Report: Bolton 0-0 Bury
IN BRIEF
Wanderers were held by Bury under the floodlights at Macron Stadium on Tuesday evening, but in turn extended their advantage on the chasing pack in Sky Bet League One by a further point.
In a game dominated by the hosts, Adam Le Fondre hit the underside of the crossbar while David Wheater saw a piledriver palmed away by Shakers goalkeeper Joe Murphy.
Despite completely controlling proceedings however, the Whites were unable to break down Lee Clark’s side with the spoils shared at the final whistle.
TEAM NEWS
Wanderers made one change to their starting XI from the weekend, with Andrew Taylor coming into the fray in place of Dean Moxey.
FIRST HALF
Bolton started brightly in the clash, with Bury under pressure from the outset and the Whites looking dangerous on the break.
It was certainly a tempestuous affair too, with Leon Barnett picking up the game’s first yellow card inside the opening ten minutes for a rash challenge on Adam Le Fondre.
The aforementioned Le Fondre also saw his shot from a tight angle blocked at the death after chasing the ball downfield soon after.
It was all Bolton early on, with Bury virtually camped in their own box. It was however still a very nervy encounter with chances being spurned under pressure.
The visitors however weren’t simply there to make up the numbers, with them enjoying a number of forays into Wanderers territory which ultimately produced nothing too much of note.
As the game headed towards its half hour mark, the tempo had certainly calmed somewhat with the Shakers frustrating Bolton and looking a little more dangerous themselves.
Bolton were still looking the more menacing on the counter, but their opportunities in front of goal were somewhat limited with Joe Murphy being seldom tested.
Andrew Taylor enjoyed a chance too with three minutes of the half remaining, but his daisy-cutter flew wide of the mark with the Bury keeper confident that it was off-target.
Come the half time whistle however, the scores were goalless.
SECOND HALF
With no changes, the second half began under the floodlights at Macron Stadium.
And it was the visitors who started brightly, with Vaughan’s header being tipped over the crossbar by Howard inside the opening two minutes of the second period.
Bolton were soon back on the attack themselves however, but Bury were standing firm in their numbers at the back.
The home faithful were showing their support vocally, with the team responded with waves of attacks including a shot from Morais down the throat of Murphy on 56 minutes.
Still the deadlock was yet to be broken however, with frustration evident for Wanderers.
Nerves were being shredded as the second period reached its halfway point, with Taylor’s volley from the edge of the area sending out warning signals to the Shakers.
It was all Bolton, with the visitors having to pull back men in their numbers to keep the Whites at bay.
Wheater thought he’d snatched the lead for Bolton soon after, with his piledriver from 20 yards stinging the palms of Murphy with the goalkeeper parrying the effort away for a corner.
Le Fondre meanwhile saw a thunderous drive cannon down off the underside of the crossbar with 12 minutes to go.
Wanderers were throwing the kitchen sink at the Shakers, with it being backs against the wall for the Gigg Lane outfit.
Only a matter of minutes were remaining, and it was still all Bolton and with four minutes of additional time indicated, it was all hands to the pump.
But despite peppering the Bury goal with shots, it just wasn’t to be as the scores ended all square.
FULL TIME