Upped our performance that second half. Ultimately dodgy defending and questionable refs denied us an unlikely recovery.
2 goals shouldn’t have stood in the first leg and cosgrove should have a had pen for carbon copy foul which was given as a pen for Bolton at the well
I don't think they did tbh. We were let off twice across the two legs, one header from a corner in the first leg and the "foul" on De Gevigny early on this game. Bolton were the better side in both games and while I'm chuffed we rallied near the end, I'm certain half of that was because Bolton switched off cos they thought the game was won.
The corner at the end of the first game was costly not so sure about the pen in the 11th minute. Game would have been different. Ultimately defeated by conceding at least 2 goals every game and taking it into the playoffs
It’s swings and roundabouts allegedly though. We’re well overdue a referee decision(s) that positively decides our season. However, we can’t defend like we have and expect to get promoted.
Their third goal in the first leg was an embarrassing failure of officiating. One player rugby tackled on the front post while another backed into the keeper.
Fate doesn't work like that though. If we were only one goal down from the first leg we don't put in the shift we did tonight. Take thi' medicine.
For the life of me I can't understand how Cosgrove didn't get that penalty. If the ref can see it then the linesman's view was perfect.
Lost because of the pigheaded insistence on having 11 back for corners including 10 in the 6 yard box because 'analytics'
I know it's biased of course, when I/we think we're being conned by the officials. But when near identical looking things in matches, get inconsistently dealt with, that's what angers me more. And I agree with the idea that tonight, might have had a lot to do with the first leg. If we'd beat them 1-0 on Friday for example, they might have thrashed us tonight. But... that doesn't take credit away from them, for coming out and winning that 2nd half.
Beaten by the Northampton equaliser on the last day. Get Oxford or Peterborough and I think we make the final. By conceding that goal so late we made the task so much harder. Heard that Oxford celebrated that Northampton goal like it was one of their own as it meant they avoided Bolton until the final.
Didn't we have everybody in the Bolton half just before they broke and Roberts had to make the save that led to the corner they scored from on Friday night? Was so naive to throw so many bodies forward, when given our home vs away record, a 2-1 defeat would've been an ok result.
Beaten because our defence is garbage. Bolton weren't any better than us over both games, even though the result says so.
It's easy to say that we were "let off" but over the 2 legs but we had gilt edge chances, Cosgrove's chested ball or the free headers and space Phillips found in the 1st, similar set piece fouls given in favour of Bolton for similar or softer contact, the hand on the shoulder from O'Keefe breaking into the box, Santos going down shoulder to shoulder with Jalo in the 1st leg and at the death yesterday O'Keefe being fell on by one of theirs which would have resulted in another corner if not blown for. As much as I hated hearing it from Collins, it kind of was fine margins coupled with a dose of switching off/poor decision making from players during key moments.
The Cosgrove chest one was a 5hit ball from Cole. He couldn't make his mind up and in the end neither crossed it or shot.
It was and partly a blocked view for Cosgrove meant he slightly over stepped had he arrived a split second later or cole made his mind up sooner he very well could have converted it but more to the point it's still similar scenarios to what sort of chances Bolton created