Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Millwall FC: Immediate Reaction

I can’t believe I am writing this. After months of gruelling punishment we have finally won and won well. Wanderers scored 2 good goals following the most boring of first halves only for Millwall to score a consolation with 3 minutes to go.

The team had a familiar feel: Matthews, Olkowski, Hobbs, Beevers, Taylor, Williams, Connolly, O’Neil, Ameobi, Buckley, Magennis.

The first half was as boring as I can remember. Very little action at either end. This in itself was a positive however. Even if we weren’t doing much, neither were Millwall.

The second half was one to remember in a season of rubbish, however. Wanderers took the lead in the 48th minute through a wonderful, Pawel Olkowski strike. Much of Wanderers play had come down the right side which paid off with the Polish left back scoring a left footed effort from the right side of the box. Wanderers would double their lead 12 minutes later with Gary O’Neil scoring for the whites on a break. Millwall would get one back 3 minutes from time but Wanderers held on for their first win in...a really long time.

My take from this is to not over analyse but to purely enjoy the moment. Wanderers have gone though the mill recently what with the pay dispute, takeover stalling and general results. The take home thought for today must be; when good things happen, enjoy it.

What prompted Wanderers good performance will always be speculation. It could be a middle finger to Ken. It could be an absence of Parky on the touchline. It could be pure chance. Regardless, Wanderers showed fight enough to give me hope for the rest of the season. We sit 4 points off safety, on this games evidence, we might just be able to pull it off again.