Freak moments and individual errors were the main stories as Derby came away from the Toughsheet Community Stadium with nothing on a disappointing afternoon.
Paul Warne made two changes to the side that won at Peterborough last weekend, Tyrese Fornah making his first start since his move from Nottingham Forest, in place of the injured Liam Thompson, and Callum Elder coming in for Eiran Cashin after the 21 year-old’s move away from Pride Park collapsed on deadline day.
Bolton dominated the ball with nearly 90 percent possession in the opening five minutes. An early indication of how they would look to play.
Jake Rooney went down injured after 12 minutes, and was stretchered off a couple of minutes later, after receiving some treatment. It ‘looks a pretty severe injury’ according to Rams boss Paul Warne.
Sonny Bradley came on in his place and Derby shifted to a 3-5-2, matching Bolton, with Elder and Mendez-Laing playing as wing backs. Hourihane and Smith sat deep in midfield, with Fornah supporting the front two of Washington and Waghorn.
Derby had to deal with pressure from the hosts, managed by former Ram Ian Evatt, Wildsmith had to make a save, before Josh Dacres-Cogley’s effort hit the bar and went over.
The Rams had a better spell in the five minutes to the half hour, starting to get a foothold in the game. A penalty shout was ignored in the 30th minute, Hourihane’s corner swung in to Nelson at the back post, his header going out for another corner despite handball claims.
This time Derby rushed in from the edge of the box in a last minute change to their set piece routine, having had six players in the six yard box. The keeper parried it to Washington, who found the back of the net from incredibly close range. However, the referee had already blown his whistle, and gave a penalty for a foul by Adeboyejo on Callum Elder at the front post. Captain Conor Hourihane converted the spot kick to give the Rams the lead with eleven minutes of the first half to play.
Warne’s side then attempted to frustrate Bolton and see out the half, but a lapse in concentration from Korey Smith saw him take Sheehan out with a late tackle. Smith received a fair booking, and Bolton had a penalty of their own, which Dion Charles scored to equalise. Bolton went in at half time deservedly level on the balance of play.
The Rams got off to an awful start in the second half Joe Wildsmith getting sent off just three minutes after the restart. Bradley’s miscued back pass let Bolton in and Wildsmith made a save before rushing out of goal and dispossessing Adeboyejo, who the ball had fallen to, with a slide tackle. Dion Charles had a shot from distance on the follow up which Wildsmith saved with his hand according to the referee, whilst outside the box, resulting in him seeing red. Conor Washington was the player brought off so that Josh Vickers could replace Wildsmith in goal, making his league debut.
Referee Craig Breakspear failed to award Derby another penalty in the 62nd minute after Victor Adeboyejo committed a blatant foul on Sonny Bradley from a Derby corner, leaving the defender in disbelief.
And just four minutes later, Bolton took the lead. Josh Dacres-Cogley’s cross from the right deflected into the top corner off Tyrese Fornah, making his first start since his move from Nottingham Forest. An unfortunate own goal considering the ball looked like it was going to sail over the bar until it looped over Josh Vickers.
The Rams claimed for a penalty once more when Nathaniel Mendez-Laing was brought down later on, leaving them disappointed once more as they looked to square the game. They had a couple of late chances but never truly looked like getting back into the game.
We often hear that sport is defined by moments, and as well as unforced errors, there were some surprising, maybe even freakish ones in this match. The penalty given away by Korey Smith was poor, simply put, as was Sonny Bradley’s backpass and Joe Wildsmith’s subsequent use of his hands out side of the box. However the referee didn’t have a great game and the injury to Jake Rooney, was very unlucky, as was the deflection off Fornah for what would be Bolton’s winner.
A huge concern for Paul Warne will surely be the injury list. On top of Joe Ward, Kane Wilson and Max Bird who all picked up injuries against Oxford and will be out for a number of weeks, Liam Thompson got injured in training in the week, and will be greatly missed. Warne called his drive and energy “essential” speaking to BBC Radio Derby after today’s game. Jake Rooney is now another youngster who was being given a run of games and impressing in the absence of the three aforementioned players. On top of that, Louie Sibley is still out, but should be back fairly soon.
Derby’s next game is at home to Portsmouth on Saturday, September 16, giving them two weeks to work on things in training, and time for new signing Elliot Embleton, who joined on a season long loan from Sunderland on deadline day, to build his fitness having not played since December. They sit tenth in the League One table with nine points, Bolton are now second, on 13 points, and next opponents Portsmouth are fifth, with 12 points.
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