Accrington Stanley 1 Bolton Wanderers 3

I was back at the Wham Stadium this evening following a short work trip over to Norwich, to see Stanley take on Bolton in last 16 of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy / EFL Trophy. Read on for my report and photographs from the game.

Apparently Accrington / Bolton is somewhat of a local derby. Bolton sold out half the stadium, buying a ticket was pretty difficult, and the police presence huge. Not sure the Stanley fans got the message - the home attendance considerably below that at home to Salford in the league a few weeks ago.

Stanley started well, applying good pressure on the Bolton goal, but Bolton looked dangerous on the break. Jerome pounced on an underpowered back-pass to lob the goalkeeper, putting Bolton in the lead, out came the blue flares. Morley doubled the lead on 29 minutes from what looked to be a very weak penalty decision.

Henderson pulled one back for Stanley in the 37th, stealing the ball back and driving forward, before placing the ball in the bottom right corner, in front of the Bolton fans on the terrace. Stanley had a number of chances to equalise, Nolan missing a really good opening in the 62nd minute sending the ball right back across goal, when it looked easier to put it in the net.

Dempsey settled the game in the 83, collecting a clearance, driving forward, and placing the ball in the same right corner of the net in front of the away terrace. He was allowed far too much time and space, but the finish was sublime.

Worst performance of the night goes to the referee Bobby Madley, inconsistent and one sided throughout. The worst of which was failing to produce a yellow card for a cynical pull back as Stanley broke clear. Far too many misdemeanours to list here.

Bolton were good for their win, they looked much more incisive, though Stanley should be pleased with the statistics that show they held a decent proportion of the ball and put more shots on target than their opponents from the division above.