| A strong Clarets reserve side visited the Lancs FA headquarters tonight and put in a dominant display against hosts Bolton |
 | Steven Thompson - equalised from the penalty spot |
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Every fit member of the 1st team squad who took no part in the game against Villa took to the field, alongside the available 1st year pros. Alex-Ray Harvey captained the side despite the experience around him and he lined up in the middle of the park next to Chris Anderson. Brian Easton began the game in a left wing position with Fernando Guerrero on the right.
The game began and in terms of possession alone we were the only team in it. Guerrero was getting a lot of the ball but was up against a tightly marking full back and was struggling to deliver a final ball, constantly looking to pull the ball back onto his favoured left foot. Out of nothing though, the hosts took the lead. The Bolton keeper punted up field and David Edgar headed clear. The left winger though had drifted in and hit the dropping ball first time from over 25 yards. It flew goal wards and dipped in over the helpless Penny into the top corner. The bench decided our balance was wrong and moved Guerrero onto the left, Anderson onto the right and Easton into the middle.
We had an immediate chance to restore parity as Wes Fletcher skipped past a challenge and fired in low to the keeper's right but a strong hand kept the ball out. It marked the start of a period of complete dominance. The only problem though was that we were unable to hit the target from a succession of chances. We had long range efforts from Harvey, Steven Thompson and Easton, but all went high.
With around 35 minutes on the clock we should have had the equaliser. Easton was fed as he skipped into the box on the right. He looked up and cut back to Thompson, but the Scot sliced his effort wide. Minutes later Fletcher could have scored when teed up by Guerrero, but his effort found the keepers midriff. Just on the stroke of half time we were denied a penalty as Guerrero was pushed over in the box while going through at pace. It was a clear foul but the ref felt otherwise.
The second half began as the first had ended with another penalty appeal. This time it was for handball and again the ref said no. The decision was far from popular and it led to the official taking Thompson and Harvey to one side to warn them over their protests. From my seat I couldn't offer fair comment on this decision. We continued to completely boss the game and you felt that it could be one of those nights when Christian Kalvenes volleyed over from a tight angle and Fletcher flashed an effort wide at the near post from a Richard Eckersley cross.
With around 70 minutes on the clock we finally got a break as Anderson saw his shot charged down by the full back and the ref adjudged his arm had been used. The full back was booked and Thompson dispatched the spot kick. We could have taken the lead immediately as Guerrero fed Easton in the box and he shot through a crowd. It looked destined for the back of the net but the keeper appeared from nowhere and grasped the ball. We then suffered a flurry of cautions. Michael Duff was carded for a shirt pull, Harvey for a strong challenge and Kalvenes for a trip.
We made a change with Joe McKee replacing Anderson on the right and with time running out we finally got the lead we deserved. Kalvenes overlapped Guerrero and advanced into the box. He picked out Thompson who found himself crowded out. He had the vision to pick out substitute McKee though and the youngster kept his cool to smash home.
If we hadn't taken the three points tonight it would have been a travesty. As it was we got our just rewards and moved up the table into 4th.
Team:- Diego Penny, Richard Eckersley, Christian Kalvenes, David Edgar, Michael Duff, Alex-Ray Harvey, Chris Anderson (Joe McKee), Fernando Guerrero, Brian Easton, Steve Thompson, Wes Fletcher.
Subs not used:- Jon Lund, Ben Hoskin, Michael King, Dom Knowles |
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