Bolton Wanderers 1
Stevenage 1
League (League One)

Match report written by Neil Metcalfe, The Comet

Stevenage brought the curtain down on their League One season with a draw away to Bolton Wanderers.

Josh Dacres-Cogley had fired the Trotters into the lead on 66 minute but an equaliser from Jake Young 10 minutes later ensured Boro ended with a 1-1 draw.

It was a thoroughly entertaining conclusion to the season, perhaps not always for the right reasons, but it at least sent Boro fans home with some pride.

There were four changes to the starting line-up from the 1-1 draw with Rotherham United on Sunday.

Louis Thompson and Lewis Freestone were both missing due to injuries picked up against the Millers, Elliott List and Kyle Edwards were pushed down to the bench.

Luther Wildin, Dan Sweeney, Louis Appere and Jordan Roberts came in while Brandon Hanlan joined youngster Ellis Bates on the bench.

If you wanted quality, this was not the game for you.

However, if you wanted plenty of goalmouth action and something that was so much fun to watch, boy were you in for a treat.

Bolton should have been 2-0 up inside four minutes.

A cross from the left 90 seconds in was pushed out by the diving Taye Ashby-Hammond and fell to the unmarked John McAtee.

He just had to slide the ball into the net from 10 yards, he slid it three yards wide of the post instead.

Then Szabi Schon ran in unmarked and he at least got his attempt on target only for Ashby-Hammond to shove down a right hand and block the attempt.

There was a third clear-cut opening for Bolton too on 17 minutes but after Aaron Collins came inside from the left, he somehow sliced it horribly wide.

In between Bolton cut Boro open at will, especially down the Boro right, but slowly Stevenage came back into it and ended up with more shots on target.

Jamie Reid had the best one as he checked inside after a run down the right but from the corner of the six-yard box he found keeper Luke Southwood out sharpish to make a fine block.

Reid then played Dab Butler in, making the wing-back work a little too much so his shot was blocked by a defender, and then Carl Piergianni headed wide from a Harvey White free-kick that was basically a short corner.

The best chance for Stevenage wasn't really a shot.

George Johnston and Sam Inwood got into a right muddle, bumping into each other, and when it was played back to the latter, he was met by the fast-closing Dan Phillips.

The hurried clearance thundered off the Boro man and was catapulted towards goal, missing by a foot or so with Southwood nowhere.

It was amazing that there had been no goals at the break and the feeling was that both managers would demand more better defensive performances in the second period.

And in the main, that's what was delivered, but there were still plenty of chances.

Both sides produced their best moves of the game in the first 10 minutes of the half.

Bolton had the first moving it left to right for Gethin Jones to fire low across the goal and wide, just missing out on being poked home in the middle.

Boro's move ended with Roberts slipping the ball down the right side of the box where Reid moved it into a yard of space.

The shot was probably curling wide but Southwood made sure by pushing it away from goal.

A substitution on the hour proved key to bringing about a break in the deadlock.

Josh Dacres-Cogley had been on for six minutes when he suddenly found himself on the right of the box and with the ball at his feet.

And in keeping with the entire game, there was a mixture of quality and calamity with what followed, his low shot well saved by the arm of Ashby-Hammond t first.

But as the ball moved away from goal it hit the rest of the falling keeper, bounced backwards and rolled just inside the near post.

However, Boro were to equalise 10 minutes when Young, one of their on substitutes, fired the ball into the roof of the net.

It had came from a deep cross from the left that Wildin kept alive with a header back across goal.

Both sides had chances to win it late on.

Ashby-Hammond made another good stop from Schon and from the resulting corner, David Abimbola headed over when unmarked.

The best chances belonged to Boro though.

First Young could not decide whether to shoot or pass and when he finally opted for the former, it was blocked by a defender.

The second though, a minute later, should have brought the three points.

Ellis Bates, brought on for his debut on 86 minutes, crossed low from the right and after hitting a few bodies, it ran to Phillips 12 yards out.

The contact was perfect but it flew over the bar.