WE HAVE THE CHARACTER, SAYS PARKY
Trotters thankful to Henry
BOLTON boss Phil Parkinson insisted his side’s character is why they enter 2017 in League One’s promotion spots after James Henry’s late winner saw off rivals Scunthorpe United and delivered them the points.
Josh Vela’s sixth of the season was cancelled out by Neal Bishop’s deserved secondhalf leveller, but deep in injury time, Henry gave Bolton all three points.
Parkinson, who said the game was a good advert for League One, said his side had the belief to win late against a Scunthorpe team he rates highly.
“When you beat someone who’s up there with you, then it’s of added importance,” he said.
“We had to make sure they didn’t get anything as they’re a good side.
“We’ve got character here – I said it at preseason and halfway through the season, we’ve shown that.
“I enjoyed watching that performance and being part of that atmosphere – the supporters were fantastic and I want to thank them for that.
“You’ve always got to keep believing you’ll win the game, while making sure you don’t leave yourself open and lose it.
“Impact from the bench is vital, especially around this Christmas period and James has given us that lift.”
Wanderers led on 17 minutes as Gary Madine won the ball in the air and his knock down found Vela, who fired home from 20 yards out. After the hour, Iron were level, as Ben Alnwick was powerless to stop Bishop’s powerfully driven shot from 16 yards flying into the top right-hand corner. The winner came in the sixth minute of stoppage time, when subsitute Henry fired home past Luke Daniels’ despairing dive – via a deflection – to send the Macron faithful wild. United boss Graham Alexander cut a disconsolate figure at the end, but was cheered by his team’s performance.
He said: “Performance-wise, we were excellent.
“We controlled the game at times, but fortune has gone against us with a deflected goal. “It was a bitter blow. “When you get beat when you’ve not been good enough, you can hold your hand up, but that was certainly good enough.
“We went behind to a poor goal, but we continued to play as we wanted to play.
“We needed that breakthrough. We started the second half so well, and got a thoroughly-deserved goal.
“For them to snatch the winner at the end, in that fashion, is a sore one for us to take at the end.”