Bolton Wanderers v Pompey – Saturday 13th April 2024
Table topping Pompey’s eagerly awaited trip to 3rd place Bolton Wanderers provided a potential two for the price of one. John Mousinho’s side arrived in the North West on 90 points and nine clear of the hosts with both sides having four games left.
With 2nd place Derby County seven points behind Pompey with only three games left, victory for Pompey would secure both promotion to the Championship and the League One title. But with Bolton only two points behind Derby, there could barely be more at stake in this match.
Ajit and I set off around 10am to make the 100 mile drive from Birmingham, but before we arrived at The Toughsheet Community Stadium, there was time for some sight-seeing in Bolton.
Bolton Wanderers were formed in 1874 originally as Christ Church Football Club, before changing to their name we all know in 1877. I understand Wanderers comes from their initial difficulties in having a ground to play at as they had three different grounds before eventually moving to Pikes Lane in 1880 (approximately one mile south west of the town centre).
It was here they played when they became of the original 12 members of the Football League when it formed in 1888. The club have the kudos of saying it was here that the first ever football league goal in the world was scored that year as Bolton beat fellow founder member Derby County 6-3. Pictured below is a plaque to commemorate this on Bankfield Street which is where Pike’s Lane used to stand before it was replaced by housing.
In 1895, Bolton moved a mile and a half to the east to a place many will and remember – Burnden Park where they remained until 1997. In such a passionate footballing town it boasted an impressive record attendance of just under 70k.
Although in 1946, Bolton’s FA Cup quarter final with Stoke City saw 33 fans tragically die with around 400 injured in the overcrowded Railway End.
85k are estimated to have turned up with many of those locked out. The Moelwyn Hughes report followed which recommended more stringent control on crowd sizes.
Below is a photo from one of the streets behind the ground’s former Great Lever End and a view from Manchester Road to what is now Burnden Park Shopping Centre .
On a happier note, that same end has one of English football’s most iconic photos several years later of a steam train passing above it on the former railway line behind that huge uncovered terrace.
Bolton, with a population very similar to Portsmouth, is a historic Lancashire mill town with the impressive grade ii listed Swan Lane Mills built in the early 20th century as a cotton mill.
Pictured below is from Higher Swan Lane and Bridgeman Street with one of the many chimneys that once stood across the town.
We ventured into the town centre and came across a statue on Oxford Street of (as inscribed on it ‘Revered son of Bolton’ – Steeplejack and TV personality Fred Dibnah MBE. Adjacent to the statue is the enclosed Corlis Steam Engine built by Hick Hargreaves Ltd who were synonymous with Bolton’s engineering history.
Just along from there when heading towards the railway station is Victoria Square which has a war memorial and International Worker’s memorial for those who lost their lives or injured when doing their jobs.
Opposite this is Bolton town hall which Portsmouth’s guildhall was very much based on before the WW2 bombings in 1941 saw the inside destroyed and the loss of its dome. As I looked up, I thought of my maternal grandparents as I learnt from them about the history of our guildhall and thought this is how they would have known Portsmouth guildhall in their youth before its octagonal top replacement in the 1950s.
We then drove over to the stadium. Opened in 1997 with a capacity of nearly 29k it was built just off the M61 in Horwich (5 miles west of Bolton itself) with the adjacent Middlebrook Retail and Leisure Park. Then the indoor Bolton Arena across the road opened just after the millennium all with the stunning West Pennine Moors in the background.
The stadium complex includes a hotel and distinctive looking floodlight pylons. Despite this state-of-the-art design, it embraces the club’s history as the road leading to the stadium is called Burnden Way.
Then of course the statue of Bolton and England goal scoring legend Nat Lofthouse OBE. ‘The Lion of Vienna’ was born and bred in the town and captained Bolton to their 1958 FA Cup triumph.
On the roundabout on the corner of Burnden Way is ‘The Sprit of Sport’ stainless steel structure which is made up of 700 tiles, each baring the face of a person linked with sport in Bolton.
My only previous visit to the stadium was in Pompey’s maiden Premier League season when Sam Allardyce’s Bolton beat Harry Redknapp’s side 1-0 in January 2004 which even came into conversation with one of their stewards as we queued for the turnstiles. Today unlike 20 years ago, I sat (or should I say stood) in the lower tier of the South Stand but still with a perfect view.
The only flipside of this superb arch shaped design is that it leaves large voids in each corner of the upper tier where more seating could have been installed if it had a more functional design.
The teams made their way on to the pitch with a wonderful reception from both sets of fans including some Pompey tickertape that I haven’t seen for many years as the entire stadium was ready for this mouth-watering contest.
Mousinho made a few changes for this match, Callum Lang made his first appearance since his injury at Blackpool five weeks ago as Kusini Yengi was on the bench. Whilst Joe Rafferty was selected ahead of Zak Swanson.
In what promised to be a high tempo afternoon, this really didn’t disappoint and on six minutes a great move by Abu Kamara on the right wing was centred for Lang but his shot was blocked and cleared by the defence.
But just one minute later came our early breakthrough when Kamara won the ball just inside Bolton’s half and went on another menacing run past Nathanael Ogbeta before unleashing a left foot shot from the edge of the box low into the bottom corner for his eighth league goal of the season, cue wild celebrations in the away end.
This crucial early goal meant Pompey would seal promotion and the title as things stood, but with only seven minutes played there would be plenty of hard work ahead if we wanted to get the job done on the day.
The hosts immediately went all out to get back into the match with several chances. On 19 minutes, a fine move saw Paris Maghoma slip the ball through to Gethin Jones who played in a dangerous low cross that seemed to bounce off Aaron Collins onto the post before Collins swivelled on the rebound with Sean Raggett clearing almost off the goal line.
Then the ball fell to Eoin Toal outside the box whose attempt was blocked by Kamara as it broke to Toal again inside the box with Raggett there to get in another block as Pompey escaped.
Bolton were now starting to look dangerous going forward as both fans were creating a cracking atmosphere. Josh Sheehan’s had a free kick that flew harmlessly over the bar. Then Jón Daði Böðvarsson made a brilliant run down the left-hand side towards the by line, but his cut back eluded both Collins and Maghoma.
Pompey continued to attack at the other end to try to get that all important second goal but were unable to create any clear-cut opportunities. Then on 36 minutes Bolton drew level when a patient bit of play by Maghoma saw him a deliver a decent ball across to Ogbeta who exchanged passes with Toal, before Collins got in a glancing header from Ogbeta’s cross to equalise.
In first half stoppage time, Pompey survived another nerve-jangling moment when a long range shot by Collin’s was saved by Will Norris, but Böðvarsson fired wide from the rebound.
HT: Bolton Wanderers 1-1 Pompey
Mousinho made Pompey’s first substitute at half time as Tino Anjorin replaced Owen Moxon. But it was Bolton who looked the more threatening in the first 10 minutes after the break when Norris made a save from Sheehan before a shot by George Thomason fizzed wide.
Then on 58 minutes, Mousinho made a bold treble substitution. Christian Saydee replaced Lang, Gavin Whyte came on for Paddy Lane whilst Colby Bishop made way for Yengi.
Yengi would go on to have several battles with Santos at the heart of Bolton’s defensive and as he broke towards their box on 65 minutes he appeared to have been fouled, but referee Anthony Backhouse said no. Then minutes later, Saydee played Yengi into the box, but Santos got their first to slide the ball away from danger.
It was end to end with just over 20 minutes left as Pompey survived when Collins hooked the ball over into the box and Josh Dacres-Cogley got the better of Connor Ogilvie to clip it back from the by-line, but Böðvarsson fired over from inside the six-yard box.
Shortly after, Kamara collected the ball from Yengi but shot just wide from the edge of the box through a crowded defence. Then a low shot from long range by Collins saw Norris make a save and then Anjorin cut in from the left touchline before unleashing a good effort outside the box that curled just wide.
As the game approached the final 10 minutes, it was Bolton who looked the more likely to grab all three points and were spurred on even more when their top scorer Dion Charles was brought on for Collins after returning from injury, much to a hero’s return from the home fans.
Pompey had to endure a late onslaught as Santos, having fired over several minutes earlier, forced Norris to deal with a close-range header. Then came a moment which could have clinched it for the hosts, substitute Kyle Dempsey played a one-two with Ogbeta before squaring to Charles who struck the foot of the post before Pompey got it away.
There would be six minutes of nail-biting stoppage time to be played as the wind and rain was hammering into the stands now with our players and fans more than happy with a point now. Yet as Pompey tried to keep the ball down by Bolton’s corner flag, it stayed in play and broke to Marlon Pack and from his cross, Yengi looked as if he had his shirt pulled as he went to ground, but no penalty was given.
There was still time for one final Bolton attack as Ian Evatt’s side were desperate for the win, but Randell Williams’ shot from outside the box flew over as the referee signalled the end of this pulsating game.
FT: Bolton Wanderers 1-1 Pompey
So no promotion and League One title party for Pompey on this occasion, but we gained an extremely hard earned point in BL6 against a very good Bolton side who aren’t out of the automatic promotion race yet.
Up next for Pompey is the re-arranged home match against Barnsley tonight and despite Derby’s 3-0 win at home to Leyton Orient cutting our lead at the top to 5 points, success looks very close now. One more point and Pompey are promoted, two more points and it’s the title. So the hopes of a win over the Oakwell club at Fratton Park is another attempt at that two for the price of one. PUP PPU.
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