TEDDY SHARMAN-LOWE…6.

Back in the side with Miller out of the reckoning. One smart save in the second half but not much else to stretch him.

JOSH DACRES-COGLEY…5.5.

Looks like this will be the last appearance – and while there were the same issues with final pass and finish, he was solid enough.

CYRUS CHRISTIE…5.

Started to get a bit sloppy on the ball after being one of the central figures in the game for the first hour.

CHRIS FORINO…5.5.

Couple of untidy moments in the first half, generally solid. One of the only players who might have given Schumacher something to think about for Wigan.

RICHARD TAYLOR…2.

Unforgivable mistake on top of what had already been a very ordinary performance. Simply hasn’t shown anything to be included in the league squad to date.

AARON MORLEY…6.

Played on the right side of midfield and came up with a couple of quality deliveries. Had a good chance to score too. Perhaps worth persisting?

JOSH SHEEHAN…5.

Pretty subdued by his standards on the ball. Wanderers lacked any sort of zip going forward and Sheehan is usually the one who sets the tempo.

XAVIER SIMONS…5.5.

Tried to get forward and put one good ball in from the left which should have been punished. Failed to make any breakthrough in the second half.

THIERRY GALE…3.5.

Very messy. Two decent efforts at goal but guilty of overplaying on a few other occasions. Wanderers need more from him.

SAM DALBY…4.

Hardly got involved in the penalty box, which is where Bolton need him to function. Looks to be trying hard but nothing is coming off.

MARCUS FORSS…3.5.

Ran hard but for very little reward. Hard to recall a moment in the game where he was threatening the Port Vale goal.

Subs: Burstow 4, 63 (for Dalby) – Stepped straight into Dalby’s boots.

Dempsey 5, 63 (for Sheehan) – At least showed some scrap.

McAtee 4, 64 (for Forss) – One sprint to close down the keeper.

Cozier-Duberry 75 (for Dacres-Cogley), Erhahon 81 (for Simons)

Not used: Broome, Toal.

 

Port Vale (4-3-3): Amos; Lawrence-Gabriel, John, Humphreys, Headley; Crosdale, Ojo, Paton; Brown, Faal, Walters.

Subs: Gordon 46 (for Headley), Clark 46 (for Humphreys), Heneghan 46 (for Lawrence-Gabriel), Waine 60 (for Faal)

Not used: Hall, Marosi, Stockley

 

Referee: Jamie O’Connor 5/10 – Should he have given a penalty for the foul on Dempsey? Most people inside the stadium seemed to think so, but then Bolton don’t get many penalties.

Clamped down on most other stuff effectively enough but Schumacher will feel sore about the one big call in the game.

 

Attendance: 1,955

 

MAN OF THE MATCH – Aaron Morley

Hard to say that anyone emerged with great credit but moving Morley to the right side of midfield at least gave him a chance to use those passing skills to some effect.

There are a lot of folk predicting that he could be one of the players who chooses to move on this January but there may be a niche in this side yet.

 

MOAN OF THE MATCH

Taylor did not know where to hide himself after the goal – and rightly so. How Hall managed to catch up, then lever him off the ball is anyone’s guess but it really does not reflect on a player who just hasn’t got going at Bolton at all.

 

MAGIC MOMENT

Cyrus Christie’s pass for Dacres-Cogley’s second half chance was probably the best of the game. Slim pickings, though, it was a terrible game to watch.

 

ATMOSPHERE

Non-existent. One of the smallest crowds ever to assemble for a competitive game at this stadium but by the final whistle you could hear the frustration boiling over. Imagine that happening with 4,000 away fans on Saturday?