Bolton Wanderers 0-2 Ipswich Town - Match Report Saturday, 11th Mar 2023 17:05 George Hirst and Cameron Burgess were on target as brilliant Town beat Bolton Wanderers 2-0 at the University of Bolton Stadium to move only two points behind second-placed Plymouth Argyle. Hirst set the Blues on their way to a fifth win on the bounce for the first time since 2003 with a superb volley a minute before half-time and, after Christian Walton had saved a Dion Charles penalty, Burgess headed in the second on 68 to seal a deserved three points, while the Blues’ six clean sheets in a row is a new club record, as is 596 minutes without conceding a goal. Town boss Kieran McKenna made three changes with Harry Clarke, Wes Burns and Hirst coming into the side. Clarke took over on the right of the defence, Burns wide on the right and Hirst as the number nine with Janoi Donacien, Kayden Jackson and Freddie Ladapo dropping to the bench. Midfielder Dominic Ball returned to the squad for the first time since undergoing knee surgery in November. For Bolton, defender Gethin Jones and striker Victor Adeboyejo were back the side, while ex-Norwich frontman Cameron Jerome was among a subs’ bench which didn’t include a keeper. Leif Davis sent over an opening-minute Town free-kick from the left but home keeper James Trafford claimed. The game got off to a scruffy start from both sides with passes going stray all too often, in part due to the persistent rain and slippery pitch, but with more of the game in the Bolton half than the Blues’. On nine, Chaplin was flagged offside during what was the first real penalty box action. Two minutes later, an uncharacteristically sloppy pass from Massimo Luongo gifted possession to the home side and Manchester United loanee Shola Shortire looked to play in Dion Charles, but his ball was too long and Christian Walton claimed. Walton was called into his first serious action on 12 when Conor Bradley beat Cameron Burgess on the right and broke into the area, hitting a shot from an angle which the keeper batted behind. The corner caused the Blues a brief moment of panic before the ball was cleared. Broadhead beat a man on the left of the area in the 18th minute but his low cross was bundled behind for the first of two Town corners with the Blues beginning to take charge. On 22, Clarke made a strong run from deep on the right exchanging passes with Chaplin on his way through before hitting a shot which deflected for another flag-kick. Four minutes later, Chaplin shot just wide from the edge of the box after good work on the right from Clarke and Burns. The Blues were on top and creating half-chances, if not yet clear-cut opportunities, while the home fans were becoming increasingly concerned by their side’s passing out from inside their own box with Town’s pressing the cause of the nervousness. Just before the half hour, Aaron Morley, scorer of the Trotters’ goal from the penalty spot in the 1-1 draw at Portman Road earlier in the season, was yellow-carded for protesting about the award of a free-kick for a Ricardo Almeida Santos foul on Hirst. Soon after, Broadhead tricked his way into the area and the ball fell to Chaplin, whose shot was blocked. As the half moved into its final 10 minutes, the Blues broke through Luongo and eventually a Broadhead effort was deflected wide. As the break approached, Bolton started to see more of the ball but with the Blues backline dealing with their threat in relative comfort. And in the 44th minute, the Blues went in front. Burns picked up under-hit pass deep in the Town half on the right, drove forward at pace and sent over a cross which Hirst superbly volleyed right-footed across the keeper and into the corner of the net from the edge of the box. The on-loan Leicester striker’s first league goal for the Blues - his second overall - sent the travelling fans up high at the other end of the ground into raptures. As the half moved into injury time, Luongo was booked for what looked a very good sliding challenge on Shoretire midway inside the Town half but the free-kick came to nothing. The Blues went in deservedly in front at the break having been in charge for most of the half and having created most of the game’s chances - largely down their right flank - with Hirst’s goal was as good as any Town have scored this season. Bolton have had their moments but aside from Bradley’s early effort, Walton hadn’t been forced into a save. Town had taken their time without conceding to 551 minutes. The home side created the first opportunity after the break, Adeboyejo sliding in at the near post to send Jones’s cross from the left wide but with referee Neil Hair inexplicably awarding a corner much to the anger of the Town defence. The referee was to irk the Blues backline to an even greater degree in the 50th minute when he gave Bolton a highly-contentious penalty. Bradley was in a dangerous position on the right of the box close to the six-yard area but Davis slid in and won the ball. However, it fell back to Bradley, who went to ground as he went past Burgess. Town vehemently claimed the former Australia U23 international had little to do with the player going to ground and Walton was booked for his protests. Charles took the kick and hit it to Walton’s left but the keeper saved it. The ball was sent back in from the right but was then blazed into the stand. The Town players celebrated with their keeper, his second spot-kick save in a row following the one at Cambridge, while Woolfenden was booked for continuing his protests. Three minutes after the penalty, Burns scuffed a shot wide from the edge of the area but Bolton had started the half the better but without creating a chance, the spot-kick aside. Just after the hour, Morsy saw a shot blocked, then on 62 Town swapped Chaplin and Clarke for Marcus Harness and Donacien. A minute later, Burns broke into the box on the left and opted to shoot from a relatively tight angle and saw his effort saved when cutting into the middle to Morsy was the better option. Broadhead was cautioned for a foul on 64, then goalscorer Hirst joined him in the book for time-wasting a minute later. In the 67th minute, Bolton swapped Luke Mbete for Randell Williams. Home keeper Trafford saved a deflected Broadhead shot down to his right a minute later. And from the resultant corner, the Blues doubled their lead. Davis sent over the corner and Burgess powered a header into the roof of the net, the central defender’s third goal of the season sending the travelling fans behind the goal wild once again. The goal seemed to knock the sting out of the home side and the Blues went looking for a third goal, Harness shooting straight at Trafford on 71, then hitting an even better effort wide two minutes later from Burns’s cutback. Bolton made two more changes three minutes later as they looked to get back into the game, Kieran Lee and Jerome replacing Shoretire and Charles. Two minutes later, Ladapo took over from Hirst for Town, the on-loan Fox, who had picked up a knock receiving a standing ovation from the travelling support as he left the field. Within a minute, Ladapo hit a low strike through to Trafford with a third Blues goal looking more likely than a first from Bolton, who were looking a well-beaten side as their fans started to leave in numbers. Davis shot wide in the 81st minute, before Bradley was booked for a foul on Broadhead, then, three minutes later, Walton was forced into his first save since the penalty, the keeper brilliantly palming Jerome’s header past the post. On 86, Trafford batted away a Ladapo shot from the edge of the box to the right, then a minute later Town made their final two changes, Kayden Jackson taking over from Burns and Kyle Edwards from Broadhead. The minute also marked a new club record for minutes without conceding having surpassed the 592 achieved during a run at this point last season. The final minutes were seen out without serious concern with Bolton, who last lost at home in October, one of only two previous home league defeats this season, showing a surprising lack of intensity following the second goal. Referee Hair’s whistle confirmed Town’s fifth league win in a row for the first time since 2003 and a record sixth clean sheet. Barnsley’s 3-0 home victory over second-placed Plymouth was even better news for the Blues with the gap to the Pilgrims only two points with 10 left to play. Town fully deserved their victory but needed keeper Walton to be at his best, saving the penalty just after the break during the home side’s best spell as well two other very impressive stops, one at the start of the first half and one towards the end of the game. It was perhaps the Blues' best performance and result under McKenna's management and at the end the players and staff made their way over to the away following with Clarke doing his increasingly familiar fist-pump in their direction. Town, who now have 72 points, two more than last season's total, are next in action at Portman Road on Saturday when eighth-placed Shrewsbury, who beat Morecambe 3-1 today, visit Suffolk. Bolton: Trafford, Jones, Almeida Santos (c), Charles (Jerome 74), Morley, Shoretire (Lee 74), Toal, Bradley, Dempsey, Mbete, Adeboyejo. Unused: Sheehan, Nlundulu, Kachunga, Thomason, Williams. Town: Walton, Clarke (Donacien 62), Woolfenden, Burgess, Burns (Jackson 87), Morsy (c), Luongo, Davis, Chaplin (Harness 62), Broadhead (Edwards 87), Hirst (Ladapo 76). Unused: Hladky, Ball. Referee: Neil Hair (Cambridgeshire). Att: 20,502 (Town: 2,163).
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