MOTM: Bolton Wanderers v Wigan Athletic

Even though I was quietly confident, Bolton Wanderers had come off the back of a narrow defeat to Huddersfield in which the players looked a little tired. With the recent loss of Chungy & Mills, the long term absence of Davies & Clayton and the late fitness of Craig Davies, I was also quietly anxious going into the game.

But then I remembered we were playing Wigan, and they are shocking.

I expected Lennon to rotate quite heavily but he only slightly tinkered with the lineup; Heskey starting, Bogdan receiving some much needed game time, Wheater replacing Mills... And a start for Zach Clough, which I was pleased to see.

Briefly commenting on the performance, we were fantastic and dominated from start to finish. The atmosphere was fantastic and that wasn't created by the 17 (approx) travelling Wigan fans. I don't see Mackay seeing out the season to be honest.

Special mention for Adam Bogdan who came into the side following a lengthy spell on the sidelines and clearly had a point to prove by throwing his hat in the ring for a starting spot on a more permanent basis. He made some important saves to keep us in the lead. I prefer Lonergan personally, but his kicking ability is starting to grate on some fans. We've been really gifted with goalkeeping talent over the past 15+ years, which was evident at the other end when we saw some of the saves Al Habsi made today, long may that continue for us.

However, unless you've been living under a rock, there was only one player I could possibly award Man of the match. Ladies and gentlemen - Zach Clough.

What a game he had, he was a dominant presence throughout the game, creating chance after chance. Fans have been searching for one or two of our academy prospects to break into the starting 11, and he certainly did that. With 15 minutes to go, it looked as though we wouldn't get past Al Habsi.

But Trotter who has come into some deserved scrutiny of late, played a good pass to Clough running through the centre, who's first touch was excellent - then lifted the ball over the keeper and made a sublime finish.

It was a dream debut for him and hopefully that may give him a chance to start more often, especially with us having to be creative with getting bodies through the door.

He really was the star of the show, and this was reflected throughout the Media: Post match interviews praising his impact, Soccer Saturday describing him as a 'starlet' & Match of the Days Mark Lawrensen comparing his size to that of Messi... If only!

Heck, even his Nan was trending on Twitter after she phoned into BBC Radio Manchester.

Zach Clough's nana on @bbcradiomanc talking about her grandsons debut for Bolton what local radio is all about. Heard commentary than called

— Jack Dearden (@TheJackDearden) January 3, 2015

Fully deserves to enjoy his moment! Hopefully it won't just be a moment either, long may it continue!