DEAN BIDS FOR HOLD ON BOLTON
FORMER Bolton Wanderers striker Dean Holdsworth is fronting a consortium hopeful of completing a takeover of the club next week.
The 47-year-old stepped down from his position as manager of Non-League side Brentwood Town on Tuesday, saying: “I didn’t want to let them down due to other commitments.”
Owner Eddie Davies has been keen to sell the Trotters – who sit second from bottom in the Championship table with one win from 16 games – with the asking price said to be £30m.
Holdsworth, who scored 52 goals in five years at Bolton, is currently listed as the sole director of company Sports Shield Consultancy, who provide financial advice to players and clubs.
The Sky Blues’ victory at Colchester United saw them go level on points with Gillingham at the summit, but Mowbray is just concentrating on picking up more points.
“I’m not really thinking about the fact that we’re joint top,” he said
“It’s just about us trying to accumulate the points. It’s the next three points for us. Gillingham won again and that will be a test for us next weekend.
“Colchester is a difficult place to come to and they’ve got some experienced players. It’s a difficult game. I know a couple of them didn’t play because of the international break but the teams at the top keep winning.
“It was a decent team performance. We dominated it for long spells and we made a good recovery from going behind. We controlled the game and we deserved the points.
“We were fully respectful of this Colchester team and the threat they carry.
“And Jacob Murphy stepped up to the plate without [on-loan Newcastle striker Adam] Armstrong. He’s been doing so well on the wing for us but I’m delighted that he got his goals, and Fortune as well.
“It was a great travelling support and I hope they are travelling back up the road pleased.”
Colchester manager Tony Humes felt that the contest hinged on the moment Marvin Sordell’s shot hit the inside of a post and rolled across the line, with the U’s leading 1-0 at the time.
Humes said: “Marvin had a great opportunity and hit the post with it going across the face of goal, which would have made it 2-0.
“It was the decisive moment – if it had gone in then Coventry would have probably had to chase the game more.
“Coventry started the game very brightly. They put us on the back foot and it was a bit of a surprise when we got the first goal and took the lead. But we stuck at it and then it became a game of fine margins.
“Their first goal was a questionable offside and their second goal was from a free-kick, one of many questionable decisions by the referee [Graham Horwood]. It was very, very soft and we found ourselves behind in a game where we could easily have been 2-0 up.
“The third goal just after halftime killed us really – we ended up chasing and Coventry ended up blocking the game off.”
Jim O’Brien fired into the side-netting for Coventry early on but Colchester took a 17th-minute lead through Macauley Bonne, who converted Callum Harriott’s low cross.
George Moncur’s free-kick was saved by Coventry goalkeeper Reice Charles-Cook while Sordell hit a post before Murphy equalised for Coventry just after the half-hour, the midfielder firing home after Tom Eastman had blocked Marc-Antoine Fortune’s low cross.
Coventry made it 2-1 just before half-time when a quick free-kick saw Murphy pounce on Frankie Kent’s slip to score his second.
And the Sky Blues went further ahead just after the half-time break when Fortune tapped in after goalkeeper Jamie Jones had fumbled Ruben Lameiras’s low cross.
Charles-Cook denied Colchester substitute Gavin Massey late on but Coventry were worthy of a third straight league win.