Point the least we deserved - Neil Lennon

Manager reflects on an afternoon of mixed emotions after 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest

Neil Lennon says a point was the least his Bolton side deserved, after Stephen Dobbie came off the bench to equalise late on against Nottingham Forest.

Bolton had missed a second half penalty and fallen behind to sub David Vaughan’s long-range effort.

But deep into injury time Dobbie engineered half-a-yard of space on the edge of the area to crash home a leveller.

And the manager said concluded by saying it was ultimately an afternoon of mixed emotions.

“We’re relived, but also frustrated,” the manager said after the game. “I felt we deserved to win the game after a fantastic second half performance.

“I didn’t think there was much in it in the first half. We had a couple of decent chances with headers and flashed a few set pieces across goal, but in the second half I thought we were fantastic.

“When we missed the penalty in the second half you worry that it may suck the life out of them, but we kept going and created chance after chance.

“We got hit with a sucker punch when David Vaughan scores. Sometimes you have to hold your hands up, even though it hurts like a punch in the stomach. I did feel we could have maybe closed him down a bit better.

“At home we’ve shown great character and that helped us get back in the game.

“We’ve brought Stephen to the club to do just that. We know what kind of an impact he can have. I’ve watched him at Blackpool and Swansea down the years and from him time in Scotland. It was a very clever finish from him.

“At the end of the match you look at the reaction of the crowd and they were happy. That’s another sign that shows they appreciate the effort of the players.

“The home crowd have been excellent and we need them with us at Macron Stadium this season.”

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