Bolton Wanderers U18s drew 2-2 with Grimsby Town U18s after the Whites took the lead twice
through Louis Evans and Sonny Coyne, only to be pegged back on both occasions in the U18
Professional Development League Cup, writes Harrison Gray.
Wanderers made a bright start and their early pressure paid off when they took the lead inside the
opening five minutes, courtesy of centre-half Louis Evans. Na’Im Zuill picked up the ball on the
right-hand side and his excellent delivery found the head of the No.5, who rose highest to loop
the ball over the onrushing Rhys Hall to put the Whites ahead.
However, Grimsby responded almost immediately, finding an equaliser in the ninth minute
after the ball ricocheted dangerously around the area before being prodded home to put the
Mariners on level terms.
This did not hinder Wanderers, who continued to probe Grimsby’s backline. Sam Hopkinson
stung the palms of Hall just moments before a driving run from Qunez Fakhy allowed him to cut
the ball back for Denver Clement, who could not get enough on his effort to divert home.
The chances continued to come as Joseph Lamb did brilliantly to find Asa Littler in the area,
whose first-time strike troubled Hall midway through the first half.
The opposition keeper was called into action shortly afterwards to push away a fierce Alfie
Baxter effort for a corner as the pressure mounted further.
Danny Clarke’s side eventually got their reward and regained their advantage in the 42nd
minute when Baxter was involved again on the left flank and was afforded time and space to
deliver a sumptuous ball onto the head of Sonny Coyne to put them 2-1 up going into the
interval.
HT: Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Grimsby Town
Bolton looked to extend their lead after the restart with Fakhy seeing an opportunity fall his
way, but his strike failed to stay down and sailed over the crossbar.
Moments after, the Mariners came close to another equaliser when the ball was played across
the box but Josh Duggan slid in to deny what seemed to be a certain goal. The ball deflected
back to Fortune Jack but he failed to convert from the rebound.
Despite Bolton looking to hold onto their advantage, Grimsby found a leveller in the 77th
minute.
Curtis Manyika picked up the ball in the middle of the park and produced a sensational outsideof-the-foot pass to find Noah Hutton, who slid in to divert past James Shillinglaw and into the
bottom corner.
Hutton continued to cause problems and almost found a winner twice, firstly with a venomous
strike that hit the side-netting before being denied by Shillinglaw on his next attempt to keep
the score level.
The Whites had the last clear-cut chance of the game after some brilliant play from Denver
Clement allowed Coyne to run through on goal, but Hall did well to rush out and stop what
would have been a certain winner in stoppage time.
Despite late opportunities at both ends, neither side could claim all three points as the spoils
were shared following an entertaining encounter.
FT: Bolton Wanderers 2-2 Grimsby Town