U's 1-2 Bolton: Back In The Mire

Despite going ahead on Tuesday, it was Bolton who took all three points from the Abbey. We look back at a disappointing evening in CB5

Let’s get the blond-haired elephant out the room first shall we? Lyle Taylor. A stupid reaction from a supposed senior professional who should have known better. We all know he’s a shithouse, and that’s fun to watch, but if you’re going to practice the dark arts you need to be a bit more subtle than clouting a defender round the back of the head and then kicking out when they’re on the floor. It didn’t cost us the match last night, but there’s a very real chance his actions will cost us at some point during the next three games.

Taylor’s replacement during these next three games is likely to be Macualey Bonne, our only other fit striker at the moment, and it’s not unfair to say he’s had a fairly slow start to his career in Amber and Black so far. We’ll give him the benefit of the doubt for now as he’s still learning what his team mates can (and more often can’t) do and how we play, but these next three games will define his U’s spell - a few goals (starting next Saturday, please) and we’ll remember him well, more anonymous performances like last night and we’ll file him with the likes of Daryl Clare, Gerry McDonagh and Lorent Tolaj.

On to the game itself then, and United started off pretty brightly, culminating with a lovely (deflected) Sullay Kaikai goal after eight minutes. It might go down as an OG in the record books, but you don’t score the shots you don’t take so Kaikai gets the credit for making it happen. United had a decent first half but you could tell Bolton always had a goal in them, if only they could stay on their feet for long enough. They are where they are in the table for a reason I suppose.

The second half started with a Bolton onslaught. I think the only time the ball went in our half during those first ten or so minutes was when we kicked off from their goal. Everyone could tell it wasn’t working for United as they repeatedly laid siege to our goal, and it was a relief when the subs eventually came on 71 mins - Taylor, Lankester and Thomas coming on for Kachunga, Kaikai and Digby.

The attacking subs allowed United back into the game, although Thomas struggled to impose himself in the middle, and Lankester, as is customary, missed an absolute sitter. If he could convert even 20% of the guilt-edged chances he gets there’d be a real player in there, but he lets down all his hard work winning and moving the ball with his final ball every. single. time. Then came Taylor’s moment of madness, tussling with ex-U Jack Iredale. I’ll admit I missed his initial punch, like most of the ground I was watching the ball, so I thought it was just handbags at most, but having seen the replay it’s obvious what Lyle has done, and he was rightly dismissed. United still tried, but we were never going to get back into it with only ten men and a few minutes left.

We haven’t won at home on a Tuesday night in the league for a couple of years now, and those magnificent floodlights deserve better. 5500 United fans were backed up with almost 1000 noisy Bolton fans - credit to them to coming all the way back down again after the postponement a couple of weeks ago.

We’re still flirting with the pack that’s hanging around the relegation zone, and we have to be wary of one or two of them putting a run together, given the toughness of our own run in. I think we’re a better side than we were this time last season and I think we’ll end up safe earlier in the end, but we need to start turning performances into results. Certain players need to take a look at their contributions, and need to be braver and more clinical when taking chances.

P*sh ended their awful run with a cup win over Blackpool last night, and we know what kind of damage they can inflict on us. Harris said he understands the what the derby means to us, but he needs to make sure the players do too, as it was pretty clear none of them gave a shit back in November. We’re going to be tormented by that lot from minute one on Saturday, so need to do all we can to shut them up. It’s the kind of game that’s Taylor-made for certain types of player, but we’ll have to make do with who’s available come Saturday lunchtime.

Twelve more points should see us safe. Let’s make sure we get three of them on Saturday.

Soundtrack of the Match: Danny Byrd - Red Mist