This Easter Monday, we welcome Scott Lindsey’s Crawley Town to Rodney Parade as we look to return to winning ways.
To help get you in the mood for Monday’s encounter, we’ve taken a look back at an Easter Monday treat from a few seasons ago: our 1-0 win against Bolton in 2021.
The 2020/21 season is a strange one to look back on. While it saw us finish in the play-off positions, there were still no fans in attendance at Rodney Parade, meaning that many of our brilliant performances, including this one, were watched from home.
One thing is for certain though, and that’s that Micheal Flynn’s team gave the viewers at home plenty to enjoy while they tucked into their Easter Eggs when we welcomed Bolton to South Wales in what a crunch encounter.
The visitors arrived at Rodney Parade in fine form. A 14-game unbeaten run, stretching all the way back to January, had seen them rise from 17th to 3rd, with automatic promotion now firmly within their grasp.
On the other hand, we come into the match off the back of a 3 game-losing run. Defeats at Barrow and Port Vale and at home to Leyton Orient had seen us slip from 4th to 7th, with Exeter breathing down our necks in the hunt for the play-offs.
The game got off to a quick start, with Bolton showcasing some of the quality that had led to their meteoric rise up the league. Eion Doyle, one of the division’s top scorers, fired a volley off the crossbar as they looked for an early opener.
At the other hand, Nicky Maynard nearly grabbed an early goal for us, forcing an acrobatic save out of veteran keeper Matt Gilks.
Bolton would then go on the offensive again, with Gethin Jones swinging in a dangerous ball to the back post, which Kieran Lee put inches wide.
The deadlock was broken in the 63rd minute. Josh Sheehan swung in a free-kick, which deflected goalwards and forced Gilks to make a brilliant save. The keeper could do nothing to stop Maynard from latching onto the follow-up, though, with the striker tapping home to give us the lead.
Nick Townsend was called into action right at the death, pulling off a brilliant fingertips save to deny Nathan Delfouneso.
The victory would move us three points clear in the play-off race, and while no fans were in attendance to see the win, it would have no doubt lifted spirits and ensured everyone had a brilliant Easter Monday.
You can secure your tickets for tomorrow's clash with Crawley Town at Rodney Parade by clicking HERE.