Steven Schumacher hailed a superb team performance after Amario Cozier-Duberry again grabbed the headlines in Wanderers’ biggest win of the season, writes Pete Oliver.
Cozier-Duberry scored twice to move level with Mason Burstow at the top of the Whites’ scoring charts with seven goals and also weighed in with two assists in a 4-0 win over Port Vale which lifted Wanderers up to third in League One.
Schumacher was again delighted with the on-loan Brighton winger but also keen to spread the praise around a side that has now won eight in a row at the Toughsheet Community Stadium and kept a fourth clean sheet of the campaign thanks to two important early stops from goalkeeper Teddy Sharman-Lowe.
“I must give credit to big Teddy,” said Schumacher after his biggest win as Bolton boss. “Sometimes you don't get the game all your own way and you need your goalie to make a big save. I think he made two big saves and kept us at 0-0 and I think from our first shot on goal we scored.
“That was the difference, we got that first goal and that was so important. It was good play actually and Mason looked after the ball well, set him (Cozier-Duberry) up nice and he hit the target, which is so important.
“Everyone knows how infectious he's been. He's been really good and he's in brilliant form. But it wasn't just him again today, it was everybody. We found our way to get the second goal from a set piece, which I'm pleased about. I thought the second-half performance was excellent, we controlled the game.
“The goals were excellent. Credit to Mason again, nicking the ball defensively, doing his job coming off the back of the midfield player, and plays a really nice pass through to Amario on the transition.
“We've scored on that and that's effectively killed the game off and then the fourth goal that we scored was excellent, right from our goalkeeper, right through the middle of their team and Kyle Dempsey slots it home, which again, I’m really pleased for him.
“It's been a frustrating time for him but he deserved his goal. It's not nice when you're out injured, trying to work your way back into the team. But over the last few weeks he's sort of given us food for thought and something to think about.”
After Xavier Simons claimed his first goal for Wanderers to make it 2-0 at half-time, Dempsey got on the scoresheet for the first time in 13 months as he made a first league appearance of the season.
His goal, tucked away from a Cozier-Duberry pass, cemented an outstanding win which lifted Schumacher’s men into the top six for the first time this season as they head into an international break following next Tuesday night’s Vertu Trophy tie at Oldham Athletic.
“If you want to try and push towards the top end of the division, you've got to be consistent,” the head coach told Wanderers TV. “We've been that at home with eight wins in a row. That's pleasing, although we should have 10. We should have won the other two league games here.
"But we haven't and we just keep moving forward. I really want to win on Tuesday at Oldham. I know we've already qualified for the next stage but it gives the rest of the lads who didn't play today – and I’ve had to leave four or five good players out of the squad – an opportunity to get some game minutes before we go into an international break which, again, I think will be important.
“Your league position will take care of itself if you play well and I feel as though we've played well the majority of the season. We haven't got the results all of the time that we probably deserved but the players have been excellent.
“They've applied themselves really well every day in training and we just need them to keep believing in themselves and keep trying to play with confidence.
“The fans as well; keep believing, keep sticking with us. It won't be like that every week when you get it all your own way. We're going to need that support in tough times when they eventually come. But for now, we're in good momentum, and we keep moving on.”
Watch a full post-match interview on Wanderers TV