players. They just looked at their teammate as if to say ‘What are you doing?’ Even Parkinson and co who appealed for everything did not really make much of a complaint. It was a legitimate goal.
Outside of this the officials were fine although it did seem both teams could take free kicks and throw ins from wherever they wanted which in a way helped the game flow but both teams started to take advantage of this!