Port Vale 0-0 Bolton Wanderers - Marc Iles's Big Match Verdict

It would be unfair to talk exclusively about referee Ross Joyce and his officials, whose inexplicable decision-making on the day drew all the attention from the 22 players around them.

Of course, Ricardo Santos’s red card altered the game’s course, and we may never know what series of events led to Ian Evatt’s red card during the half-time interval – though many of us could take an educated guess.

But rather than ponder on the shortcomings of those dressed in unseasonable black, let us praise the fortitude of those in blue, so often branded ‘flat track bullies’ who cannot handle rough treatment or harsh conditions.

Many of the 3,000-plus who had journeyed through the 10-mile exclusion zone in the middle of a train strike and weaved between the throngs of police stationed on the streets had seen their team melt in such circumstances before.

Blown away at Fleetwood, bullied by Accrington, muddy awful at Burton, such testing aways days are how Wanderers got their reputation; Evatt himself described physical opponents as “Kryptonite” in his own, inimitable style.

Port Vale are not quite as blunt an instrument as Burton but that sprawling pitch coupled with some handy wide players mean any team not prepared to defend their penalty box well could come a cropper.

Thankfully, Wanderers were prepared to do just that. And with 10 men too.

Jack Iredale turned in his most impressive performance to date, timing his challenges impeccably, rarely wasting the ball and showing a positional awareness that bodes really well for the future. In the middle of a heatwave, he was the coolest man on the pitch.

George Johnston seemed to possess an innate sense of when and where shots were to be taken, putting in several fine blocks. And while Will Aimson got to the party late, his input should not be underestimated, either.

James Trafford made one quite brilliant save at close quarters from Ellis Harrison’s header, semi-seriously playing it down in post-match interviews. He has been on the losing side just three times in 25 appearances for Bolton – and you don’t need an A Level in statistics to recognise the correlation in results.

We knew Evatt’s side could play, particularly at home. But those previous experiences always left room for doubt on days like this. Saturday’s result is hopefully the start of a new trend.

That all said, before the narrative of the game was dragged away by the officials, Wanderers had not been at their swaggering, flowing best.

They had largely been drawn into a match of touchline chases and challenging for scrappy second balls and though the defence coped comfortably enough with new Vale signing Harrison and Whites old boy Jamie Proctor, their tendency to overcomplicate in attack was starting to nag as the first half wore on.

Their improvement at set pieces had shown as Amadou Bakayoko and MJ Williams had goal-bound shots blocked on the line. Replays later showed that the Nathan Smith’s boot was way behind the line when he hacked the ball clear – adding to the feeling of injustice but also emphasising that officials need the opportunity to review close calls outside the Premier League too.

Dapo Afolayan also went close from an angle he had no right to shoot from, only for another Vale new boy, keeper Jack Stevens, to make a fingertip save.

That proved the highlight for Wanderers’ talismanic attacker who otherwise had a frustrating day, capped off when he was sacrificed at half time to bring on another defender in Aimson.

Vale had a few chances of their own, Connor Hall and Ben Garrity swiping shots at goal after reacting first to second balls on set pieces. Still awaiting unfit goal-scorer James Wilson, Darrell Clarke’s newly promoted team will cause problems for the supposed brighter lights in League One this season.

But just as Wanderers started to find some rhythm, and the hugely talented Conor Bradley making inroads on the right, Santos’s second yellow stopped things in their tracks.

Some have speculated that with the captain on a yellow card for supposedly pushing Vale’s Smith at a corner, Evatt should have made a substitution.

Referee Joyce had mistakenly sent Santos off at Morecambe last season for deliberate handball, a decision overturned by the FA’s disciplinary panel. His micro-management after the yellow card certainly raised alarm bells and a few free kicks were awarded against Bolton that suggested the official was feeling the relentless heat.

But according to Bolton staff and players, it was the fourth official, Hristo Karaivanov, who deemed that a tangle of legs with Harrison was worthy of the red card.

Karaivanov, who intriguingly during the week works for a coffin company in Nottingham, seemingly interjected to offer advice to referee Joyce, much to the disgust of the Bolton bench.

Whether it was forgivable passion or a degree of naivety, you suspected there would be trouble when Evatt and Peter Atherton stood like Beefeaters at the edge of the tunnel, waiting to give the officials their thoughts at half time.

Joyce and Co wisely waited until the way was cleared but in the bowels of the stadium there was clearly enough dialogue to ensure Evatt had to watch the rest of the game from the stands, and now faces some disciplinary action of his own.

Importantly, he gave out enough instruction in the dressing room for the second half plan to work perfectly, well, almost.

Vale huffed and puffed, their irascible home support willing them to go for Bolton’s throat.

Wanderers had narrowed the game, slowed the flow of crosses, but their inability to keep the ball in midfield or up front was making it a tough task, however well the defence was coping.

Amadou Bakayoko should have scored after being played through neatly by Kyle Dempsey and Aaron Morley went mightily close with a fizzing shot tipped over the bar by Stevens.

Bolton may have had a man disadvantage but had they claimed the lead, you simply could not see them surrender it.

Trafford’s late heroics and a 10-minute spell of stout defending at the end perhaps made things a little more fraught than they should have been. But credit must go to Wanderers for their organisation and resolve to claim a result that in previous incarnations, they would have surrendered.

In the space of a week, we have seen two different sides of Bolton, and both were pleasing. If they can keep this up, the club’s supporters have every right to feel confident.