Trotters denied by Latics spirit

CAN'T MISS . . . Lee Erwin smashes home Athletic's winner against Bolton

IN part three of the series on current boss John Sheridan's most memorable games in charge, Athletic writer Matt Chambers focuses on last season's 1-0 defeat of Bolton Wanderers.

Although Bolton went on to win promotion from Sky Bet League One, Athletic's victory at SportsDirect.com Park was another step towards staving off relegation.

ATHLETIC 1, BOLTON 0

"IT was a tremendous effort from the players. We didn't play great, but we don't half dig in.

"I give myself a pat on the back. We went with two up front with 10 men and caused them problems. I would rather try to win the game and get three points than scrape to a draw" - John Sheridan, April 15, 2017

A TOTAL of 4,303 Bolton fans rocked up, expecting to see their side take a stranglehold on automatic promotion.

Instead, Athletic rolled up their sleeves, disregarded the fact they had been reduced to 10 men and won a famous victory thanks to Lee Erwin's goal.

Michael Ngoo saw red for a 64th foul that had his manager fuming.

But Sheridan, and Athletic, stuck to the task, seeing off a Trotters side managed by Phil Parkinson who would have expected better.

Athletic bravely kept two up front even when a man down and Tope Obadeyi's probing led to the hosts taking the lead in the 76th minute. The winger's cross was heading for an empty net when it rebounded off the legs of Bolton midfielder Jay Spearing, with Erwin smashing home to make sure from close range.

The victory - which came on the back of a 2-0 win over promotion rivals Fleetwood the previous week - boosted Athletic's standing to six points clear of the relegation zone with only three matches left to play and realistically ensured safety from the drop.