Bolton 4-0 Man Utd U21

Through to the quarter finals of the EFL Trophy after beating Man Utd kids 4-0.  Took us a while to score after having many shots!

The lack of composure in front of goal is amazing. 
For those that could not see the game tonight we could have had four of five in the first half alone. Missing from one yard out, one on one with the keeper, blasting shots over the bar from good positions....you name it we did it.  I think Ian is finally realizing that some sort of finisher is needed in January. Not someone doing tackles in our half but a Klasnic/Giroud type....not saying there are any to be found naturally - just saying that's what we need.
Anyway, it was men against boys tonight so decent workout for us that's about all.  --- Onwards.

I didn’t see the game TA, couldn’t even be bothered to do iFollow after Saturdays fiasco. I’m afraid that I’m finding it increasingly hard to stay positive about Wanderers at the moment because as you’ve pointed out above, we just don’t have anyone up front with the quality and composure to finish the plethora of chances we’re creating then get undone by a sucker punch from teams who bully us into mistakes. Since we played kids last night that wasn’t likely but I suspect it will be entirely different against Exeter on Saturday? Like you I don’t even have any confidence in Evatt bringing in anyone capable of making a difference in January and I don’t see anyone being nurtured through the reserve team who might improve things. I accept we have to be sustainable and that FV don’t have the cash to throw about and I get that IE wants to play football not go route one but there comes a time when you have to accept that to get out of L1 you do need a certain amount of physicality, which we just don’t have, either in midfield or defence. How we are still in 5th I don’t know but in many ways it just illustrates how poor this league must be and even a minor improvement could pay dividends?

I enjoyed watching last night’s match. The winning margin should have been twice as big and delighted that we sent the Rags supporters packing. I don’t hold with Munich songs but any other abuse of the red scourge is fair game.

Wanderers 4 Man Utd U21s 0 - Whites power on in Papa Johns Trophy

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

It was hardly the stuff of Wanderers legend – a Lofthouse, a Worthington, a Ricketts, a Nolan or even an Anelka – but for right now, any victory against United is a welcome one.

Ian Evatt’s side progressed into the quarter finals of the Papa Johns Trophy with relative ease in the end, Dapo Afolayan, Aaron Morley, Amadou Bakayoko and Conor Bradley’s second half goals doing the trick after an hour of squandered chances and frustration.

To give a measure of Wanderers’ dominance, 30 shots were peppered on the United goal. And while the margin of victory was eventually as emphatic as it deserved to be on balance of play, this team continue to play on every last nerve.

It could, and probably should, have been a landslide. In the end, Evatt will be happy that the journey to Wembley continues and that some of his players were able to enjoy a bitterly cold night.

The last time a Manchester United side rocked up at the Reebok – as it was then called – they left having inflicted Wanderers’ heaviest league defeat since leaving Burnden Park.

Wayne Rooney scored a hat-trick, Javier Hernandez added a couple and the Monday morning back pages were splattered with Sir Alex Ferguson’s incandescent rage about a late challenge from Kevin Davies on Tom Cleverley, for those are the circles in which we used to move.

Comparing the visit of United’s kids in a competition which struggles to raise the pulse at the best of times is a little disingenuous. But Evatt and his side went into the game knowing that defeat – however loosely linked with the first team – would be viewed dimly by a Wanderers fanbase still smarting from the weekend’s disappointment at Shrewsbury.

In short, this was one Papa Johns Trophy tie they could ill-afford to lose.

Evatt named a strong line-up, taking no chances. James Trafford replaced Joel Dixon in goal, the latter’s mistake in the previous round against Barrow perhaps tipping the balance against him.

A few of the players who were unavailable at weekend through illness were back in the starting line-up but there was no place for Declan John – who had been passed fit by his manager in the pre-match press conference.

For those Bolton fans wishing to feel old, there was the appearance of Charlie Savage in the United side – son of ex-Leicester and Blackburn Rovers midfielder turned controversy seeking pundit Robbie. And another name caught the eye on the bench, that of Sonny Aljofree, the offspring of ex-Bolton youth teamer Hasney.

Wanderers’ wastefulness in front of goal has been discussed at length for most of this season. But never has it been quite as obvious as it was in the first 45 minutes.

Evatt’s side rained in 14 shots on goal, only two of which hit the target, and should have ended the game as a contest well before the interval.

There were occasions when you could give credit to United’s youngsters for getting bodies in the way of goal – but many more where Bolton fans would have been left scratching their head, were it not covered in some type of warming knitwear.

Nathan Bishop was quick off his line to block an early chance for Dion Charles, who had scored three times in his previous two starts.

The Northern Irishman would get plenty more chances but not before Kieran Sadlier and Dapo Afolayan had seen shots arrow either side of the post.

Back in 2007, Wayne Rooney won the Premier League’s Goal of the Season award with a brilliant counter against Wanderers, combining with the fleet-footed Cristiano Ronaldo. Midway through the half at the UniBol, United’s kids nearly produced a strike of equal quality and efficiency, Shola Shoretire denied at the end of a five-pass, one-touch move which cut through the middle of Bolton’s defence. James Trafford did just enough to block the final shot.

Afolayan had a goal-bound effort loop off Di’Shon Bernard and on to the roof of the net before Charles headed over the top from Jack Iredale’s cross.

Wanderers quickly won a corner, Morley’s cross dropping to Will Aimson, whose woeful finish rather reflected the start his side had made. The ball was played back in by Morley – and Charles’s header from six yards out was no better.

Bradley was next to fluff his lines, that after Iredale had sent another beautiful ball into the box. And when Elias Kachunga fed a ball through to Gethin Jones a few moments later, it came as some relief that the defender’s powerful effort actually forced Bishop into action.

Charles was having a nightmare in front of goal, passing another shot wide after some great work from Bradley and Lee on the right. And when he did get the ball in the net – poking in Aimson’s header that had bounced up on the line – he was deemed offside. From there on in, United started to gain some momentum.

Trafford saved from Noam Emeram’s header and Joe Hugil’s follow-up deflected just wide off Iredale. Jones’s panicky clearance in front of his own keeper summed up the changing mood in the game and proved his last meaningful action in the game as he limped off moments later to be replaced by Eoin Toal.

Charles missed another header – quite literally – before the break, and carried on in the same vein at the start of the second half, firing wide after being picked out well by Afolayan.

Another diving header, courtesy of Sadlier’s cross, was directed wide on the hour, after which his manager Evatt tactfully decided enough was enough, replacing him with Amadou Bakayoko as part of a triple substitution which also saw the introduction of Josh Sheehan and George Johnston.

Wanderers clearly needed a helping hand, and one dutifully arrived on 68 minutes. Ex-Barcelona defender Marc Jurado under-cooked a back-pass to Bishop, and the quick-thinking Afolayan was on it like a flash, dancing around the keeper and rolling the ball into the empty net. A breakthrough at last.

Afolayan, to his credit, had looked in the mood all night. The same could be said of Aaron Morley, who stepped up to provide the highlight of the night 13 minutes from time.

After Murray felled Afolayan on the left edge of the box, most expected Morley to swing a cross in for the gathering of Bolton players. Instead, he arrowed a shot into the top corner, leaving Bishop statuesque on his line.

Wanderers coasted to full-time from there, adding two more goals in stoppage time.

Bakayoko grabbed the first, curling an angled shot around Bishop with the help of a deflection. Bradley got the night’s fourth, tapping in at the far post after another surging run from the electric Afolayan.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Home to Portsmouth next.

Thanks SLUFFY

It was a fun match. It lacked a competitive edge. Maybe it was just good practice. Aimson played well. Dapo looked like he put himself about a lot more. Dion can't finish.

This is the sort of fixture and result one can only dream about. The dirty ***  utd b******* are ***** and ***** also ******. We should revel in their ********.