Welcome back to Last Word On Football’s League One review. This week saw one of the youngest sides in EFL history take to the field and put in a stunning display of resilience, while one team finally got their season underway after a week’s delay.
EFL League One Review
Bolton’s Boys Fight Until the End
After all of Bolton Wanderers’ senior players declared themselves unavailable for selection due to the club’s ongoing issues, Phil Parkinson was made to field a side with an average age of just 19. James Weir was the oldest at 24, while there were three 16-year-olds on the bench.
Opponents Coventry City actually found the net three times in this game but all were ruled out for offside, meaning Bolton held on for a point. It does little to change the position they’re in, and they still sit in the bottom two on minus points, but the fact they were able to field a team in such adversity and fight to gain a point shows that they’re not going to go down lightly this season.
They were greeted to rapturous applause when they entered the pitch and received the same reception when they left. The fans, and Parkinson himself, are well on the side of the players.
?”Mr. Bassini, leave us alone, please leave this great club alone to get on with building its future”#BWFC boss Phil Parkinson on @BBCRadioManc pic.twitter.com/WCxHbv4o7V
— BBC RM Sport (@BBCRMsport) August 10, 2019
Healey’s Heroics Enough for Dons
Rhys Healey scored a 93rd-minute winner for MK Dons as they finally got their season underway at home to Shrewsbury Town. Paul Tisdale’s side were due to play Bury last week but saw the game suspended, so they kicked off their season against Sam Rickett’s Shrewsbury instead.
A game of few chances saw former Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Dave Edwards come the closest when his wonderful volley was tipped aside by Lee Nicholls, but the defining moment came right at the death.
Ben Reeves, making his second debut for the club, played in Healey, who was doing the same, and his curling shot was diverted past Max O’Leary by defender Ethan Ebanks-Landell to finally break the deadlock and get the Dons off the mark.
How Did We Do?
Each week we take a crack at predicting the results of each match. How did we get on this opening weekend? Actual results are shown in bold whereas our predictions are in italics.
Accrington Stanley P-P Bury – No prediction made
Bolton Wanderers 0-0 Coventry City – Bolton Wanderers 0-2 Coventry City
Bristol Rovers 0-0 Wycombe Wanderers – Bristol Rovers 1-0 Wycombe Wanderers
Fleetwood Town 2-0 AFC Wimbledon – Fleetwood Town 2-1 AFC Wimbledon
Gillingham 1-2 Burton Albion – Gillingham 1-2 Burton Albion
Ipswich Town 1-1 Sunderland – Ipswich Town 2-1 Sunderland
MK Dons 1-0 Shrewsbury Town – MK Dons 1-1 Shrewsbury Town
Oxford United 1-0 Peterborough United – Oxford United 1-3 Peterborough United
Portsmouth 2-0 Tranmere Rovers – Portsmouth 2-0 Tranmere Rovers
Rochdale 1-1 Doncaster Rovers – Rochdale 1-2 Doncaster Rovers
Rotherham 0-2 Lincoln City – Rotherham United 1-0 Lincoln City
Southend United 1-3 Blackpool – Southend United 0-2 Blackpool
Two correct results! We’ll aim for some more next week.
Up Next
Games to take place on Saturday, August 17. 3:00 kick-offs unless otherwise stated.
Sunderland v Portsmouth – 12:30 kick-off
AFC Wimbledon v Accrington Stanley
Blackpool v Oxford United
Burton Albion v Rotherham United
Bury v Gillingham
Coventry City v Bristol Rovers
Doncaster Rovers v Fleetwood Town
Lincoln City v Southend United
Peterborough United v Ipswich Town
Shrewsbury Town v Rochdale
Tranmere Rovers v Bolton Wanderers
Wycombe Wanderers v MK Dons
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