SEBASTIEN Puygrenier’s header in the 3-2 victory over Tottenham in Wanderers’ last home game was the 4,000th goal scored by a Bolton player in top-flight football. Here, Gordon Sharrock looks back on another milestone goal in the long and distinguished history of the Whites:

BOLTON Wanderers 5,000th goal in league football and the spectacular way it was scored by John Thomas deserved more than to register as merely an injury-time consolation.

But that was all it was as George Mulhall’s Wanderers went down 2-1 at home to Grimsby.

It was their sixth defeat in eight games and left them second bottom of Division Two and, even at that early stage of the campaign, in grave danger of relegation for the second time in three seasons.

In fact, such was Mulhall’s concern for the way things were going at Burnden Park that he confessed: “We might as well not have scored it.

“We were already into overtime and it counted for nothing. Grimsby deserved to win.”

Kevin Drinkell and Bob Mitchell got the goals to secure victory for the Mariners, but Wanderers were a beaten side by the time Thomas – introduced as a 68th minute substitute to rapturous acclaim – launched himself to get on the end of Chris Thompson’s chipped cross to power a diving header past visiting keeper Nigel Batch.

Wanderers Peacock; Jones, Bennett, Henry, McElhinney, Gowling, Thompson, Carter, Hoggan (Thomas), Cantello, Hebberd.

Grimsby Batch, D Moore, Crombie, Waters, Wigginton, K Moore, Brolly, Whymark, Drinkell, Mitchell, Cumming (Ford).

Referee: G P Owen (Anglesey). Att: 7,361.