Bolton maintain perfect record in EFL Trophy

Bolton Wanderers 3 - 0 Manchester City Under 21's

Wanderers strolled to top spot in Group E of the Vertu Trophy and all but booked their passage through to the knock-out phase with a comfortable win over City’s youngsters.

Author | Mark Scott

Stadium | Toughsheet Community Stadium

View from the stands

Both sides had won their opening games and City arrived at the Toughsheet Community Stadium with a superior goal difference thanks to a 5-1 win at Oldham in their opening game.

Bolton made ten changes from the side that swept past Wigan in Saturday’s derby, but still proved too strong for a youthful Manchester City line-up captained by former loanee Luke Mbete.

The City defence was breached after just nine minutes when Cyrus Christie played in John McAtee, who teed up Dalby to steer home from close range for his first Wanderers goal.

McAtee struck again five minutes later, this time running onto Ibrahim Cissoko’s through-ball before curling a composed finish into the far corner. Morley then added a third, his shot from a Dalby lay-off taking a deflection past Jack Wint, the teenage City goalkeeper who endured a busy evening but emerged with credit.

Away end watches on

City’s fans stayed in good spirits as their side grew into the game, while Ian Evatt introduced Chris Forino and Kyle Dempsey at the interval. Dempsey, making a welcome return after being sidelined since April, immediately impressed. He created chances for Dalby and almost forced an error from Wint with a free-kick before seeing a goal-bound effort denied by the keeper’s fine block.

Justin Oboavwoduo struck a post as City pushed forward, while Forino later denied the same player with a last-ditch challenge to preserve Wanderers’ clean sheet. Dalby was kept out again late on, but it was Dempsey’s sharpness on his comeback and Wint’s resilience in goal that stood out in a match where Wanderers’ greater quality ultimately told.

Best comments

@Jon-vp7uq commented on YouTube: “We are starting to play with confidence and looking like a dangerous team.”

@PublicDetective added on the same platform: “A great squad we have and exciting times ahead...”

In a video posted on the Bolton Twitter/X account, boss Steven Schumacher spoke of his delight with the win. 

Mark, a Bolton fan, spoke about the player who impressed him the most. He said: “Cyrus Christie was quality on the ball. The best evidence of this was the defence-splitting pass for McAtee in the build-up to the first goal. Exciting times for this player.”