Bolton are out of the FA Cup, but there were at least a few positives from last night’s defeat down at Bristol City.
Firstly, being a Cup tie, there are no lingering scars. While progression would have been brilliant, we can move on pretty swiftly. Secondly, Luca Connell impressed many with his display. Already getting on against Walsall in the third round, he was handed his first start down at Ashton Gate and even had a hand in Mark Beevers’ early goal.
There will now surely be calls for Connell to get action in the Championship, even if off the bench. He was included amongst the substitutes against West Brom on Monday night, and with left-back not being a particularly strong area for us, maybe the opportunity was really there. It does hurt to see he was only around six weeks old when we beat Preston to win promotion to the Premier League. If you’re reading, we may just have made you feel a little older.
Callum O’Dowda quickly equalised for Bristol City last night, and the key period in the match followed, where they took us apart too easily before Niclas Eliasson’s good finish proved to be the winner. We may have penalty shouts as well, but we were better than a lot of recent performances, even if that isn’t difficult.