Bolton Wanderers Under 18s continued their unbeaten start to the Youth Alliance after a 0-0 draw with Morecambe.
Wanderers were missing a couple of their key attacking players and never really got going in the game.
Although the Young Whites dominated possession, they gave the ball away far too easily and allowed Morecambe to get the ball into the final third far too easily.
Morecambe came with a game plan and it nearly paid dividends in the second half but for a great save from Ellis Litherland and some last ditch defending from Dave Gardiner’s men.
The Shrimps continued to frustrate Bolton over and over again as they just wanted to disrupt the flow of the game and get the ball from back to front as quickly as they could.
Bolton continued to work the ball into dangerous positions but decision-making at the attacking end allowed Morecambe’s defence a lifeline.
The Young Wanderers increased their intensity in the second half but continued to get more and more frustrated as they couldn’t quite get their passing game going.
Daniel Jones had a great chance at the end as he found himself unmarked at the back post but couldn’t get on the end of the cross.
U18 Coach Dave Gardiner said, "Today we let ourselves down individually and as a team.
“Too many players didn’t play to their potential and we dropped the high standards we have set our self in recent games.
“When a team comes to frustrate us we have got to match them with desire and fighting spirit to win our one-v-one battles. From there, we have to show character and determination to impose our style of football on the game.
“The most disappointing thing is we beat ourselves today and know we should have done so much better. We have a great set of players and I now they will train hard this week and put things right in the next game”
Wanderers lineup: Ellis Litherland, Wes Frimpong, Max Conway, Noah Halford, Lamine Toure, Matthew Tweedley, Arran Pettifer, Kian Le Fondre, Danny Jones, Max Wilcox, Joel Burgess.
Subs: Harrison Fleury, Sonny Sharples-Ahmed.