Bolton Wanderers made it two wins out of two in pre-season so far with a triumph over Chorley.
Wanderers were in action yesterday afternoon against the National League North side for their second pre-season friendly. They travelled to Victory Park on the back of a 9-0 win over Longridge Town on Tuesday evening.
They went in 2-0 up at the break thanks to goals from Dion Charles and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson. Elias Kachunga added a third after the break before Connor Hall grabbed one back for the Magpies before full-time in a 3-1 victory.
READ MORE:'Frustrated' - Ian Evatt's frank verdict on Bolton Wanderers win over Chorley & 'Amazonian' pitch
Here, we analyse the pre-season run-out from a Wanderers perspective and pick out the ups and downs from the win at Victory Park.
Ups
Charles looking sharp
The first half was barely two minutes old before Wanderers took the lead and it was a familiar name on the scoresheet. Charles swivelled in the box and buried into the bottom left hand corner with a sublime finish.
That goal is the fourth strike the Northern Ireland international has grabbed in two pre-season games. He bagged a hat trick in the first match of pre-season in the 9-0 win over Longridge Town.
Charles looks like he has carried on from how he ended last season against Fleetwood Town and was his typical tenacious self out of possession and showed quality when the opportunity presented itself. It could be a very exciting campaign indeed for the Wanderers number 10 if this form maintains after starting pre-season on fire.
Another win and different goal types
Wanderers have a busy pre-season schedule in front of them with several more games yet to be played. The next comes on Tuesday with a behind closed doors clash against Stockport County.
But so far, Wanderers have won two out of two in pre-season and carried on the positive momentum they ended last season upon, Though they have conceded their first goal of pre-season, they have scored 12 and look vibrant and threatening in front of goal.
They also won with two goals from crosses or set pieces courtesy of headers from Bodvarsson and Kachunga. These type of strikes have been goals which Evatt's side has perhaps needed to score more of in the past, and they are certainly doing that now.
Morley grabs two assists
Aaron Morley is looking like a shrewd and great investment from the January transfer window. He demonstrated that often with his range of passing in particular in the second half of last season.
The former Rochdale midfielder grabbed four assists last season for Wanderers after his mid-season switch. After two games of admittedly pre-season, he is already close to that number with three.
Adding to his one versus Longridge Town, he set up Charles and Bodvarsson, the latter of which with a sublime cross. Morley was one of the big positives from Victory Park as he continued his promising pre-season showing.
Downs
Second half showing and fatigue on difficult pitch
Wanderers continued the policy so far this pre-season of changing teams completely for the second half of their encounters. The Whites were two goals to the good and had been well worth their lead going into half-time.
But the team which took to the pitch in the second half struggled to make many inroads into the final third and looked fatigued. Evatt admitted that was the case after three sessions being done on Friday, but insists that will benefit them in the long run.
The pitch did not aid Wanderers' slick passing game either, with longer grass than would normally be expected which had not been watered not making it the easiest surface to play their style of play on. It was not the finest half of football from Wanderers so far this pre-season, but there are certainly mitigating circumstances for it at least.
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