First off if you missed the match here are the full highlights. The lovely person who runs the Bolton Wanderers fan page on Facebook has begun posting the highlights to every game, so if you're on Facebook I highly recommend becoming a fan, and if you're not on Facebook, no worries you can still view the video.
So for the first time in a while I am actually proud of the way we performed, perhaps it took the daunting task to make our players step up, or perhaps they're responding to the increasing pressure from the fans, but I'm not much bothered either either way. Our preseason was rather mediocre (2-3 away against a non-league side is not a good result) and our performances against Sunderland and Hull were cringe-worthy, so I'm just glad that we didn't embarrass ourselves. Going ahead twice against Big Four is not bad at all.
Now lets talk about the bad things (of which there are plenty). Once again Bolton displayed a significant lack of creativity. Both of our goals were rather shambolic. The first, off a corner, pinged about the goal mouth dangerously and our second, off a Jussi free kick, was at least partially thanks to the red shirt on the floor (and therefore unable to defend). Also neither of these were a counter attack, both being off a dead ball, which is the way to score enough goals for survival.
Bolton's defense is shaky at best and losing Sean Davis made the task just that much more monumental. Having watched the video many times I have come to the conclusion that Lucas is a diving fairy, and that Alan Wiley needs his eyes checked. I sincerely hate cheaters, especially divers. I think that if you're going to play the beautiful game you need to play it by it's rules, otherwise you're not actually playing the game. You're just sullying the name of a great sport. Winning shouldn't count unless you actually play by the rules set forth. Ok how-cheating-makes-me-want-to-vomit lecture officially over.
What we can take away from this game is that although we still definitely have quite a bit to improve on, we are capable of getting the points. And as much as I would love to see Bolton playing lovely flowing football, right now my priority is points. As dear old West Brom (I have a huge soft spot for West Brom, doesn't everyone?) showed us playing pretty football is not enough to survive. And survival is the most important thing for Bolton right now. So as the wonderful captain Kevin Davies said "It's about rolling our sleeves up now, being brave, and getting points." Be brave Wanderers. Get those damn points.