IF automatic promotion hopes have flickered at Wanderers of late, Derby’s surprising defeat at Northampton Town on Saturday might just be enough to get the flame burning again.
Will Hoskins scored the only goal of the game at Sixfields, the Cobblers holding firm through 10 agonising minutes of added time to record their first-ever victory against the Rams.
Keeping goal, a Boltonian. Louie Moulden – the 22-year-old son of former Manchester City striker Paul Moulden, and brother of Wanderers’ kit man Ted.
The young keeper, on loan from Wolves, came on to make a league debut at half time when Wanderers went to Northampton last month and earned a scrappy 1-1 draw with 10 men, thanks a goal from Carlos Mendes Gomes.
After their narrow win against Bolton at Pride Park, many had expected Derby to extend their gap on third place to seven points against mid-table opposition. But the afternoon went far from planned for Paul Warne’s side, who have also picked up injuries and suspensions to key men for the upcoming games against Blackpool and Portsmouth.
Sonny Bradley will be suspended for three games after being sent off 10 minutes into stoppage time. Nathaniel Mendez-Laing damaged his hamstring, Craig Forsyth is unlikely to play again this season because of a calf problem and both Dwight Gayle and Tom Barkhuizen have picked up issues that will side-line them for at least another fortnight.
The result certainly put a different spin on the words of EFL pundit, Adrian Clarke, who had voiced his feelings on Derby’s claim to a top two spot on the What the EFL podcast in the build up to their game at Northampton.
“Four wins in a row after losing back-to-back against Barnsley and Charlton is the response of a team that’s going places," he said. "I don’t think it’s a shoo-in that Derby will get top two, but they have put themselves in a great position.
“I think they have been helped by Bolton’s flakiness in recent weeks. Derby are solid, not spectacular, but potentially on their way to the Championship.”
Derby’s defeat was equally well received at Peterborough United and Barnsley, who sit three points behind Wanderers in fourth and fifth place, respectively, with a game in hand. But for Bolton the result provided a much-needed shot-in-the-arm on a weekend where they could do little but watch and hope.
Meanwhile, up the M6 in Carlisle another shock was on the cards. Wanderers’ next opponents Stevenage had found themselves 2-0 down with eight minutes of normal time remaining against League One’s bottom club. They scrapped for a point in the end, however, Alex MacDonald scoring from the penalty spot before Terence Vancooten levelled the scores in the 96th minute, bringing Steve Evans’s side to within a point of the play-off places.
The chase for second spot now looks to be a four-way fight. Ian Evatt has proclaimed defiantly that Bolton’s chase was not done, even after seeing Kane Wilson’s header snatch away any reward for a decent display. His view was not necessarily shared across the whole fanbase, many fans voicing their concerns about yet more points slipping away against a direct promotion rival.
Wanderers have seven games to try and reel in second spot and prove themselves not to be – as Clarke so pointedly put it – ‘flaky’. So long as Evatt and his players can retain belief, they do not need to concern themselves with naysayers for the time being.
Barring the five away on international duty, players will report back at Lostock on Monday morning to begin preparations for that final block. And for Evatt and his coaching staff a rare chance to work more intimately with the squad following such a condensed run of fixtures through January, February and March.
Dion Charles will remain with Northern Ireland until midweek and was not considered fit enough to feature for Northern Ireland in their 1-1 draw in Romania on Friday.
A question mark still hangs over goalkeeper Nathan Baxter, who had been waiting for the go-ahead from specialists to return to full training following an injury to his wrist ligament. Word from Wanderers last week was inconclusive. Medical staff confirmed that a splint had been removed and that he would be given as much time and space as possible during the break but there was no indication on whether that would lead to him being considered at Stevenage.
Baxter or not, Bolton can ill-afford to let Derby’s error go unpunished by dropping points on Friday.
Evatt has been content with recent performance levels, if not the outcomes. He would surely trade the former for three points at the Lamex Stadium, however, against awkward opposition who still harbour their own hopes of the top six.
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