Bolton Wanderers 3-0 Manchester City U21s - Full time report

A second group stage win was sealed inside the first 25 minutes as Sam Dalby, John McAtee and Aaron Morley scored to give Steven Schumacher’s in-form side the perfect start.

From there, it could have been a case of “help yourself” – and City’s 18-year-old keeper Jack Wint made some big saves in the second half to make sure the scoreline stayed respectable.

The Premier League prospects did not let their heads go down, and with the result somewhat academic, they played some enterprising football towards the end going in search of a consolation.

At this stage, Wanderers still need a point from their last game against Oldham Athletic to be absolutely sure of their passage through to the second round – but Schumacher will be relatively pleased that his supposed ‘shadow’ squad are producing the goods.

Wanderers made 10 changes to the side that had humbled Wigan Athletic at the weekend, with George Johnston the only survivor from the start.

Schumacher had called for professionalism from his players and got exactly what he wished for.

City’s youngsters, though proficient on the ball, simply couldn’t cope once the pace of the game was turned up and Bolton’s ruthlessness in the early stages meant the visitors never got any sort of foothold.

Cyrus Christie’s only previous appearance was in the opening group game against Rotherham as a centre-half and lasted just 45 minutes. The former Republic of Ireland international has gradually built up his fitness behind the scenes ever since and turned out here as a right-back, producing some moments of genuine quality on the ball that make you wonder how soon he will be knocking harder on the first team door.

His clever ball set McAtee away nine minutes in, the striker drawing the goalkeeper and then squaring a pass unselfishly for Dalby to score his first goal for the club from close range.

McAtee has also had to be patient of late, dropping out of the matchday squad in League One since heavy speculation over a move to Barnsley on transfer deadline day.

His first-half performance will surely have pleased Schumacher and he claimed some reward with the second goal of the day, finished smartly from a tight angle after a good exchange between Ibrahim Cissoko and Dalby on the left.

Aaron Morley added a third on 23 minutes but barely had the heart to celebrate a deflected shot which dribbled past keeper Jack Wint and into the net.

At that stage you had to wonder what damage Bolton could do to a team without a single senior appearance among them. The well-worn argument against allowing Under-21 teams into this competition seemed destined to get an airing.

Credit to City, and to the few hundred away fans who kept their spirits up, as they managed to negotiate the rest of the half without conceding again, even asking a couple of questions of their own at the other end.

Charlie Warren got free on the right on a couple of occasions, dwelling just too long to allow defenders to get back and cover, and Cissoko also drove one angled cross-shot which invited a touch.

Schumacher brought on Chris Forino for Johnston at half time, and there was a warm reception for the return of Kyle Dempsey, who came on for Sheehan.

The midfielder had not featured at all since April, when he reluctantly had to cut short his season to have knee surgery, and has spoken recently about taking a slower and steadier approach to his rehab to make this return last.

He nearly capped it off with a goal just after the hour mark when Morley’s cross dropped invitingly to him at the far post but he failed to make a proper connection, with fellow sub Forino also caught flat footed as the ball dribbled across the six yard box.

City certainly looked more dangerous after the break, Justin Oboavwoduo, who had scored twice in a 5-1 rout at Oldham in the opening group game, created a couple of chances for himself with some smart running, including one shot that smacked against the foot of Tyler Miller’s post.

Wint was also kept busy at the other end – first denying Dalby with a marvellous full-length save, then blocking another effort from Dempsey at closer range.

Christie completed a good evening’s work 15 minutes from the end, replaced by Ollie Smith, one of his final acts being a lung-burning chase back to recover possession from Emilio Lawrence.

City finished the game playing confidently and Wanderers had to maintain their focus to make sure the ball stayed out of their net. Miller made one save to deny Oluwafemi Fapetu, who also had another late effort deflected over the top by Chris Forino.

Marcus Forss also came off the bench late on and nearly added to the two he scored against Wigan at the weekend, Wint getting down well again to push away his close-range shot.

The game ended with City’s kids on the attack, however, and they probably deserved a goal to go with their efforts. Forino got back again to make an important clearance at the end in front of goal when Reigan Heskey – son of ex-Wanderer Emile – struck from the left edge of the box.

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