FOLLOW JAY’S WAY DEMANDS PARKINSON
Spearing blunts Blades
NEW Bolton manager Phil Parkinson insists his players have a determination to put last season’s relegation right after beating Sheffield United.
Jay Spearing’s sublime volley proved the difference between the sides at the Macron Stadium as the Trotters began their first spell in English football’s third tier in more than 20 years after being the Championship's basement club last season.
And Wanderers boss Parkinson feels his match winner typifies the attitude in his dressing room when it comes to putting the previous campaign behind them.
“Every one of them, to a man, has got a determination to put right what didn’t go well last year and rebuilding reputations as individuals but also as a club and this is just the start of that,” he said.
“Jay kind of typifies everything since I’ve been in here that a group of players want to put right what went wrong last year.
“I think we’ve got work to do, we’re a squad in transition.
“We said to the lads about making a statement in front of our supporters, about putting in a performance full of commitment and desire and honesty, and I felt we did that.”
The Blades could have taken an eighth-minute lead after Chris Hussey’s expertly taken left-wing inswinging free-kick found Leon Clarke unmarked but the summer signing from Bury headed inches wide.
Hussey’s delivery again proved dangerous when he fizzed a low 13th-minute cross across the face of goal, which evaded both Clarke and Billy Sharp.
As the Yorkshire side continued to threaten, David Wheater made a superb tackle after a neat one-two between John Fleck and Sharp to deny the former on 20 minutes.
After Bolton failed to clear their lines several times, Duffy’s low right-wing 22nd-minute cross fizzed across goal as Clarke stretched but ultimately failed to poke the ball home.
Trotters skipper Darren Pratley fired a low drive from outside the box after 23 minutes, but George Long was equal to it.
But the home side took the lead after Lawrie Wilson’s long throw-
in was cleared only to Spearing who fired a thundering 37thminute volley into the net from outside the area.
After the break, Clarke headed back across goal for Matt Done whose 56th-minute effort was parried over by Mark Howard, frustrating his former employers.
Blades captain Sharp had the ball in the back of the net with a crisp 59th-minute finish, but was flagged offside.
Pratley nearly doubled Bolton’s advantage after rising highest to meet Dean Moxey’s 64th-minute throw-in and forced Long into a sublime diving save.
A throw-in again troubled the Blades when Wilson’s 74th-minute effort was cleared to Pratley who found Josh Vela and whose shot crept wide.
Bolton ended the game with ten men after Pratley was carried off on a stretcher following Clarke’s challenge, with all three subs used.
Though Blades boss Chris Wilder was disappointed with the result, he pointed to a new strike partnership developing between his skipper and summer signing Clarke.
“I think that there’s more to come definitely off the front two,” he said.
“We talk about partnerships and individually they’re really good players.
I’m sure that they will get better as a partnership at the top of the pitch. We’ve had the lion’s share of the game, especially in the first half. We should have been out of sight after 20 or 25 minutes.
“We started the game off really well, on the front foot, and then their boy scored a wonder goal.
“There were some good signs and it gives us a lot of confidence that we will do well this year, taking the result away.”