FRANKS EOIN!
Doyle nets Worthy winner for Trotters
AS a tribute to Frank Worthington, it was more beer and sandwiches than caviar and champagne.
But as Eoin Doyle’s 16th goal of the season clinched Bolton’s 11th win in 13 games, dear old ‘Elvis’ would have been pleased to see the League Two promotion race all shook up.
Doyle’s winner, six minutes before the break, was worthy of the maverick former England striker (right) who died last week, leaving behind a highlights reel of 266 goals including some belters for the Trotters.
Nathan Delfouneso’s superb right-wing cross and Doyle’s volley was a rare outbreak of quality, but Bolton manager Ian Evatt captured the mood of an emotional week perfectly.
“We’ve lost another legend of the game and hopefully we hope we’ve done him proud today,” admitted Evatt.
“Although we have momentum in our favour, that can change at the drop of a hat. It takes weeks and months to build, but it can disappear overnight.”
Bolton were 19th at the end of January, but another resolute win
lifted them into the automatic promotion places for the first time on
Evatt’s watch.
He added:
“It feels good to be there, but it only matters where we are when the music stops and I won’t be happy if we’re not there on May 8.
“We’ve given ourselves a fantastic chance – the lads are hungry, determined to finish the job and there’s no complacency.
“From the top of the pyramid down, tight games like this at the top end of any league are usually settled by one moment of quality – and that’s why we have Eoin in the team.”
Doyle is the first Bolton player to go beyond 12 goals in a season since Michael Ricketts in 2001.
You remember Ricketts – he won two England FOREST GREEN: Thomas 6, Stokes 6 Cargill 6, Wilson 7, Whitehouse 6, Allen 5 (Godwin-Malife 66, 6), Moore-Taylor 6, Bailey 5 (Young 57, 6), Bernard 6, Collins 6, Matt 6 (Davison 6, 5).
BOLTON: Gilks 7, Jones 7, Baptiste 7, Ricardo Santos 8, John 8, Thomason 7, Williams 7, Delfouneso 7 (Isgrove 79), Lee 7, Afolayan 7 (Gnahoua 79), Doyle 7 (Miller 84). MAN OF THE MATCH: Ricardo Santos. Imperious, commanding, invincible. REFEREE: David Rock 5. caps – his first and his last, as the joke goes in Bolton.
But it is a measure of how far the mighty have fallen that the club who gave us Nat Lofthouse is now scuffling in English football’s long rough instead of cruising down the fairways.
To their credit, the Trotters did not try and hoof their way into the top three – even on a ground where equestrian author Jilly Cooper announces her support for Forest Green on one of the perimeter advertising boards.
Stroud, just up the road from the Innocent New Lawn, was recently voted Britain’s best place to live – but never mind the ambience, admire the football club’s ambition.
Vegan warriors Forest Green Rovers have played in shirts made from cured bamboo and recycled coffee grinds, and they can give anyone a run for their diet.
But Rovers lost 16-goal Jamille Matt to a freak horror injury after a collision with Ricardo Santos in only the second minute and they struggled to make headway without their top scorer.
Boss Mark Cooper revealed: “It’s a significant hand injury which will keep Jamille out for the rest of the season.”