Manager pleased with goals

Dougie Freedman shares his thoughts after the 3-1 victory over Millwall
Bolton Wanderers boss Dougie Freedman was pleased with the timing of his side’s goals after a 3-1 victory over Millwall at the Reebok Stadium.

The Whites confirmed their first home league win of the season with an affirmed and resolute performance against Steve Lomas’ men, with Robert Hall and substitute Andre Moritz both grabbing their first league goals for the club.

Wanderers’ other goal came courtesy Jermaine Beckford, with the frontman hitting the back of the net for the second consecutive game as Bolton’s unbeaten run stretched to seven league games.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, manager Freedman explained why he thought his team deserved to claim maximum points against the Lions.

“We showed good character and even in the last 20 minutes the mentality was good,” said the boss. “The team started the game well and our passing was fantastic.

“We took the lead and we showed good movement. We were unfortunate to concede and from that we were put on the back foot.

“In the second half we dug in and we did what all good teams do and we defended well. We knew exactly what we were doing tactically and in the end I felt we were deserved and comfortable winners.

“The timing of our goals were another positive. We scored our second goal just before half time and we went into the interval a bit more settled. At the end of the game we got our third to kill the game off.

“I felt throughout the match we looked a goal threat and Jermaine Beckford was excellent today and when Andre Moritz came on he showed clever movement.

“The goal threat was always there and the timing of the goals certainly didn’t do us any harm. Even when Millwall was throwing a lot at us in the last 20 minutes I still felt we looked comfortable.

“For all of Millwall’s possession in the second half we looked comfortable and when we had the ball we looked dangerous, especially on the break.

“Jermaine Beckford was outstanding with his movement and when Andre Moritz came on he added flair to our game.

“We have a bit of steel behind us now, we have the determination to defend and quality going forward.

“We deserved to win today, we now have a two week period without a game due to the international break. We can now look back at the last six weeks which has been good.”

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3 very good goals, particularly the first where we kept the ball well and worked an opening. We've always looked more dangerous when we do this, confidence will help as we need to do it more often!

I have to say I thought we played very well, looked like a real team for the first time at home this season. We were sloppy in a few parts and the goal conceded was a bit soft but we showed some real grit, some genuine skill and looked a totally different outfit to the team that played Ipswich. Maybe Dougie's got them fired up and they finally get what he wants them to do. I won't pass judgement on any particular player or the manager; I thought this was a solid effort from everyone and we were worthy winners. Onward and upward I hope. Unbeaten in seven, two wins on the bounce and a whole heap of pressure off their shoulders now that home win is finally on the board. I really have a feeling this is only the start of something really good. 

I only have one small fear; the international break means we might just lose a little bit of that edge we've shown in the last couple of matches. I hope not.