BURY AMATEURS - 5 .V. OLD BOLTS – 0
Can a 5-0 defeat really be slightly misleading? This was the question on the mind of the beleaguered Bolts Caretaker Manager Barrett following a disappointing afternoon in grim Prestwich.
Well, the answer is 'Yes'……And ‘No."
Whilst there can be no denying that 5 goals conceded is hardly a solid basis on which to make an argument, to be fair to the B Team, an absolute mauling this was not.
A very strong Bolts’ penalty shout was crudely ignored by the hapless Ref after 10 mins, a misery further compounded by Bury then taking the lead with a soft, deflected goal. Add to this a blatantly offside second goal and you get a heady brew of ineptitude & misfortune, with a salty twist of corruption.
Half-time saw the Bolts regroup and talk stirringly of re-asserting themselves back in the game. And for the first 25 mins of the second half, there was nothing in it at all. All that was required was a goal to trigger the glorious fightback. However, a couple of guilt-edged chances came and went and Bolts had missed their chance.
A strong and motivated Bury side seemed to suddenly up their game and this, coupled with some classic Post-Xmas break defending from the Bolts sealed our fate. 3 horror individual errors resulted in 3 goals for the opposition all in the last 15 mins, thus giving the scoreline a lop-sided look not representative of the majority of the game.
The fact that this was the first game to be played since November 24th certainly did not help matters, with just about everybody, bar our energetic M.O.M Ross Taylor, looking very rusty indeed. And whilst the luck did not appear to be on our side, there’s no doubt that this was not a great performance, with far too much standing & watching and not nearly enough energy, grit & quality from everyone involved.
Quick improvements must be made if the early season promise shown is not be squandered!
Rumours that Caretaker Manager Barrett has been offered the Newcastle job following the above debacle are as yet unconfirmed. …..More importantly, official team boss Ron Manager was reportedly spotted lunching with Real Madrid President Juan Carlos Bastardo…Watch this space.