Bolton Wanderers narrowly lost out to Wigan Athletic in a behind closed doors pre-season friendly despite a positive performance.
Wanderers took on the Latics yesterday afternoon in a clash at Bolton's Lostock training ground. Leam Richardson's side won the contest 1-0.
Charlie Wyke's first half penalty proved to be decisive for the Latics after Elias Kachunga had missed an earlier spot kick for the Whites. Wanderers are next in action this Tuesday in another behind closed doors clash away to another Championship side in the form of Watford at the Hornets' London Colney training base.
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Here, we analyse the clash from a Wanderers perspective and pick out five things we noticed from the clash against the Latics.
Jack Iredale at wing-back
Summer signing Jack Iredale, so far the only permanent arrival this window, had previously lined up as part of the back three for Wanderers in pre-season. That position changed against Wigan.
Versus the Latics, Iredale shuffled across to the left wing-back role which is commonly taken by Declan John. The Welshman was on the bench and replaced Iredale after the hour mark.
It was Iredale's first time playing the position for Ian Evatt's side and there will clearly be an improvement in the role as time goes on and he gets more used to operating there in this team. For a first attempt though, this was not a bad audition at all and it seems Iredale will compete for a place in both the back three or in that wing-back role.
Ricardo Santos vs Charlie Wyke
Wanderers skipper Ricardo Santos had not quite hit the superlative heights in pre-season that had been expected of him thanks to his performances out on the pitch over the past couple of seasons.
The Bolton captain came up against a striker partnership of Stephen Humphries and Charlie Wyke against the Latics. Often he found himself up against the physical presence of Wyke, who it is fantastic to see back playing football again after collapsing during a training session last season.
Wyke is certainly a handful upfront, but Santos performed well against the physical presence that Wyke gives. The Wanderers skipper will no doubt come up against similar centre forwards at some points this season, and can use the lessons learned here to good use.
Poor penalty for Kachunga in otherwise good pre-season
Former Huddersfield Town and Sheffield Wednesday attacker Kachunga had a moment to forget against the Latics. He had just Ben Amos and a whole goal to aim at when he took the penalty kick which could have given Wanderers the lead.
Instead however, Kachunga contrived to blast the effort so high over the goal it hit some trees in behind the goal on the pitch Wanderers were playing on at the club's Lostock training ground. It was a moment to forget for the attacker.
This should not mask the positive pre-season Kachunga has had so far, though. He has found the back of the net three times so far and is second only to Dion Charles in the goalscoring charts in the build-up to the 2022/23 season and will be aiming to get back on the scoresheet versus Watford on Tuesday.
Positive performance in tight encounter
If Kachunga had put Wanderers ahead from the penalty spot, it would have been a deserved lead. Wanderers had looked the more threatening side before then.
It was a suckerpunch somewhat that Wanderers conceded a penalty at the other end not long after and one which looked a soft one at that. Wyke made no mistake from the spot and tucked it home confidently.
Wigan could not have complained had Wanderers got back into the encounter afterwards as the hosts continued to dominate the ball and the visitors tended to play on the break more often. Bearing in mind Wigan are now a Championship team, it is encouraging that despite the defeat, Wanderers could take several positives from their showing.
Pre-season steps up a notch
The first two games of pre-season were against the non-league outfits of Longridge Town and Chorley. Wanderers put nine past the Ridge, before beating the Magpies 3-1 on a poor playing surface.
The most recent games against Stockport County and the Latics, EFL opposition, have been clear step ups in the quality of opposition. A 2-2 draw against County and a slender 1-0 loss to Wigan have been the results.
Performances rather than results matter more in pre-season and, after a poor second half against Chorley, there has been a clear response with the showings against County and the Latics. Further tests against Watford, Carlisle United and Huddersfield Town in the weeks to come will give further step ups in preparation for the new League One season.
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