Liverpool loanee hailed for striking “almighty fear” into opponent after goal No. 6

December 18, 2022
Joanna Durkan

Frozen pitches denied a number of Liverpool loanees action over the weekend but it failed to stop Conor Bradley, who scored his sixth goal of the season for Bolton.

It’s been quite the productive loan for Bradley so far, quickly establishing himself as a reliable figure for Bolton in League One.

In midweek, he scored a goal and provided an assist in an EFL Trophy win against Man United, and he followed it up with another strike as Bolton returned to winning ways in the league on Saturday.

Bradley, in his 21st start of the season, got the Trotters off to the perfect start having been alive to the ball as Dion Charles tried to get it under control in the penalty area.

After falling to the 19-year-old, he was quick to fire off a first-time finish through the legs of goalkeeper Jamal Blackman before wheeling away to the corner flag as he celebrated making it 1-0.

That makes it six goals and five assists in 26 games for Bradley, who Bolton News described as a “class act” after striking “almighty fear into Exeter hearts” with every foray forward over the weekend.

Bradley could have even had another goal, only for his close-range header to be directed agonisingly wide of the upright, it was begging to be finished.

Charles went on to wrap up the win after 26 minutes for Bolton and with three points in the bag, Owen Beck came on for the last 11 minutes for his fourth league appearance of the season.

Over in the Championship, Tyler Morton played 90 minutes for the tenth successive time in the league, at the base of Blackburn’s midfield, as they collected three points at Norwich.

The 20-year-old was not credited with an assist, but it was his lofted free-kick after just four minutes that led to Ben Gibson turning the ball into his own net.

Tyrhys Dolan made sure of the result late on, scoring to seal a 2-0 win to ensure Blackburn closed out the day third in the table, eight points behind leaders Burnley.

Morton was handed a rating of seven out of 10 by LancsLive after “working hard in central midfield,” but it was noted that “there are still times when he is caught spending too long in possession.”

Elsewhere, Rhys Williams started his third successive game for Blackpool in a 1-1 draw with Cardiff, while Leighton Clarkson featured for 76 minutes in Aberdeen’s narrow 1-0 defeat to Celtic.