Kieran Sadlier scored a brilliant winner for Bolton away to Doncaster on Friday.
The former Ireland U21 international, who was playing at right wing-back, crept in at the back post and volleyed home a superb goal just a minute after Doncaster had equalised to make it 1-1. It was current Ireland underage international Mipo Odubeko, on loan from West Ham, who had equalised for Doncaster.
It was a big game for Sadlier. He spent a season-and-a-half at Doncaster after joining them from Cork City in January 2019. He left to join Rotherham in the summer of 2020, and moved to Bolton in January of his season.
Kieran Sadlier winner for Bolton vs Doncaster
Predictably, Sadlier was the subject of some jeering from the home crowd. Though, Bolton manager Ian Evatt felt he handled the situation well.
"What I’ve learnt in football is when opposition fans are giving you the bird, it normally means that you’re a very good player and they’re pretty scared that you’re coming back and doing the business and I think providing he does his talking with the football, which he did with that goal, then no problem," said Evatt.
"That’s the game. I’ve said many times that this is a game when you’re professional athletes or staff, you’re going to get stick and sometimes, providing it’s light hearted, it’s acceptable. It’s the nature of the beast, but when it goes personal and over the line, that’s when we’ll stand up, but I thought it was light hearted and you’re going to get some stick, but I thought he answered them the correct way.
"The reason we did buy him and got him in January was because he gives us that flexibility. He can play so many positions that we can move him and rotate him around the pitch as and when we see fit.
"We fluctuated second half between two systems. We started 3-5-2 and then we finished 4-2-3-1 and now we’ve got those types of players out there it gives us that flexibility at any point to just flick a switch and change it and they all know their roles.”
📽️ [𝗚𝗢𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗔𝗠] 🔴
💥 Goal number 12 for @bakayoko_a.
📮 Postage stamp finish by @KieranSadlier. #BWFC 🐘🏰 pic.twitter.com/1zhBLKFBXe— Bolton Wanderers (@OfficialBWFC) April 16, 2022
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