Man of the Match: Bolton Wanderers 1-2 Preston North End - Remi Matthews

In a dreadful match where Bolton only looked significantly threatening in the beginning and final 5 minutes of the game, it was purely a case of deja vu as Bolton lose again, only remaining off the bottom thanks to a terrible Ipswich Town. Our most creative midfielder was off after 20 minutes with injury and you could build a village in the space between our “attacking midfielders/wingers” and Magennis. So as per usual, it would be down to our lacklustre defence and our keeper to try and salvage anything from the game.

The defence failed to do this having dire games and struggling with the pace and quick counter-attacking play of Preston with Wilson and Wheater in particular to blame for such gifted goals being let in. Grounds was no better but personally, I thought Jason Lowe was alright and he gets a lot of undue stick in my opinion but that’s an article for another day. There was one man though that kept it from being a completely embarrassing scoreline.

Thank you Remi Matthews. Making countless important saves that gave this hapless squad a hope of trying to get back into the game. For attempting to rush the ball out for a quick counter-attack that we barely ever seem to try if ever. For being brave to come out of your box to clear the ball away when our defenders are struggling to deal with the Preston attackers. Yes you had your errors but you’re not a miracle worker but you are a solid keeper.

If Ben Alnwick being on the bench is a sign of anything, it hopefully means that you’re our 1st choice from now and if your performances like yesterday can be expected consistently from now on, then I’m all for it. I’m glad you came back in spite our chairman’s stupid handling of your transfer.