Birmingham City 2-0 Bolton Wanderers - Big Match Verdict

Tomoki Iwata gave big-spending Birmingham City the lead after just three minutes in what threatened to become one of the more one-sided games in recent memory. And, in truth, it is a wonder that the Blues did not add to the scoreline well before the final few minutes of the match.

Evatt had described his opponents as an ‘outlier’ in League One, rejecting any comparisons with them as a promotion contender. And on this evidence, he is spot on, they are ahead by some distance.

But football does not always deal out what every team deserves and because of their defensive scrappiness, Wanderers kept themselves in the contest, and they had a fighting chance in the second half when the game opened up briefly to suggest the outcome was not inevitable.

But a lack of ruthlessness with the few chances which came their way meant any smash-and-grab headlines were shelves and Birmingham were able to take the points their dominance deserved.

Evatt’s hands remained tied to a certain extent, Nathan Baxter and Eoin Toal once again unable to feature, George Thomason consigned to the sidelines with a hamstring injury until the end of November. But nevertheless his starting line-up caused a few raised eyebrows across the Bolton fanbase.

Scott Arfield came in for his first league start since the victory at Leyton Orient on the opening day of the season and Jay Matete was also added to give some midfield rigidity. But with John McAtee and Aaron Collins sacrificed to the bench, Dion Charles cut an isolated figure for much of the evening.

Bolton’s plan to pack midfield and stay in the game worked to an extent, at least in that they went in only 1-0 down at the break. Iwata’s superbly taken third-minute goal threatened to trigger a landslide, the former Celtic man volleying past Luke Southwood from the edge of the box after Alfie May’s cross had been half-cleared by Josh Dacres-Cogley.

The home side smelled blood and ruthlessly exploited gaps behind the wing-backs Williams and Schon. Thankfully, Wanderers’ penalty-box defending remained suitably stout to repel the constant stream of crosses.

The Whites rode their luck at times. Alfie May had one goal rightly ruled out for offside but had two clear chances which got caught under his feet, one which had come directly from a Southwood goal kick.

In an attacking sense Bolton’s best chance fell to Josh Sheehan on the edge of the penalty box after a training ground corner, dummied by Arfield. But the Welshman found a Christoph Klarer in his way and further excursions into the Birmingham box were few and far between.

Put simply, Wanderers didn’t take care of the ball on the rare occasion they had it. The players jogged back down the tunnel with an overall pass success rate of 60 per cent – which was low even if compared to their last ‘defensive’ outing at Crawley.

Evatt had a rather less grand view of the pitch at St Andrew’s than he had enjoyed on Saturday at the Toughsheet, perched in front of the press box flanked by home fans. As he headed down to the dressing room at half time his chief reason for optimism would have been that the scoreline was still a marginal one.

Nevertheless, the injury issues refuse to go away. Kyle Dempsey had needed some treatment at the end of the first half and failed to show for the second, replaced by John McAtee. There was no respite from the Birmingham waves of attack after the restart, and May spurned yet another chance after a well-timed run got him in on goal and around Southwood, only for the Bolton keeper to smother his efforts to guide the ball towards the net.

The defending became desperate as Anderson had one effort blocked and Willum Willumsson’s follow-up was deflected over the top. After the corner was half-cleared Seung-Ho Paik arrowed a fine cross in for Laird, whose header was pushed aside superbly by Southwood.

Evatt tried to freshen up his attack, bringing on Collins and Adeboyejo, but for a good 10 minutes after their arrival, possession in the Blues half was minimal. Whereas Crawley were unable to do much damage with the possession afforded them a few weeks ago, this was an altogether more dangerous animal, and boy, Bolton lived on their nerves.

Johnston produced a goal-saving challenge six yards from goal to deny May – soon to be replaced by £11million man Jay Stansfield - and Anderson had another chance deflected wide as Southwood’s goal continued to lead a charmed life.

Defender Will Forrester made a welcome return from the bench, replacing Wiliams, in what was his first appearance since April 16.

While the scoreline remained 1-0, there was always a chance for Wanderers to produce something unexpected. There were a few fragments of hope thrown the way of the travelling fans, whose backing against the odds was relentless. Sub Adeboyejo pounced on a poor back-pass from Cochrane but was denied a shooting opportunity by some good covering defending from Ben Davies. McAtee also found himself in a decent position on the left edge of the box – his effort neither a cross nor a shot in the end.

The stakes got higher as the minutes ticked down. The ‘olés’ from the first half had disappeared and there was tension in the air to match the lingering smoke from the earlier fireworks.

McAtee had a chance to shatter the evening’s narrative. Out of nowhere the former Luton man found space open up in front of goal but he failed to beat the advancing Ryan Allsop, and moments later the game was gone.

Anderson – a rather underwhelming loanee in his youth at Bolton – had been one of his team’s most effective players all night, and his trickery forced the rusty Forrester into a rash challenge, giving ref Stephen Martin no choice but to point to the spot.

After a significant delay, Stansfield drove the ball home for the second.

Wanderers still had a chance to make stoppage time a closer affair, and once again it was McAtee who fluffed his lines, dragging a shot wide from eight yards.