Bolton relegated from the Championship as defeat to Aston Villa at home seals their fate

Bolton players look dejected - Bolton players were dejected post-match
Bolton players were dejected post-match Credit: Action Images
  • Bolton Wanderers 0 Aston Villa 2

Aston Villa gave Bolton Wanderers the nudge they needed to confirm relegation from the Championship.

Goals from Jack Grealish and Tammy Abraham were enough to inflict a 27th league defeat on Phil Parkinson’s side, a record in the club’s storied 145-year history.

Prospective new Bolton owner Laurence Bassini watched from the directors’ box for the first time, his takeover still subject to ratification from the EFL.

Manager Phil Parkinson looked back on a season of “chaos” under previous owner Ken Anderson and admitted the confirmation of relegation has come as a relief.

“To draw a line under this all is important now,” he said. “It has been chaos. A lot of damage has been done to the reputation of a great club and it’s vital now that we start to mend it.

“Relegation hurts, of course it does, but it has been inevitable for a couple of weeks now. What is important is that we pick the place back up and move forward again.”

Parkinson is unsure whether he will be given the chance to take Bolton back into the Championship.

“I think if I was on the outside looking in, I’d see my record of promotions from that division and think I was a good bet,” he said. “But I know the new owner may have his own ideas and I would have to discuss the matter with my family.”

Aston Villa failed to make their territorial dominance count for anything in the first half.

Anwar El Ghazi stabbed wastefully wide at the far post from Jack Grealish’s cross early on and debutant full-back Harry Brockbank cleared John McGinn’s header off the line.

Bolton offered little by way of a response, although a speculative blast from Clayton Donaldson did work Villa keeper Jed Steer just before half time.

The Lancashire club’s cause was not helped by the fact two of their most senior players, David Wheater and Gary O’Neil, were forced off the pitch through injury.

Jack Grealish scored the first - Jack Grealish scored the first
Jack Grealish scored the first Credit: Getty Images

Within two minutes of the restart, Grealish did get the ball rolling. Tammy Abraham’s in-swinging cross picked out his talismanic captain who then led the celebrations in front of 4,500 travelling fans.

The lead was doubled 10 minutes later when Grealish shuffled around Bolton keeper Ben Alnwick and clipped a cross back for Abraham to head home bravely. The striker’s 25th goal of the season came at a cost, however, and he quickly left the field nursing a shoulder injury.

Bolton, beaten and bowed, were resigned to their fate. Glenn Whelan came closest to a third, rifling a low shot just wide in the closing stages.

Villa’s play-off berth all-but confirmed, manager Dean Smith was proud to lead his club to a ninth successive victory – a club record feat set in 1910.

“No living person will have seen the last run so I am proud of the players,” he said. “Now we have to go all out and try and break the record on Monday against Millwall.

“We are very motivated to keep the run going and you could see that from the players. They were disappointed at half-time with how we were performing.

 “We want to keep the momentum. We have three regular league games to go so hopefully we can have a winning end to the season.”

Match details

Bolton: Alnwick; Brockbank, Hobbs, Wheater, Taylor; Williams, Connolly; Buckley, Connell, O’Neil; Donaldson
Subs: Beevers 36 (for Wheater), Magennis 45 (for O’Neil), Oztumer 80 (for Donaldson)
Not used: B Williams, Vela, Olkowski, Wildschut

Aston Villa: Steer; Elmohamady, Tuanzebe, Mings, Taylor; Whelan, McGinn, Grealish; Adomah, Abraham, El Ghazi.
Subs: Davis 60 (for Abraham), Hourihane 72 (for McGinn), Jedinak 73 (for Tuanzebe)
Not used: Bjarnasson, Green, Lansbury, Davis.

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