Bolton Wanderers Under-18s made it three wins in a row with a comprehensive victory against a strong and physical Morecambe outfit.
Goals from Mitchell Henry, Finlay Lockett, Kian Le Fondre and Markus Assarsson sealed the victory after a dominant performance at Lostock.
Wanderers controlled the tempo of the game by dominating possession of the ball throughout.
Morecambe countered by adopting a medium block and looked to play on the counter attack.
In the early stages it was attack against defence with Wanderers getting around their opponents’ box with ease.
Henry broke the deadlock by slotting the ball home after the Morecambe keeper spilled a deep cross from the right.
From the resulting centre Morecambe kicked the ball long but unfortunately Wanderers were unable to deal with the ball which allowed to visitors to equalise with a deflected effort.
It was a stroke of bad luck for the Wanderers who had defended brilliantly up to then.
Three minutes later and the referee award Morecambe a penalty. Some good play down Wanderers’ right sent Bobby Flitcroft into the Bolton box. Matthew Tweedley was adjudged to push Flitcroft in the back. The Morecambe striker slotted home the resulting penalty taking the lead 2-1.
The hosts responded brilliantly combining well in Morecambe’s final third. It didn’t take long for Wanderers to equalise. A fine passing move sent Henry through on goal with the Morecambe fullback taking him down. Lockett took the resulting penalty slotting it down the middle of goal to equalise for his team.
The second half saw Wanderers start brightly, passing the ball really well.
Morecambe defended resolutely but the pressure was building and Le Fondre scored a fantastic team goal.
Assarsson added a fourth goal for the Wanderers late on to cap off a great performance.
Academy Manager Mark Litherland said: “The players have been fantastic so far this season. They are desperate to succeed and that’s evident in their performances.
“Individually the players are getting better and that makes the team better. The lads are growing in confidence winning three games in a row now.”
Bolton Wanderers:
Hutchinson, Tweedley, Whalley, Colvin, Toure, Riley (C), Henry, Assarsson, Amoateng (Conway), Lockett, Fitzmartin (Le Fondre)
Subs Not Used: Litherland, Thompson, Brown