Bolton Wanderers Reserve beat Millwall U21 3:0 in the Professional Development League on Tuesday afternoon. The visitors moved clear at the top of the table while the hosts remain winless in their opening three fixtures. By then the result felt inevitable given where both sides had been heading all season.
The opening goal came in the twenty-first minute, a quiet start that nonetheless shifted the balance of the game. Millwall U21 had looked decent enough in training but played the second half a man up was what their manager would have to explain later. The visitors took their chance and never looked back.
D. Lawrence added a penalty in the sixty-sixth minute to double the advantage. He has been reliable from the spot this campaign and ended a barren spell with that spot-kick. Millwall U21 could not recover after conceding so early and so often.
M. Lott secured the victory with a goal in the ninetieth minute. The hosts had been second to everything throughout and this result left them three points adrift of safety if you count the points they have yet to earn. And here's the thing — matches like this are not won on talent alone.
Bolton Wanderers Reserve sit first with twelve points from four games. They have won every match so far and the table is not going to change overnight. Millwall U21, meanwhile, remain seventeenth with zero points after three defeats.
The hosts have lost their last three league games — 0:1 at Fleetwood Town, 2:4 against Huddersfield Town, and 0:2 at Brighton. Only the April victory over Coventry City U21 offers any comfort. Bolton, on the other hand, showed resilience in their 1:1 draw with Southampton U21 last time out before this clean sheet.