Bolton opened up their Trophy campaign with a defeat to Everton’s invitational side at the Macron.
The club, to their credit, had voted against the admission of B teams into the competition. Many vowed to stay away, and in line with many venues around the country tonight, the two teams walked out to a paltry crowd.
The club had opened the West Stand Lower, and a block of the South Stand for the 100 or so Evertonians. The attendance was clocked at 1,540, easily breaking the record for the lowest attendance at the ground for a competitive fixture, and was also just marginally higher than the lowest ever home competitive attendance, set in 1991.
Another sticking point in this competition are the daft rules regarding team selection. Phil Parkinson played the game, but made some changes, giving Jack Earing and Alex Perry starts in midfield.
I wasn’t at the game, so can’t and won’t go into any detailed comments about our performance. Going off accounts though, it seemed our players were in the boycotting mood too, and after just 20 minutes, Phil Parkinson made the decision to replace Jamie Proctor with Conor Wilkinson.
Everton’s kids then went ahead after Calum Dyson scored from range. Bolton had their chances to equalise. Chris Taylor found the target from a free kick, but it was comfortably saved by Toffees keeper Mateusz Hewelt.
But it was a losing start. Bolton face their first proper game of this tournament in early October when they host Blackpool.
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