Those who braved the decidedly chilly Friday evening weather to come down to Ewen Fields were treated to a very entertaining 3-3 draw, and a display of attacking intent from the Blues, who were only denied the victory they deserved thanks to an equaliser two minutes from the end.
Drawn in Tier Two of the Under-21 Premier League for the second half of the season, Attilio Lombardo’s side were looking to build on the victory they earned last time out against Reading.
City fielded a strong team, including the exciting quartet of Guidetti, Marcos Lopes, Denis Suarez and the excellent Pozo.
The visitors named Stuart Holden and David Wheater among the starting line-up, although the Trotters were forced to substitute Holden after just half an hour, as he continues his rehabilitation after injury.
It was the Trotters who struck first after 20 minutes, with their first meaningful attack of the night. Suarez gave the ball away in midfield, allowing Chris Lester to drive towards goal and give the ball to Jack Sampson, whose low shot beat Ian Lawlor in the City goal.
The home side had been enjoying the best of the attacking play until the goal, and the Blues didn’t allow their opponents to enjoy their slender advantage for long. Five minutes later Pozo had drawn his teammates level with a deflected shot from the edge of the area after delicious build-up play.
An entertaining first half exploded five minutes before the break, with two goals in two minutes. The Trotters couldn’t quite clear a Denis Suarez corner, and the ball dropped for Pozo to shoot City into the lead.
The Blues would have felt aggrieved to head in at the break on level terms, as it was a huge piece of luck that handed Bolton their equaliser virtually straight from the restart. Dedryck Boyata sluiced an attempted clearance which looped over the head of Lawlor for the equaliser.
Although the attacking players earned the majority of the plaudits, Greg Leigh put in an excellent performance at left back with some crucial interceptions and he constantly looked to build attacks from the back. He was duly rewarded with the assist for City’s third, crossing the ball for Guidetti to head powerfully into the net less than 15 minutes after the restart.
The Blues enjoyed the majority of possession as the game remained entertaining, but couldn’t quite manage the finishing touch to attacks which showcased the team’s strength going forward and good link up play between the forward line.
Although a largely excellent display will leave the side aggrieved that they failed to win all three points, it was a spectacular, unstoppable shot from 30 yards from Bolton’s Jan Gregus that ensured the points were shared.
And both teams pressed on for the winner in a frenetic last few minutes. City forced a goal line clearance then a good save from the Bolton keeper, and Lawlor made a good stop low down to save a point.
Lombardo’s men can take encouragement from a fine attacking performance which bodes well for an exciting second half of the season.
