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On Saturday, Bolton Wanderers travelled to Shrewsbury Town for their second match of the pre-season. A couple of players stood out for the whites, both positively and negatively as Dougie Freedman's men continued their preparations for the season.
Wanderers would go up a goal early on as a lively Rob Hall flew down the left flank. The young winger dodged a few Shrewsbury defenders and cut the ball back a couple of yards toward Sordell before a tackle came in and took him out. Sordell did well to control the ball and finished with a powerful drive from the inside edge of the area, leaving the goalkeeper helpless.
Shrewsbury equalized some 12 minutes later as Wanderers failed to control the ball in the midfield. This allowed Shrews to bring it down the flank and put in a teasing diagonal ball to the six yard area. After one bounce, John Marsden volleyed home from relatively close range.
Wanderers would take the lead back though after some good play between Marvin Sordell (out wide), Chris Eagles, and Darren Pratley in the attacking third. A one-touch passing combination saw Eagles get free inside the area and Darren Pratley found him in space. Eagles took the ball and slotted home to the far post in cool fashion.
Marvin Sordell's best came as Wanderers took a 3-1 lead with a stunning strike from the forward. It was Medo Kamara linking up with Marvin, getting the ball to the forward some 30 yards out. The forward took a couple of touches to control the ball and unleashed a venomous strike from a full 25 yards out, leaving the goalkeeper helpless.
The comeback was now on for Shrews. On a corner that overshot its mark, the ball was crossed back into the edge of the area and it was Paul Parry hitting the ball on the full volley from 18 yards out with nothing that Adam Bogdan could do to stop it.
An absolutely dreadful bit of play from Zat Knight saw Shrewsbury Town equalize. The defender's touch was too heavy and it left Akwasi Asante free and clear to simply take it and run into the area. The on-loan forward did well to get Adam Bogdan one-on-one and finish past him.