Bolton Wanderers v Bristol Rovers. Tuesday 28th February 2017

Bolton 1 Bristol Rovers 1

With some annual leave to use before the end of the financial year, an overnight stay at Bolton watching Rovers in a ground they've never played at before seemed like a very good idea.

With a room at the Premier inn booked, I headed north. The drive up was pretty grim, the rain came down hard from Gloucester on wards and it was crawling pace for the last 20 miles or so. By the time I got in range of BBC Radio Manchester, the news came through that the games at nearby Rochdale and Macclesfield were off due to waterlogged pitches. Luckily this item was followed with confirmation that the game at the Macron was on. This meant I was spared the choice of driving straight home or trying to find something else to do in the Bolton area on a Tuesday night.

After a quick pint at the Beehive pub that went down a treat after such a long drive, I went off to the ground to have a poke around. I felt old when I realised that The Macron, as it is now called, is 20 years old. I can still remember being bemused when watching Bolton at Brunden Park on match of the day in the 90's, uniquely they had a supermarket that backed on to one of the ends of the pitch where a stand should have been. 

One of the older new grounds, The Macron has aged well, it's symmetrical and though filled in at the corners doesn't have the feeling of a generic bowl, thanks in large to an impressive roof and four two tiered stands that all rise and peak in the middle.

Situated next to a motorway and a big retail park, it also handily has it's own train station. I did a 

lap and took in a nice statue of club legend Nat Lofthouse as well as a smart remembrance book detailing the names of loyal fans who had died on this date - a nice touch. I was also intrigued to see that Bolton have set up their own Free School.
One thing I liked about the ground when walking round there was a door way every now and again giving you a teasing glimpse of the pitch and the stadium inside.

I met up with a mate who'd been working in Manchester and his mate from work, a Blackburn fan who'd come along for the evening. We all concurred that it was nice not to be ripped off for a change at a football league ground: Entry was £15 and a pie and pint £6. Thank you Bolton, the 848 Rovers fans who had made the long trip up from Bristol seemed appreciative.

Rovers fans looking to take advantage of pie and pint deal.

I'd been at the reverse fixture back in August when Bolton had beaten Rovers 2-1, they'd looked a quality side that night. Thus I wasn't surprised that they were now 4th in the league though was aware they'd recently lost highly rated young striker Zach Clough to Nottingham Forest and had generally stuttered a bit recently. Rovers meanwhile were on a strange run of 5 straight league draws. Since star striker Matty Taylor left for Bristol City a month ago, the goals had dried up but luckily the defence had tightened up considerably resulting in numerous stale mates.

                              

Looking at the programme it was noticeable that Bolton had the edge in terms of exoerience at a higher level. They had a few players with considerable premiership appearances including club captain and ex Liverpool midfielder Jay Spearing, ex Reading striker Adam Le Fondre and big defender David Wheater who has been with the club since their top flight days.

Barely had we taken our positions behind the goal in the South Stand when Bolton took the lead. Chris Long raced on to a ball down the right, chased down by Tom Lockyer, he reached it just before it went out of play and hit a first time cross that flashed across the Rovers goal, it ended up at the feet of a Bolton attacker at the far end of the box, as the Rovers keeper and defenders rushed out to him to try and block his shot, he coolly played it back across the goal to unmarked Josh Vella who was level with the penalty spot, Chris Lines had managed to get back on the goal line but was unable to block the shot - 1-0 Bolton.

Rovers had clearly set up with the intention of playing a pressing game high up the pitch with the Duracell bunny Stuart Sinclair playing at the front of a midfield three. They almost found an early equaliser when striker Ellis Harrison out muscled his way past Bolton keeper Howard who had come out of his box to try and head a long ball clear, Harrison kept the ball in play on the touch line and had an empty goal to aim at, from a very tight angle though he lacked the composure to convert and the ball skimmed past the post and out for a goal kick.

Not long after Sinclair had a shot that was blocked in box by a Bolton hand but no penalty was given, the ref seemingly had a good view but as the defender was only a yard away from Sinclair he got the benefit of the doubt. Bolton then had a chance to go 2-0 up with Lumley out of position but who ever shot could only find the side netting.

Jay Spearing went off injured at half time and the home side continued to look disjointed. Luke James had an early chance in the second half to score his first competitive goal for Rovers but flashed wide from a tight angle. I was in the crowd when James scored an incredible goal against a full strength Swansea team in pre season. The goal was so good that some of the Swansea players applauded. Since then the goals have been impossible to come by... with Taylor gone, the blue half of Bristol is willing him to fill his boots.

                            

Rovers continued to dominate, Another flurry of chances came when Bodin played a ball in to Sinclair whose dummy allowed Montano a clear sight of goal, Howard dived at his feet impressively and the loose ball fell to James whose shot was blocked on the line by a defender, Sinclair was there for the rebound but his shot was deflected over for another corner.

Eventually Rovers got the goal they deserved, picking the ball up from Sinclair, Billy Bodin hit a perfectly waited pass that split the Bolton defence and allowed substitute Byron Moore to chip over the on rushing Howard in to the empty net. The remaining 15 minutes saw a few more chances but it was to remain at 1-1. 

A thoroughly entertaining game to watch, especially as an away fan though as Darrell Clarke said after, disappointing that Rovers didn't take away all 3 points. The whole team to a man played well. James Clarke especially caught my eye, the right back / centre back has been out of favour for the majority of this season and has played most of his carer to date in non league football. Due to injuries he's suddenly been thrown in at left back and is more than holding his own.

                         

Being the culture vulture that I am, I tried to squeeze in a visit to Rivingon Pike before driving back the next morning. Groundhopping guru Gibbo had recommended the tower on top of the hill as a lovely spot affording wonderful views of the Stadium and surrounding country side below. It seemed like a good way to while away an hour as I waited for rush hour traffic to subside.

I failed to make it to Rivington Pike. The increasingly steep hill and bumpy terrain had me worrying about my tyres. By the time I threw in the towel I had only this uninspiring picture from half way up the hill to show for my efforts.

                             

All in all though, a very enjoyable trip to the North West. The few Bolton fans I spoke to, including a nice lad who served me in Subway the next morning, were very welcoming.

Nat Lofthouse