Yeah we lost. So what.
In what was an absolutely brilliant night at the Reebok Stadium in front of 9,000 souls the youngest Bolton Wanderers side in history played the game of their lives against Bradford City.
To a man they were just sensational and could all have easily won MOTM on their own.
That said, for me two lads stood just ever-so-slightly above the rest:
Dennis Politic is without doubt the most exciting player the club has produced since Zach Clough burst on the scene.
A player very much in Clough’s mould, Politic has grasped his chance impressively so far and it would be an absolute crime were the arrival of the Deadline Day Nine to cause his career to stall in any way.
Fearless on the ball and incessant in his running, the young Romanian put in a top-class performance which he was able to cap off with a goal. Yeah the Bradford keeper might’ve done better but the Politic run that preceded the strike was absolutely brilliant.
He repeated this once or twice in the second half though unfortunately couldn’t turn his dynamic attacking play into another goal. All in all a wonderful performance.
Equally superb was the performance of Adam Senior at the heart of the Wanderers defence.
For someone who I’d never heard of until a few weeks ago to impress me just this much is a rare old thing but the lad was absolutely colossal at centre half, keeping Clayton Donaldson quiet to the extent where the former Wanderer was hooked with half an hour to.
He put in several fantastic last-ditch blocks and was as capable in the air as he was on the deck. Another whose burgeoning career deserves more time on the pitch, I was really impressed with his attitude throughout - even showing great inner strength at the end to step up and take a penalty.
It was a brilliant night and I congratulate every single one of the lads for putting in a sterling effort.
Over to you now, seniors. The bar has been set very high.