Bolton were made to work hard for their 3-1 victory over Longridge Town in the first of their pre-season friendlies but three second half goals proved decisive.
At the beginning of June I began covering the Euros and here I am 24 hours before England play Italy in the final of that competition at The Mike Riding Ground for a pre-season friendly between Longridge Town and Bolton.
A culture shock you might say from international games to teams from League One and the non-league North West Counties Football League. I would disagree.
The one big advantage the MRG has over all the UEFA venues is that I'm allowed to attend in person and not cover games from the television because of restricted media access due to covid. The TV is great for detail but actually being at a game gives you the bigger picture and the atmosphere.
And I'm not the only one who feels this way about attending live games as despite the reduced capacity of 625, again because of the pandemic, all tickets for the game sold out. And this despite fans having to show on the day proof of a negative test for the coronavirus.
It will be the first time Bolton fans have seen their team play since March 2020.
For Longridge of the NWCL Premier Division it's also a celebration of their 25th anniversary and boss Lee Ashcroft was looking forward to locking horns with his Bolton counterpart Ian Evatt who had promised to bring his first team for this pre-season encounter.
Ashcroft half jokingly suggested it would be the ideal opportunity to test his teams defensive strengths as the newly promoted League One side would likely dominate possession.
And that was how it panned out with Bolton enjoying the majority of possession but failing to take their chances although Edin Doyle had his effort disallowed just before the break for offside. George Thomason, Josh Sheehan, Ronan Darcy, Nathan Delfouneso all missed good opportunities or found Ridge keeper Lee Dovey in fine form.
Then, on 18 minutes with their one attack of the first half Longridge took a shock lead totally against the run of play. Jordan Southworth crossed from the left and the unmarked Arek Pociask headed home.
The one way traffic continued in the second period with again poor finishing and the hosts keeper proving an obstacle to the visitors but Longridge's dogged resistance was finally broken on 70 minutes with a close range side foot finish from Harry Brocklebank.
Ten minutes later and Bolton's constant pressure brought them a second goal as Bakayoko headed the Wanderers ahead. The same player almost immediately was clean through but his fierce shot hit the post.
The scoreline finally reflected Bolton's dominance as in the final minute Ronan Darcy made it three.
Full Time
Longridge Town: 1 (Pociask 18)
Bolton: 3 (Brocklebank 70, Bakayoko 80, Darcy 90)
Venue: The Mike Riding Ground
