Bolton get out of a sticky situation

IT HAD all the ingredients, just the wrong ending. At 12.30pm, referee Iain Williamson was attempting to bounce the match ball on a mud patch in the middle of the pitch. The ball, for its part, was unresponsive.

The pitch in fact was very much the star of the show. ‘I wasn’t overly enamoured with it,’ said Bolton boss Neil Lennon. ‘It’s one of the worst pitches I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen a few crackers in my time in Scotland.’

Jai Reason, formerly of Ipswich and one of the heroes of the day for Eastleigh, had news for him. ‘I’ve been here four years and I’d say this is mediocre,’ he said. ‘Honestly, I’ve played on a lot worse. It’s not too bad out there but, for a Championship side coming down here, you’d turn your nose up at it.’

And yet the pitch was eventually to add a cruel twist to the tale for the hosts. It was meant to favour Eastleigh; perhaps it did, after helping them get in front thanks to Dorian Dervite’s own-goal. But in the 76th minute it turned against them, denying them what could have been a glorious moment.

With only Bolton goalkeeper Ben Amos to beat from eight yards, Andy Drury’s shot lost its pace in the mud and David Wheater had just a fraction of a second to save Bolton from going 2-0 down. And he did.

‘It would have been a spectacle,’ said Eastleigh manager Chris Todd, after seeing Darren Pratley level on 87 minutes. ‘Everything that has gone on, even with the pitch has been like a storybook on its own.’ EASTLEIGH (4-1-4-1): Flitney 8; Partington 6.5, Reid 7.5, Evans 7, Harding 6.5; Strevens 7; Odubade 6.5 (Mohamed 35, 6.5), Drury 7, Payne 7, Reason 7.5; Constable 6. Subs (not used): Noice, Turley, Lafayette, Midson, Cook. Booked: Flitney, Reason. BOLTON (4-2-3-1): Amos 6; Holding 5.5, Dervite 5, Wheater 5.5, Moxey 5; Danns 5.5 (Trotter 85), Vela 5.5 (Ameobi 71, 5.5); Feeney 6, Silva 6, Pratley 6.5; Madine 4.5 (Woolery 85). Subs (not used): Rachubka, Spearing, Casado, Dobbie. Booked: Holding, Danns, Woolery. Referee: Iain Williamson, 6.