Bolton Wanderers 4-1 Wigan Athletic - What the pundits said

Speaking on BBC Radio Manchester, former Bolton boss Keith Hill described their performance as “exceptional” as they ended a 10-year wait to beat the Latics on home soil.

He said: “You have got to be really impressed with Bolton’s performance, especially in the first half, professionalism in the second half. That desire and determination, the grit, and then the footballing ability to exploit the space that Wigan gave them, it was a joy to watch and a thoroughly deserved victory for Bolton.

“As a manager sometimes when you’re 3-0, 4-0 up, it is pretty much game over. You can look too in-depth into the last 20-30 minutes and say it wasn’t as good as it was in the first half but for all but 15 minutes of that game they were exceptional. Everything you need out of possession and in possession, a goalscoring threat but defensively very, very strong, defended from the front, attacked from the goalkeeper.

“I thought they were excellent but I must say that Wigan could not have given them a better template for what Bolton need to win football matches.”

Looking at Marcus Forss’s first league start since he signed on loan from Middlesbrough, Hill was also suitably impressed with the Finland international, who scored twice on the day.

He said: “He’s an intelligent football player coming from a very good football club. I think there were more clubs than Bolton chasing him but he decided to come to Bolton and I thought straight away he struck up a relationship with Burstow, which Steven Schumacher has probably seen in training.

“Burstow has been a constant threat all season, getting his five goals, and it looks like that could be a great partnership in the making not just for Bolton but it could strike fear into the rest of the division.

“That’s what you want – you want to be going into games where the opposition are fearing you. The manager is making plans because there is more than one goalscoring threat, and with the wide players also contributing goals as well, they really are rolling into the season.

“What you need as well is the space that Wigan gave Bolton too.”

Former Wigan Athletic defender Emmerson Boyce was also on commentary duty, admitting that a poor first-half performance had given them a mountain to climb.

“Bolton played really well,” he said. “Wigan gave them the opportunity to play well, especially the two wingers, they were given all that space to play in.

“It was a much better second-half performance from Wigan but give some credit to Bolton, they dominated the game from start to finish, they were excellent in both penalty boxes, defended well, attacked well. For me, it was a really good game from them.

“It’s always disappointing to lose a game but the first half performance wasn’t the best. It was much better second half but we’d mentioned about the corners and it took until the 93rd minute to try something different, which was very frustrating for me. Bolton were very comfortable with any balls coming into the box and it is one of those games where it is going to hurt. It is going to hurt the players as well but they have to put it away now and look forward to the next game.

“We have a different view and hindsight is fantastic but we gave them too much space in the first half to play.

“From a Wigan perspective, that hurt. The scoreline, everything about derby day, you want to see passion, you want to see fight, and Wigan in the first half were just too in-between in their decision making and performance wise.

“You have got to give Bolton credit, they played a really good game but I am sure in the changing room they will be looking forward to the return game now.”

Ryan Lowe’s side have not won away from home this season, and asked whether Boyce felt tactics had played their part, he added: “Maybe he’ll look back on the game and think if he could have changed it in the first half, he would have done. He stuck to his principles and what has worked. Wigan rely on the width and it didn’t quite happen for them today.

“Bolton were excellent in their defending. Second half when Asamoah and Rodrigues came on with a bit of pace they caused Bolton a bit of trouble, but at the end of the day the scoreline says it all. Disappointing result but I am sure they will be fired up for the return game now.”

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