Bolton Wanderers 1-1 Reading: Full time match report

Mason Burstow put Steven Schumacher’s dominant side ahead just after half time, at which point the chances of a Royals revival looked slim.

But their momentum evaporated and a team that had not picked up a single point in their opening three games suddenly found a way to draw level thanks to Andre Garcia’s deflected shot. The youngster, on as a sub, became his club’s second youngest-ever goal-scorer.

Wanderers made four changes to the side that drew at Barnsley. Skipper Eoin Toal was dropped to the bench in favour of Chris Forino, Ibrahim Cissoko came in for Thierry Gale to make his full debut, Ethan Erhahon also made his home league debut in place of Josh Sheehan and Josh Dacres-Cogley dropped out of the squad with Jordi Osei-Tutu taking his spot at right-back.

We also got the welcome sight of fit-again Sam Dalby on the bench, the striker’s first appearance on the team-sheet since signing in the summer.

The first half was one-way traffic, Bolton working the ball well through midfield and making progress on both wings. But for all their possession – 72 per cent of it by the whistle – they struggled to carve out meaningful chances.

Amario Cozier-Duberry had by far the best chance of the half, collecting Xavier Simons’s pass 20 yards outside the Royals’ box and then striking the ball as it sat up nicely but watching as his shot beat keeper Joel Pereira but glanced off the outside of the post.

Such moments of drama were few and far between. The quality of Bolton’s football, at least in the first two thirds of the pitch, was undeniable. Simons and Erhahon were well on top, Max Conway combined well with new boy Cissoko on the left, and though Osei-Tutu and Cozier-Duberry were more hit-and-miss with their raids down the right, the raw pace of the pair kept Reading’s defenders on red alert.

Last season was a harrowing one for the Royals, whose fans were engaged in a running battle against the nefarious owner Dai Yongge, and the football was virtually an afterthought. All that said, a seventh placed finish was an outstanding achievement, given the circumstances and manager Noel Hunt deserves credit for keeping the team together.

Things may be settled off the pitch now at Reading but on the evidence shown in the first half there is plenty of work left for Hunt to get back to last season’s standards.

But for an early raid down the right by Daniel Kyerewaa, whose cross was claimed well by Teddy Sharman-Lowe, they presented practically no threat on the Bolton goal.

Cissoko had the only other opportunity of note for the Whites, connecting with a raking cross from Erhahon but failing to put his header on target.

Given Wanderers’ greater share of possession and the comparatively few times they had tested Pereira’s goal, it was hard not to make comparisons with the Ian Evatt era and the many times that opposition teams had come to contain and frustrate.

The question was whether Bolton could keep their tempo high but find a bit more bite after the break, and Cozier-Duberry led the charge with an early shot that bounced just wide of goal.

Moments later, the touchpaper was finally lit. Joel Randall and Cozier-Duberry fed Burstow on the edge of the box and his first shot of the game took a wicked deflection off Derek Williams to leave the keeper with no chance.

Cozier-Duberry flashed a shot just wide as Bolton looked immediately to drive home their advantage. Burstow also curled a free kick inches around the post, won by Cissoko, whose exhilarating run had been ended unceremoniously by Finley Burns on the edge of the box.

Randall had endured a frustrating afternoon at Oakwell on Saturday but his previous appearance at the Toughsheet against Plymouth had been a positive one, and once again he was enjoying himself on home turf, seemingly involved in every phase of play.

The former Peterborough man whizzed another effort just past Pereira’s post and then helped to keep Reading penned in their own penalty box as Cissoko, Cozier-Duberry and Conway all took turns darting and dancing into the penalty box.

The visitors finally put a shot on target after 70 minutes, Aberfa’s effort gathered safely by Sharman-Lowe, cheered ironically by the small gathering of fans who braved the M6 on a weeknight.

If anything, Bolton’s cocksureness was their main enemy, and a sloppy exchange of passes between Forino and Erhahon on the edge of the box nearly gifted Reading a scoring chance they did not deserve.

With 15 minutes left, Schumacher brought Dalby on for his debut. Wanderers fans were craving the security of a second goal but their earlier tempo had dropped entirely and it was now Reading who fancied themselves to get back into the contest.

From being casual observers, Forino, Johnston, Sharman-Lowe et al were now having to work harder to protect the penalty box. And you knew what was coming.

John McAtee – on as a sub – and Dalby had both lost possession. Teenage sub Garcia had only been on the field for three minutes but picked the ball up on the edge of the box and drove a shot which bounced off Johnston and dropped under the crossbar past the outstretched gloves of Sharman-Lowe. Even the 358 hardy souls in the away end had to rub their eyes in disbelief.

The goal seemed to shock Bolton back into action but the window of opportunity was limited. Sub Thierry Gale got a glimpse of goal but could only arrow his shot at the keeper and five minutes of stoppage time passed by without incident.

The final whistle was met with shrugs of indifference. Another draw – but unlike the one at Barnsley, this one didn’t feel so great.

Click here to read article