Bolton Wanderers 1-0 Cardiff City: The Big Match Verdict

The on-loan Brighton winger had once again worked himself to a standstill, and in that sense he wasn’t alone. But when his 94th minute shot sailed past Cardiff keeper Nathan Trott – who, as poetically noted by club commentator Derek Clark, was ‘rooted to the spot’ – he mustered a sudden burst of energy to sprint to the corner flag and indulge in more stoppage time celebrations.

And that is the way of things at Bolton Wanderers right now, brilliantly belated, delightfully delayed.

Had the game ended 60 seconds earlier there would have been no complaint at the point earned, for this had been a gameplan well executed. Defensively, Bolton had not looked better this season, and though there was plenty to admire about Cardiff’s technical prowess and control of possession, the game had not been a particularly exciting spectacle for anyone outside the coaching purists.

For all its strategy and tension, there is a reason they don’t televise chess. And for the vast majority of this even contest, those in white and blue took turns nudging their pieces around the board with minimal excitement.

From Wanderers’ perspective, to maintain concentration for such lengthy spells against a side that will surely be competing at the top end of the league this season was edifying, if not particularly enjoyable. How often have we discussed a momentary drop in focus which has been punished by a goal? Here, however, every one of Schumacher’s players seemed to carry out their duty off the ball, giving the Welshmen very little encouragement.

In possession, there were some untidy moments. The odd bit of frustration crept into the home crowd as an attacking set piece ended up being recycled through the back four and goalkeeper. The first 20 minutes of the second half felt particularly torturous as both sides refused to come out of their shape and risk becoming vulnerable to a counter-attack.

For Schumacher, the diligence must have been pleasing. He had worked tirelessly on defending as a team over the summer months at Lostock and in the sunnier climes of Spain. Last season’s Wanderers simply did not have the discipline to have pulled this off.

There had been only two chances of real note in the game and no shots on target as stoppage time approached. David Turnbull had flicked a header wide and Mason Burstow didn’t catch a volley right from Josh Dacres-Cogley’s cross in the first half, after which the football was more Cold War drama than popcorn action flick.

The two sets of supporters found their own fun at times, belting out the national anthem and having strange pops at England’s Euro 2024 final defeat in banter that felt a little bit out of place in the Badlands of League One.

Such was the general malaise, it seemed only a matter of time before we got a Mexican wave or a conga.

That is not to belittle the effort going in, particularly from Bolton’s midfield, who shifted with such uniformity that they could have been attached by a string.

Reminded by the travelling fans of his Swansea connections at every set piece, Josh Sheehan showed exactly why he is playing regular international football for Wales. He sat in front of the back four with meticulous positioning, allowing Xavier Simons to provide the hustle and bustle around him, and picking off anything that threatened to get through.

It was only in the very last throes that the fatigue began to show in both teams and some gaps started to appear. Wanderers had a few minutes where Eoin Toal and George Johnston were required to do some belt-and-braces defending with Cardiff suddenly opting for a more direct approach.

And as the blue shirts began to push forward, the scope for Bolton to hit them on the break became greater.

Joel Randall came off the bench to try and muster something in those late moments, and he wasted a good chance to break on halfway with runners either side of him. For a few seconds, it looked as though the window of opportunity had been closed.

But then Cardiff offered up another chance with a stray ball on halfway. Toal decided to push on and make some ground, and when Randall and Dacres-Cogley worked the ball to Cozier-Duberry, now positioned perfectly just outside the penalty area with left boot cocked and loaded, the outcome was inevitable.

Back from a long lay-off with injury, Jordi Osei-Tutu had given a lung-bursting effort, adding to a solid return to action at Huddersfield nine days earlier. When Cozier-Duberry scored his stunner, he simply slumped to the floor in pure exhaustion, unable to join in with the frivolity.

Wanderers had earned the wild celebrations. Cardiff had nothing left to offer and no time left in which to offer it. The perfect killer blow had been struck.

For the first time since April, Schumacher’s side had put together back-to-back wins and though it did not improve their league placing, the fact that three points now covers Cardiff at the summit and Bolton in seventh says a lot about the congested peloton which has developed over the first 14 games.

Wanderers are capable of making a break for it, and though they have a distraction in the FA Cup next weekend, the home meeting with Port Vale on November 8 signals the start of a very appetising run of fixtures leading up to Christmas.

Should the Whites play with this sort of consistency and keep Cozier-Duberry, Mason Burstow, Sam Dalby and Co fit and firing, then there is every reason to believe they will be up there – with Cardiff – when they enter 2026.

Click here to read article