Bolton vs Aston Villa: Wanderers relegated to League One drawing end to dismal season

A bleak campaign on and off the pitch has ended in relegation after a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa

Tom Kershaw
Friday 19 April 2019 16:46 BST
Comments
Phil Parkinson watches on as his side suffer a fifth defeat in six games
Phil Parkinson watches on as his side suffer a fifth defeat in six games (Action Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Bolton’s dismal season on and off the pitch was brought to a listless end as Phil Parkinson’s side lost 2-0 to Aston Villa, ensuring their relegation to League One.

Financial difficulties have constantly marred Bolton’s campaign with the squad striking earlier this month after receiving their wages late for the second successive month.

Former Watford owner Laurence Bassini announced that he had agreed a deal to buy the club from Ken Anderson on Thursday, after the club endured a six winding-up petition in 16 months.

Performances on the pitch have failed to bring any light to the club, having lost five of their last six games, with second-half goals from Jack Grealish and Tammy Abraham condemning their long-anticipated fate this afternoon.

Defeat left Bolton 11 points adrift of 17th placed Millwall with only three games to play, and they will now join Ispwich in League One next season.

The players are still yet to receive their wages for March, as the club await the English Football League’s ratification of the “11th hour” takeover deal that saved Bolton from plunging into administration.

Villa dominated the match, having 21 shots to Bolton’s six, before two second-half goals sealed the routine victory and compounded Bolton’s misery by setting a new club record of 27 league defeats in a single season.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in