:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/23923297/182602097.0.jpg)
Keeping a clean sheet is a great achievement in the Sky Bet Championship. Keeping a clean sheet and taking all three points is an even greater achievement. Doing so away from home is an outstanding achievement. And doing so in consecutive away matches is a sign of better things down the road.
Bolton are on a lovely run of form at the moment. They've gone eight matches unbeaten, which is great, and they have won three on the trot, which is awesome, but I think the best is yet to come. Marquee summer-signing Jermaine Beckford has five goals in the unbeaten run, six overall this season. That's great. That's wonderful. People should be happy, and the striker is always going to grab the headlines, but the real improvement has been on the other end of the pitch. and that is from where our Man of The Match comes.
Neil Danns was all over the stadium on Saturday. He was defending in his own box, he busting up play in the middle of the park, he was bursting forward and taking shots, he was setting up teammates with deftly played through balls, hell, I think he put on an orange vest and acted as an usher for a bit. Dougie Freedman always seems to be bashing the loan system, but this loan worked, and it needs to be made permanent. Soon.
Tim Ream has just been epic since he forced his way into the starting XI earlier this season. His partnership with Matt Mills has really come along over the last month. The two of them won everything in the air on Saturday. The positioning was also spot-on, to the point that Watford couldn't play anything through on the floor either. Our central defensive pairing, which was a glaring weakness just a couple of months ago, is improving to the point where it may even be a strength.
Jermaine Beckford was by himself up top, and he ran for miles and miles on Saturday. It's no wonder he was knackered by the end. He was really only given one legitimate chance to score, and he took it.
Andy Lonergan didn't put a foot wrong, but to be fair, he had very little to do. All that considered, the Lion of Vienna Suite Man of The Match was Tim Ream. Who was your pick?