Back when their club was on the precipice of oblivion only four years ago, Bolton’s supporters would never have envisaged so soon being in the luxurious position of bathing in Wembley sunshine, cheering every pass while watching their side romp to victory in a cup final.
Try telling the 34,000 who had travelled down from the North West that this was just the EFL Trophy. No football match in Europe drew a bigger crowd this weekend than the 79,389 who filled Wembley Stadium.
Chanting the name of the cult hero Ivan Campo, who was present here and happily signed autographs, they could allow themselves to definitively believe the bad times were behind them. It felt like the Bolton of old.
“I’m so proud that we’ve managed to do it for [the fans] because they’ve been through so much the last few years,” said the Bolton manager, Ian Evatt. “They almost lost their football club.
“When I first came here the club was completely broken. We needed a full reset from top to bottom. Along the way there’s been some pain and suffering, but that’s football.
“There’s a real connection again. There’s a trust, a belief and an honesty again. The fans have really bought into the club.”
Bolton’s turnaround from the brink of existence has been spectacular. Faced with total collapse in 2019, players went on strike, payments were withheld for weeks on end and so fraught was the situation that potable water was in short supply at the training ground of a club that had spent 11 seasons in the Premier League only a few years earlier.
Thankfully, a new owner, Football Ventures, was found in the nick of time and harmony again reigns. With the team fifth in League One, a return to Wembley for a playoff final next month remains the ambition.
That the scoreline ended 4-0 – the widest margin of victory in the history of the EFL Trophy final – was no more than Evatt’s side deserved, given the enormous gulf evident between the two sides on Sunday afternoon.
- Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for 'The Guardian'.
- If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.
- In the Guardian app, tap the Menu button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.
- Turn on sport notifications.
Where Bolton flourished, their opponents froze on the big stage. Making their first cup final appearance at Wembley, Plymouth resembled rabbits in headlights.
Their performance was exactly what their supporters might have dreaded when making the four-hour cross-country trek from Devon: players caught napping, possession ceded with alarming regularity and a total absence of the spark that has put them 16 points above Bolton in the League One table.
Yet as bad as Plymouth were, Bolton were every bit as brilliant – harrying, pressing and snarling at the slightest sight of the ball, and breaking with unstoppable intensity.
The rout began four minutes in, when the man of the match, Kyle Dempsey, peeled off the back of a five-strong Bolton train of players looking to attack Declan John’s outswinging corner and nodded powerfully back into the goal.
Six minutes later Bolton won the ball in their own half and surged with pace, Dempsey finding space to stride into the Plymouth penalty area and square to the totally unmarked Dion Charles, who could not fail to stroke the ball past Callum Burton.
Having watched Bolton spurn multiple further opportunities as the half wore on, the Plymouth manager, Steven Schumacher, attempted to act swiftly with a double change at half-time. It made no difference.
Only four minutes into the second half, more atrocious Argyle defending gifted Elias Kachunga the ball when clear through on goal, allowing him ample time to pick his spot and score Bolton’s third.
By the time Gethin Jones outmuscled his defender just after the hour to nod in from another Bolton corner, a fair portion of Plymouth supporters decided they had seen enough and began their long journey back to the West Country.
“We’re devastated with the outcome,” said Schumacher. “We won’t hide behind anything today. We didn’t deserve anything from the game. We’ve got to take it on the chin and own it.”
