Encased in a stadium with no clock, watching a one-sided game that had been grossly disfigured by new rules on stoppages, it was easy to allow one’s thoughts to wonder on what we were watching and what it all meant.
Was this a Bolton Wanderers team of such quality they had just torn to pieces one of the so-called promotion dark horses in League One? Or had Ian Evatt’s side simply dismantled the bang average bunch in front of them with minimal fuss and played out nearly half an hour like a training exercise?
Are we watching a group of players who are primed for promotion? Or can we make any judgements based on the ease with which they took three points from an opponent decidedly more Imp-otent than Imp-ish?
History has taught us not to get too excited on the opening day. Owen Coyle’s Premier League team of 2011/12 ripped Neil Warnock’s QPR a new one at Loftus Road on an afternoon where anything looked possible. We all know how that season panned out.
But equally, if any group of fans should be entitled to dream a little, then it is the lads and lasses who have followed Bolton in the years since. Outsiders are now taking notice and talking about Evatt’s side in glowing terms, and even if an in-built air of Lancastrian pragmatism prevents some from getting too giddy, the division looks as open as it has for ages. If Wanderers cannot lead from the front this year, then when will they?
The blueprint on how to frustrate Bolton and negate their possession football was readily shared among opposition sides last season. Low blocks were discussed ad nauseum, and Evatt struggled to shake-off the notion that his players could be ‘roughed up’ by the lesser lights.
Lincoln had perfected the art of protecting a point, drawing 20 of their 46 games last term, so this fixture looked immediately like a good barometer to measure how far Wanderers had come and whether they had learned any new coping mechanisms over the summer.
Just four minutes in, Jack Iredale gave us a quick answer. Climbing with perfect timing to head home Aaron Morley’s corner, his first goal for the club was actually a carbon copy of one he had scored at Lostock the day before.
The Australian defender – fit again after missing four months of last season with a knee injury – looked somewhat shocked to see the ball hit the back of the net. But that early goal eliminated any nervousness and ensured that Bolton could keep a possession chokehold on their opponents from there on in.
Nathan Baxter, Bolton’s new number one, could hardly have wished for a more comfortable debut. But for a couple of pot-shots from distance, his only involvement was to join in with his centre-backs in the now-familiar passing traps designed to draw out a deep-set opponent.
Josh Dacres-Cogley also made his first start on the right. Building on a good pre-season, the former Birmingham City man and his opposite wing-back Randell Williams featured heavily as Wanderers looked to play as wide as possible to stretch out the spaces. And with that being the case, midfielders needed to be positive on the ball to keep the Whites moving forward.
Josh Sheehan, Kyle Dempsey and Aaron Morley did just that, particularly in the first 20 minutes of the second half when Lincoln’s scant resistance had all but disappeared.
As ever, there was concern that Bolton’s intricate approach was… too intricate. You only need to hear the subtle groans and moans of the crowd when Ricardo Santos puts his foot on the ball, waiting for an available pass, to know that the expansive style is not for everyone. Nevertheless, there was enough flecks of excitement created by busy bees like Dempsey, Dion Charles and the rampaging wing-backs to keep the game the right side of watchable.
Wanderers had eight shots at goal in the first 45 minutes but only Iredale’s header had hit the target. Williams should probably have doubled the lead when he got on the end of Dacres-Cogley’s deep cross but got under the ball and sent his own effort way over the bar.
After the interval, Bolton briefly slipped out of cruise control to ensure the game was won, playing some delightful football in the process.
Charles went close with a volley after some cheeky ball-juggling and Morley had a couple of efforts which had former loan keeper Lukas Jensen worried.
Lincoln were being repeatedly opened up down the left, where Williams looked to be revelling, and at that point few would have reckoned on the second goal coming from a set play.
Aptly, it was Williams who whipped the ball in for Victor Adeboyejo to get ahead of his marker and nod the ball into the net.
A goal on the opening day will do the Nigerian striker’s confidence no harm whatsoever, especially as he leads a queue of January signings who seemingly have something to prove to the patrons.
There was no way back at that point for Lincoln and Bolton could easily have declared on two. Nobody told sub George Thomason, however, and after racing on to the pitch to replace Josh Sheehan and screaming for his defenders to give him the ball he released a sensational looping pass to free Dempsey on the left – his low cross eventually prodded into his own net by hapless defender Paudie O’Connor, one of a few Imps who were delighted to climb back aboard the team bus on Saturday evening.
More substitutions followed and with referee Will Finnie adding on every second he possibly could, there was a curious mood which swept around the supporters as 5pm ticked by and their team was still playing keep-ball.
Evatt was annoyed – if that is not too strong a word after a 3-0 whitewash – that Wanderers did not go and get more goals. And in truth, had they pushed harder the scoreline might have been as convincing as that at Oakwell, where play-off foes Barnsley rattled seven past Port Vale.
The new time rules add an extra dimension, particularly for substitutes entering play in the second half, and if this straightforward game against Lincoln can last 106 minutes, who knows what time the final whistle might blow against the likes of Cheltenham, Fleetwood and Burton?
All those added minutes might mean more time to reflect and absorb a season which has made a promising start. And on this evidence, that might not be a bad thing at all.