Bolton 2-1 Rotherham: Neil Lennon and Neil Redfearn reaction
Saturday 6 February 2016 19:09, UK
Bolton manager Neil Lennon believes his side are building the momentum to beat the drop in the Sky Bet Championship after beating Rotherham 2-1 on Saturday afternoon.
Kaiyne Woolery chose the perfect time to score his first career goal as he struck in injury time to deliver three precious points to the Trotters, which moves them to within a win of safety.
That was an unlikely scenario as a 4-0 defeat in the reverse fixture on Boxing Day left them eight points adrift, but in the midst of crippling off-field issues, the bid for survival is well and truly on.
"It's a great win and a really important win and it keeps us in touch now with some difficult games to come," Lennon said.
"I'm delighted, I don't think we played particularly well. We have played better and lost games so I guess we were due one.
"That's seven points from nine and that's as much as anyone can have expected under the circumstances. We may fail and we may succeed but we have a fight on.
"I still think we have enough to get out of it, this little spell will give the players a boost and will restore the confidence. Hopefully it will give us a big boost and it's two massive home games with MK Dons and this one.
"Our form has been inconsistent to say the least so it's nice to find a bit of form going into the last few games."
It looked all set for a draw in wet and windy conditions in Lancashire as Jay Spearing's 65-second opener for Bolton was cancelled out by Chris Burke on the stroke of half-time.
Rotherham had a chance to take the lead but Andrew Shinnie missed a glaring opportunity on the hour to put his side ahead.
And Woolery's last-gasp action ensured it was another damaging loss for the visitors, coming just seven days after they were beaten at home to Charlton.
Boss Neil Redfearn said: "It was frustrating. We were the best side but if you missed gilt-edged chances, it always leaves you open.
"We should have had a point at least, this is the difference, we either win or we get beat. If we had drawn four or five more games we would be in a different position.
"It's a frustrating situation because we are playing well. I felt for them (the players) because they put a shift in and they deserved more than that today. It's tough to take because we deserved to win. We have to pick ourselves."
