Bolton Men's 2ndI 4, Southport Fleetwood Hesketh 1: THE Second team leapfrogged Didsbury Northern into second place, one point behind leaders Blackpool, with a scrappy 4-1 win over second from bottom Southport Fleetwood Hesketh.
Even without skipper Richard Guest and influential midfielder Chris Dean, Bolton expected a repeat of the 11- 0 walkover earlier this season.
However, they started nonchalantly, and Fleetwood took the lead with a penalty corner strike midway through the first half. The inevitable equaliser came from a superb cross by Owen Evans which was swept firmly in by an in-form Ian Smith.
It is the mark of a successful team to come away from a nondescript performance with three points, and Bolton controlled the second half without ever getting out of third gear.
They took the lead with a goal that was the highlight of the game - slick, clever one touch passing between the front line of Tonge, Evans and Friend bamboozled the Fleetwood defence, culminating in the latter calmly flicking the ball in for his tenth of the season.
Smith was on hand again moments later to smash in the rebound of Rimmer's shot from a tight angle, and the game was put out of Fleetwood's reach 10 minutes from time by Owen Evans.
All attention now turns to next week's top of the table clash with Blackpool, which will be Bolton's chance to secure the top spot for the remainder of the season.
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