There were times throughout this season where our Premier Division status looked pretty perilous – but our recent haul of 11 points out of a possible 18 had seen us breathe a lot easier in recent weeks. So with us comfortable, it was fitting that our penultimate game of the 2022-2023 saw us welcome this season’s champions Rochdale Sacred Heart to The County Ground. These have been rampant all campaign – not conceding a goal in their last 720 minutes of football – so it was going to be an almighty challenge for the boys in blue tonight. Knowing that they were being presented with the title after the game, quite a crowd had gathered in the early summer-evening sunshine so there was a great atmosphere around the place and knowing that they were flying off to celebrate in Benidorm after the game, the visitors were bubbling. But we weren’t going to let them have it easy here – so as the teams warmed up, the crowd started to settle in…
Once again we were sticking to the 4-3-3 shape that has served us so well of late and it meant that Charlie was back between the sticks. The back four was compiled of Liam and Robbie Pollitt at full-backs and the defensive duo of Ben and Hodgy in the middle. There was solidity in the middle three again as Houghie was in there with Shorty and the returning Smalley and up top tonight we were going with Carl and Kez flanking either side of Ax. The bench was young – as our Jude was experiencing the 1st team bench for the first time – and joined by Louis from the Development squad, it was good to see the youngsters have a taste of what life can be like. With the scene set and everybody ready, the County players formed a guard of honour – alongside the match officials – and warmly received the newly-crowned champions Rochdale Sacred Heart out onto the pitch. Respect. And it was great to see…
But that respect was gone the second the whistle went and within 90 seconds, we had the chance to take the lead. Great work by Smalley saw him burst through the middle and he slid a superb ball into the path of Ax about 10 yards from goal. He got there before their defender – but rather than take it around their keeper and tuck it away, he chose to shoot and their No.1 made his save look easy. A great start from County though…
And it got even better. Because before the game ticked into it’s 3rd minute, we had taken the lead. A defensive mistake from their centre-half – who looked like he was already on that beach in Southern Spain – saw him try to pass it through the middle and Ax was onto it in a flash. He tapped it about a yard in front of him and then drilled his shot inside the near post – when their No.1 was expecting it to come right across him – and as the ball nestled into the bottom corner of our net, it was the home fans celebrating loudly. 1-0 and we couldn’t have wished for a better opening to the game…
But as to be expected, the visitors began to get into their stride and when we allowed them the time and space, they were playing some nice football. They had a glorious chance to level the scores on 11 minutes when a quick ball into their No.9 saw him clean through on goal with only Charlie to beat. He aimed and shot – only to see the ball smash against the base of our left-hand post, fly across the goal-line and past the other upright before going out for a goal-kick. He should have scored – and he knew it…
They kept coming forward and on 16 minutes they saw their next real chance of note – but a great save by Charlie thwarted them. The ball over the top saw their winger in an offside position but neither the assistant or the referee saw it – and thankfully his finishing was woeful, giving Charlie the chance to get down quickly enough to smother the ball. We needed to keep focused here as they were searching and searching…
Back came County though and Ax had a couple of half-chances that on another day would have gone in. And we were made to pay for those – because despite all the hard work so far, the equaliser came – and it was a really soft one. They worked the ball well down our left and as the cross was played through the penalty-box, we all missed it – allowing their No.11 the time to pick his spot and just about inch it past Charlie and into the back of our net. They seemed really quiet although they had scored – but the important part was the score-line. It was all-square again and with 19 minutes gone, it was 1-1…
They were starting to turn the screw a little now and in patches, it was clear to see why these were the champions. Their No.7 blasted a good chance high over the bar from the edge of the box and the ball seemed to be spending more of it’s time in our half than theirs. That was until some great work from Kez saw he charge past their right-back and slide an inch-perfect pass to Ax. Sending his marker for a hot-dog, our No.9 then made that age-old mistake of smashing it rather than placing it – and found the only place he didn’t want to as the ball struck their keeper’s feet and flew away from danger. We were showing that if they didn’t concentrate, then we would get opportunities. We just needed to finish one now…
And the next chance we got was a really, really good one as well. Carl played a superb ball that cut their defence in half and with a fantastic touch, Ax got the ball and himself around their centre-half. The goal opened up in front of him – but he cleared the bar by about 5 yards with his shot. By the balance of probability, surely we had to convert another one soon…
It was all County now and Houghie was the next one to show his quality. He got hold of the ball in the middle of the park and glided through the heart of their team before taking aim – and he too could only put it high over the bar from about 20 yards out. We were getting the chances to take the lead here…
Chances? Chances? On 41 minutes, we couldn’t see the ball get any closer without going in as a great cross in from the right saw the ball fly over their defence – and there was an on-rushing Liam Hulme to connect with a great header about 3 yards out – only to see the ball slam against the post and their full-back hammer it clear. What did we need to do here? This was good stuff from County – but we really need to make these count as we all knew what could happen…
When the referee decided that 2 minutes of injury-time was enough and blew his whistle for the break, it was the County contingent that were the more frustrated. Champions they may be – but we had just shown them that we were not here to roll over…
Half-time: BOLTON COUNTY 1-1 Rochdale Sacred Heart
The team-talk was simple. Keep doing what you’ve been doing but be a lot more clinical in front of goal. In all honesty, this could have already been out of sight – so we had to close them down quicker and stop them playing whilst continuing to use the ball well in advanced areas and shoot when we saw the goal. Apart from that, what a good 45 minutes that had been. The lads were pumped – and they were quickly back out there ready to do it all again…
Games can be changed by the slightest things sometimes – and on 47 minutes, a decision by the man in the middle definitely had an impact on this one. The Sacred Heart midfield pumped the ball towards our box and as our Hodgy went to control it with his thigh, the ball bounced up onto his hand and the free-kick was awarded – right on the edge of our penalty-area. That wasn’t the contentious part of this story though. That was when the match official allowed them to pull the ball back about 6 yards so that the whole goal could be seen rather than the difficulty of getting it up and over a wall from 18 yards. We were now about 24/25 yards from our goal – and they duly obliged by hitting the dead-ball into the mix of players and it seemed to take a huge deflection before flying past Charlie and into the back of our net. 1-2 and after all of those chances, we found ourselves behind. There was uproar amongst the home fans and the home bench but there was absolutely nothing that could be done about it. As we say, games can change on a sixpence…
We now had it all to do – but to their credit, the lads rolled up their sleeves and showed they were up for the fight. With 55 minutes, there was hand-bags between their No.9 and our Houghie in the middle of the park and with both benches screaming, the referee brandished a yellow card for both players. That seemed to set the touch-light between those two and was definitely one we were knew hadn’t ended there…
We were still showing good signs when we got the ball forward and on 58 minutes, a great run by Robbie Pollitt down our right saw him feed the ball through the gap and into the path of Ax. Some great skill saw him beat their full-back with ease and as he drilled it across their box, all it needed was somebody to toe it home. But the only shirts in the mixer were red – and they cleared the ball from danger without any undue pressure. If we kept doing it, then surely it had to come…
It had looked as though Liam was suffering over on the left for a while now – so when the bosses clocked it, off he came to be replaced by young Louis. That saw a little shift as Kez went in at left-back and Louis to the middle of the pitch – and he was involved almost instantly putting in a great tackle straight away. And just past the hour-mark, we had another great chance to level things up. Winning a free-kick, Ben swung it into their box and as it was headed out, there was Houghie just outside the box. He connected with a sweet volley – but the ball arrowed just wide of the upright and out for a goal-kick. This was good stuff from the home side and the crowd were showing their appreciation…
The next time we got near their goal was when a great ball into the feet of Smalley saw him roll it into the path of Carl before being taken out – but as the referee played a good advantage, our Mr Airey was through on goal. But he snatched at his shot and could only see it fly high over their bar. Just on chances only, we should have been well in front by now…
And then – as we had all foreseen – another naughty tackle by their No.9 on our Houghie saw the referee had no choice but to wave the colour red in his face and off he went for an early bath. A bit silly really when you were collecting the title in less than half an hour – but it was a bad challenge – and as he made his way to the changing-rooms, the County fans waved him off nicely…
Now we had the numerical advantage, we needed to play the ball from left to right and back again and wait for the gaps to appear – and on 70 minutes, one did. Some good battling in the middle saw the ball drop to Shorty about 20 yards from goal and he hit the ball cleanly to see it destined for the roof of their net. But from nowhere, their keeper had dived full-length and managed to make a stunning save by tipping it over for a corner. A miraculous save in truth and it had kept his team in front…
From some reason, the visitors seemed to be determined to finish their season robustly and another bad tackle from their No.8 saw another little flashpoint – but it was proof that both teams wanted to win this. And with 77 minutes gone, it was the County fans that were shouting loudest as we got the goal that our play had fully deserved. Another great pass from Robbie Pollitt inside their full-back was weighted just enough so that Houghie didn’t have to break his run. He fired it across the face of goal first-time – and this time there was Ax to stick it home from close-range despite close attention from their centre-half. We rushed to get the ball back to the line as we wanted to win this now and as the County fans danced in jubilation, parity had been restored again. 2-2…
Tackles were flying in now and Louis got his name in the book – for a tackle that looked like he clearly got the ball first – but the passion and grit in both sides was there for all to see. And on 81 minutes, their No.10 had the chance to try and claim all three points when he was played clean through – but Charlie narrowed the angle and made a fantastic save to push it out for a corner. Concentration was key now and that was the message being conveyed from the bench…
Most games always see great chances come towards the end – and this one was no different – because with 84 minutes gone, we thought we’d won it. Some great intricate passing around the edge of their box saw the ball land at Smalley’s feet – and he dinked out a great shot that was on it’s way into the top corner – until that blasted keeper of theirs was there once again with that huge wing-span of his to get his finger-tips to the ball and somehow diver it over the bar and out for a corner. That was two world-class saves he’d pulled off now so the scoreline wasn’t really reflecting the game here…
There was still time for their No.4 to end his season earlier than his team-mates – when he was sin-binned for dissent – and with them now down to 9, they decided to try and shut up shop for the remaining minutes of the game and that’s exactly what they did. We huffed and we puffed but we just couldn’t blow their back-line down and when the referee decided he had seen enough and blew his whistle for the last time, the points were to be shared – and what a performance the County lads had put in! The handshakes were done with respect but as expected, there were questions being asked about why that free-kick had been allowed to be pulled back from the edge of the box so far…
And that was that for the visitors. Their season complete, they were then presented with the league title on our pitch – and everybody connected to Bolton County FC wants to offer our congratulations on your success this campaign. Championships are not won by fluke – so hats off to the visitors and we sincerely hope you enjoy a bloomin’ great time in Benidorm…
It was the County lads that needed the praise for these 90 minutes though. We really had given the champions a run for their money and if we’d stuck our chances away, they’d only be leaving with the 130-year old trophy rather than a share of the points. We had dug in, played some superb football and gave the home fans every reason for optimism in preparation for the 2023-2024 season. Our season hasn’t ended here though as we have our final game this coming Saturday when we welcome near-neighbours Walshaw Sports to Radcliffe Road and if we can win that one, it could potentially see us finish as high as 9th in the table. Now that wouldn’t have been sniffed at about 8 weeks ago would it?
So make sure you keep your diary free for 2pm on Saturday afternoon and we’ll see you for the last bit of football for a while…
#UpTheCounty!
