The Awakening of The Vaz

Bolton reserves demolished their counterparts from Newcastle United at Leyland last night with a thoroughly deserved 3-0 victory. The dominance of the home team was such that the game was over as a contest ten minutes into the second half when Nathan Woolfe fired home from just inside the penalty area. Prior to this Javlon Campbell had put the Whites ahead ten minutes before the break, after a defensive mix up and Ricardo Vaz Te doubled the lead on fifty minutes with a fine solo effort that saw him take the ball from almost the half-way line before slotting it past Magpies keeper Tim Krul.

It was a fine overall team display, but there were a number of noteworthy performances. Chris Basham had his best game, since switching to a centre-back role and was instrumental in restricting the visitors to one shot on target all evening. Rob Sissons was an energetic ball-winner in the centre of the park and Nathan Woolfe a constant danger on the flanks.

However, star of the show was undoubtedly Ricardo Vaz Te, who shook off the lethargy that has affected him recently to produce a match winning performance. He won everything in the air, was always keen to run at defenders and his intelligent link up play was a class above anything else on the pitch. If the Portuguese under-21 international can produce that sort of commitment on a regular basis then he`ll be a shoo-in for a first team place. Over to you Mr Vaz.