Bolton make Papa John's Trophy history with dominant Wembley victory over Plymouth Argyle in front of 79,000 at Wembley; Kyle Dempsey, Dion Charles, Elias Kachunga and Gethin Jones sealed imperious victory for Ian Evatt's side
Sunday 2 April 2023 20:01, UK
Bolton hammered League One title hopefuls Plymouth 4-0 at Wembley to lift the Papa John's Trophy after a thoroughly one-sided final.
Two goals in the first 10 minutes from Kyle Dempsey and Dion Charles were Bolton's reward for a thunderous start to which Plymouth had no answer, before Elias Kachunga and Gethin Jones scored after the break to reflect the gulf between the sides on the day.
Sixteen points separate fifth-placed Wanderers from Argyle in the league, but Ian Evatt's side made a mockery of those standings by outclassing their high-flying opponents. They could have won by more but for some wayward finishing and a fine performance from goalkeeper Callum Burton.
A crowd of more than 79,000 - the highest at any ground in Europe this weekend - saw Bolton set a new record for the competition, becoming the first side ever to win by four goals in the final.
The opening goal came after only four minutes and could not have been simpler. Declan John's corner hung in the air and nobody in Argyle green picked up Dempsey, who stole in at the back and looped his header into the far corner.
Their second after 10 minutes encapsulated the breadth of Bolton's attacking threat and was brilliantly worked.
Kachunga carried the ball forward down the right and slipped it inside to Aaron Morley. The midfielder opened his body as if to shoot, but instead rolled it centrally to Charles who picked his spot and tucked it first-time past Burton.
Plymouth, who lost their lead at the top of League One to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, rallied, and threatened when Callum Wright broke and dragged his shot wide from 18 yards.
Yet defensively they could not live with Bolton, who nearly put themselves out of sight when Dempsey went in search of his second and his team's third only to be denied from close range by a last-ditch block.
Bolton were playing through the third-tier title chasers at will. Soon Dempsey again found himself clean through after Argyle dithered and lost possession in midfield. Again there was Burton to save his side's blushes and stop Wanderers from running away with the final.
Charles blasted over from a promising position in the 30th minute after Dempsey had weaved his way through and played a neat cutback.
Bolton were in total control at the break, and the game was effectively won three minutes after half-time and Plymouth were architects of their own downfall.
The ball was given away carelessly near the touchline and nobody in green had picked up the lurking Kachunga, leaving the Wanderers striker the simple task of advancing on Burton's goal and rolling it home for 3-0.
From there, things only got worse for Plymouth but simpler and simpler for Bolton. Their fourth summed up the afternoon for both sides, Jones watching a corner onto his forehead and nodding the ball home unmarked to compound Argyle's embarrassment.
With 25 minutes still to play it became an exercise in damage limitation for Steven Schumacher's side. That much at least they managed.
But this had been Bolton's day. Their supporters have reason to be confident of a return visit for the League One play-off final in May.
Bolton manager Ian Evatt: "I'm really proud of the players to perform like that on a big stage. It's incredible, they are certainly capable and it's a great credit to them to play with that freedom in a high-pressure game. We always want to start fast. The last couple of weeks I've really felt the group re-energised.
"The last two or three weeks the training has gone back to where I expected it to be. The standard has improved, the energy has improved and I think today has shown exactly what we're capable of when we put it all together.
"We've suffered against some of the top teams, we've lost out in the big moments, but today was the first time where we smelt blood and took the moments, took the chances and then grew even more from that and gained confidence."
Plymouth manager Steven Schumacher: "I'm obviously devastated with the outcome. I think congratulations is due to Bolton Wanderers. I think they were the better team and deserved to win the game.
"We also want to apologise to our fans who didn't want that to go like that. After the start to the game we had - 10 minutes in, 2-0 down from our own doing really, giving the ball away in two poor areas and they got punished."
