Bolton have now scored 13 goals beyond the 90th minute this season, leading to a net increase in 28 points. And Ibbi Cissoko’s superb curling effort in the 101st minute against the Terriers might just have been the most dramatic of the lot.
“It’s never boring, always eventful,” Schumacher said, having seen his side battle back from 3-1 down after Jordi Osei-Tutu’s red card.
“We always make life hard for ourselves. We play nice footy sometimes, we make mistakes too often, but what no-one can angle against our team is that they don’t try.
“This season has been incredible, they never give up. The amount of late goals that we score is not a coincidence, I say it all the time, fitness levels, spirit, togetherness, and then when you’ve got quality in the squad, you’ve always got a chance.
“I’m delighted that we managed to get a result from a game I felt we deserved to get a result from.”
Wanderers made a fine start when Eoin Toal headed home a Ruben Rodrigues corner and should have been further ahead at the break,
Huddersfield levelled through David Kasumu and moments later earned a penalty, converted by Marcus Harness, which also led to Osei-Tutu’s red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity as he pulled back Kasumu at the far post.
Asked about the decision, Schumacher said: “Well, if the referee is going to give it as a foul, then he probably hasn’t got an option, but I’m not sure it’s a foul. I think Jordi makes contact with him on the penalty spot, and the lad falls five or six yards further forward.
“I don’t think he’s getting there, I don’t think he’s getting to the ball, so I’ll have to watch it back on a TV angle, because that’ll make it a bit clearer, but my initial reaction I thought was a little bit harsh.”
Wanderers will celebrate grabbing a point with 10 men but Schumacher also felt moments of disappointment in the second half because his side should have been further ahead.
“I was thinking on the touchline: ‘This is a game that’s got away from us,’ because we should have been out of sight again.
“We played really well in the first half, we scored the goal, got ourselves ahead, should have scored more, we should have done better on the turnover, chances that we had on the transition moments, we were a bit scruffy.
“That’s what we said at half-time, we just didn’t play the pass in the right area, therefore we didn’t get enough.
“But then we still had two big chances, Sam Dalby had two chances that did in the form he has been in you would expect him to tuck away.
“And I think we had 14 shots in the first half, compared to their two, so we were well on top, and we should have been ahead by more than one. And then in the second half we had the biggest chance before they equalised when Sam goes through again, and we don’t score.
“And then what I’m saying about getting away from us, is that we concede a scruffy goal from a set-piece, it bounces around, could have gone anywhere, it fell to them.
“And then the second goal is a lack of concentration, we went off-script and didn’t press the way we needed to press, and that left a bit of space for them to get in down the sides.
“The red card comes along, and then the third goal, we should clear it better, George Johnston has made a mistake, it goes under his foot, it takes a big deflection and you think: ‘Oh no, it’s game over!” But as we’ve proved so many times, it’s never over until it’s over. Fair play to them.”
Asked if he had ever experienced a season with quite so much late drama, Schumacher added: “I don’t think so, not for numbers, no. The team that we won the league with, Plymouth Argyle, was a similar attitude.
“I think you need that if you want to get promoted. Never say die, always keep going until the end, trying to show quality and energy, we had that down there, we’re certainly trying to build that here.
“The players have shown time and time again that they don’t give up, and when you’ve got players like Johnny Kenny, Amario, Ibs, who scored the equaliser today, who have got that moment of magic in them, you’ve always got a chance.”