It wasn’t a red – Peter Atherton disagrees with dismissal in Bolton draw

Posted Sunday, February 11, 2024 by PA

Bolton assistant boss Peter Atherton felt a point was the least his side deserved after they fought back with 10 men to draw 1-1 against Northampton.

Kieron Bowie gave the Cobblers an early lead and things turned from bad to worse for the Trotters when midfielder George Thomason was dismissed after just 28 minutes.

However, despite also seeing manager Ian Evatt sent off for an incident at half-time, Bolton rallied well in the second half and rescued a point thanks to Carlos Mendes Gomes’ late header.

On the red card, Atherton said: “I didn’t see the incident from my seat at the time but I’ve watched it back and I don’t think it’s a red card. I spoke to the fourth official and he didn’t think it was a red card either.

“I don’t know if we will appeal. That will be up to the gaffer and the club but we responded really well in the second half.

“We didn’t start the game well, we all know that, but we reacted brilliantly and to dominate the second half like we did, and get a point, it shows big character from the players.

“We’re no fools, we knew what we would be come up against when we turned up and we spoke to the players about that but we just didn’t start the game well and it grew from that.

“The red card makes it a big uphill challenge but we made the tactical decision to change formation at half-time and I thought we took the game to them in the second half and dominated the ball.

“We fully deserved at least a point and we’re delighted to come away with something.”

Northampton boss Jon Brady admitted he had mixed emotions.

“It’s a bit bittersweet really because we feel like we should have won the game,” he said.

“But we had spoken to the players about us representing ourselves better because we were disappointed with our last couple of performances.

“Today we were back to representing our normal selves and playing more like what the fans are used to and I felt that was really important.

“I thought the way we set up structurally was really good and it worked in that first half and that’s down to the players and their attitude.

“Even with 10 men, Bolton have so much quality – you only have to look at the players they brought on and they could be a Championship club by the end of the season.

“We went toe to toe with them and the game ebbed and flowed in the second half but I think we have to see it as a good point.”