I cannot believe how enjoyable it is to be a Bolton fan at this moment in time. We`re the in-form team in the land, and people have started to notice. Our promotion odds to down to 6-1, and for good reason. We`ve just beaten a team that have been in the promotion race all season, and have gone within two points of them, and three points off the playoff places. This certainly puts our hat in the ring.
We were resolute and secure on Saturday, if not as entertaining as previous games in our eight match unbeaten run. That`s entirely fine with me. We knew it was going to be a difficult game, and we were going to be tested more than at any other point in the last couple of months, but we got through it.
If this game highlighted one thing, it was the huge influence of Dougie Freedman on all that is being done right with the club. We were compact and defensively sound, working as a unit to keep a second consecutive clean sheet. We were under pressure for large periods of the game, and had to defend many more crosses than we had come accustomed to. However, even without the ball, we were always in control of the game, and should`ve really grabbed a second.
My only concern is that this was our third 1-0 victory at home in a row. Obviously I`m very happy we are winning, but we`re still not scoring as many as we would hope from the amount of chances we make game in, game out. Our strikers are still quite goal shy, as I think Aussie Mike has mentioned a couple of times in recent days. However, I suppose it doesn`t matter who scores, as long as someone does. And I suppose it doesn`t matter how the wins come, as long as they keep coming!
One thing that confused me was the second off. I genuinely thought that Jay Spearing had been sent off for something bizarre, and it was only until later in the day that I found out about the attempted trip. Why would he try such a thing? Well, Brighton`s loss is certainly our gain, as they only have one recognised striker left. Looks like we`ll be jumping in front of them in the league very soon.
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