Town recorded their fifth successive home draw at the start of the season as Bolton Wanderers left Portman Road following a hard-fought 0-0 stalemate, despite having been a man down for 47 minutes. The Trotters lost Marc Wilson to a red card on 34 after he hauled down Kayden Jackson but the Blues only created one serious chance - a Luke Chambers header brilliantly saved by Ben Alnwick - having been reduced to 10 men themselves late on when Jon Walters suffered an injury with all three substitutions already having been made.

Toto Nsiala returned to the Town starting line-up following the completion of his three-game suspension for his red card at Sheffield Wednesday.

The former Shrewsbury man is started at the centre of the defence alongside skipper Luke Chambers with Matthew Pennington moving to right-back with Janoi Donacien dropping out.

The St Lucian was again the loanee to miss out on a place in the matchday squad - only five are permitted in the 18 - with former Jon Walters fit enough to take a place on the bench after his achilles injury.

Bolton made four changes to the team which lost 2-0 at Middlesbrough in midweek with Mark Beevers, David Wheater, Gary O'Neil and Josh Vela dropping out of the starting line-up in favour of Wilson, Erhun Oztumer, Will Buckley and Craig Noone.

Jason Lowe scraped a weak shot wide for Bolton after five minutes following a long throw in an opening 20 minutes of little penalty area action. Town had most of the ball but without creating an opportunity.

On 21 Wilson scuffed a volley wide at the far post from a Oztumer cross after a corner, but Town were in control of the game even if they’d not been able to test Bolton skipper and keeper Alnwick.

In the 29th minute Grant Ward was bundled over by Craig Noone just outside the area on the left and Gwion Edwards, who had already sent in a couple of potentially dangerous crosses from the right, hit a powerfully-struck freekick into Alnwick’s midriff.

The visitors were reduced to 10 men in the 34th minute when Wilson was shown a straight red card for denying Jackson an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

Ward did superbly on the left to bring the ball out of a tight area following a Bolton attack, then sent Jackson away with a superb pass. The pacy former Accrington man burst away beyond Wilson, who dragged him back as he broke towards the area with only Alnwick to beat.

Referee Stephen Martin immediately awarded a freekick - with Town making few protests that it was a penalty - then showed Wilson his red card to little complaint from the Trotters players.

As Ward prepared to take the freekick, which was deflected wide off the wall, Bolton boss Phil Parkinson swapped Oztumer for Wheater.

A minute before the break, Trevoh Chalobah was booked for a foul on Will Buckley with Town subsequently making heavy weather of clearing the danger from the freekick and subsequent corner.

Town had continued to enjoy a great deal of possession and had passed the ball around confidently, although largely in unthreatening areas but still without testing Alnwick.

Seconds before the whistle, Ward ended a long spell of Town passing by scraping a shot well wide.

It had been a first half of few incidents aside from Wilson’s red card, which looked the correct decision, the Ireland international had been caught out by Jackson’s blistering pace.

Neither keeper, however, had been forced to make a save in the entire 45 minutes in which Bolton perhaps had the better of the chances - or perhaps more accurately half-chances - with the Blues backline not always defending with confidence.

Chalobah was replaced by Tayo Edun ahead of the second half with the Blues starting on the front foot.

On 47 Pennington scuffed a shot wide from distance after an Edwards cross had been cleared, then Jon Nolan mishit a bouncing ball well wide from 25 yards out.

Town, with Edwards and Ward having swapped flanks, continued to dominate possession but struggled to find a way through the unsurprisingly deeply encamped 10 men of Bolton. In the 59th minute Nolan found some space to hit a shot but curled it well wide.

Five minutes later, Nolan crossed into the box after a corner had been cleared and Nsiala nodded over.

Despite having had all the ball in the second half the Blues were still to test Alnwick and on 71 manager Paul Hurst made a double change.

It was little surprise that Walters was added to the attack alongside Jackson with Jordan Graham joining him on the left of a four-man midfield with Ward and Cole Skuse making way.

Walters hadn’t had time to make any impact before he pulled up with what looked like a recurrence of the achilles injury which saw him miss Tuesday’s game against Brentford in the 81st minute as he chased a ball on the right of the area.

The clearly anguished Ireland international was treated on the pitch before eventually making his way around the peripherary to the tunnel alongside physio Matt Byard with the game now 10 versus 10.

Bolton suddenly saw the chance of what had looked an unlikely victory and the Blues found themselves under pressure for the first time. On 83 a loose ball fell to Wheater inside the Town box but Chambers slid in to block.

Three minutes later, the Blues went close as close as they would come to a goal. Graham’s freekick from the left was flicked on towards the top corner by Chambers but somehow Alnwick was able to get across to brilliantly paw it out for a corner.

Despite the numbers having been evened up the game had returned to the pattern from prior to Walters’s injury.

Edun was booked for a foul in injury time as Town kept pushing in the closing stages but without being able to find the goal which would bring them their first win of the season.

The final whistle was greeted by boos - brief but far louder than than those at half-time on Tuesday - and then muted applause as the players left the field.

Having played 47 minutes with an extra man Town missed a big opportunity to finally grab that elusive first win of the season.

The prodded and probed but only seriously threatened once when Alnwick superbly saved Chambers’s header.

In some ways Town might have been better off had Bolton not been reduced to 10 men, the Trotters having defended staunchly and in depth after the red card. A more open approach from the visitors with 11 players might have suited Town more.

The draw will up the already significant pressure on manager Hurst, despite the Blues having climbed a place off the bottom of the table on goal difference courtesy of Sheffield United’s 3-2 victory over Preston, former Blue David McGoldrick having scored the late winner.

Town have their next chance to finally end their winless run and reduce that pressure when they travel to Birmingham - who won 2-1 at Leeds today - next Saturday.

Town: Gerken, Pennington, Nsiala, Chambers (c), Knudsen, Skuse (Graham 71), Chalobah (Edun 46), Edwards, Ward (Walters 71), Nolan, Jackson. Unused: Bialkowski, Harrison, Spence, Downes.

Bolton: Alnwick (c), Olkowski, Hobbs, Wilson, Grounds, Williams, Lowe, Buckley (Wildschut 87), Noone (Donaldson 90), Oztumer (Wheater 36), Magennis. Unused: Matthews, Vela, Doidge, O’Neil. Referee: Stephen Martin (Staffordshire). Att: 14,755.

Photo: TWTD

warwickblue added 10:18 - Sep 23 Meanwhile the U18s bang in another five goals... And Hurst manages as if the Academy doesn't exist.
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happybeingblue added 10:46 - Sep 23 did we lose ? still unbeaten at home, no one has given us a hiding,not sure what fans expect tbh with our circumstances,i said at the start i would take 4th bottom and better football lots of fans still think we have a divine right to beat so called smaller teams in this league, based on what exactly? sunderland would rather be in our shoes i bet. we have had yrs of dross football and paul hurst is getting pelters after 5 unbeaten home games...rotherham beat derby last week and blackburn looking decent so get some perspective. ffs

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bluesince76 added 10:47 - Sep 23 Time to pull the plug on Hurst get Burley in now.
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Bluearmy_81 added 10:49 - Sep 23 "Bring back Jim magiltion should never have been sacked been going backwards ever since" Err since Evans then?? Yep. Shhhhh you can't state the blindingly obvious here and criticise the Messiah 'Mr fcuking Evans' though not allowed...
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GiveusaWave added 11:00 - Sep 23 One small positive...and it's very small. We are still in with a shout of getting out of the relegation zone...if we can string a couple of wins together. Many of these new players do seem very average and I share the concerns that many others have voiced. Weakest up front that I have ever seen us and little happening in midfield. Why on earth is Dozzell not in the starting 11? We do seem desperately poor this season and we have just got to hope that there are 3 teams even weaker than us come seasons end...

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Dissboyitfc added 11:08 - Sep 23 Happy being blue...... at the moment we are not 4th from bottom! If there are not signs of improvement by the end of October, i don't think Hurst is going to change it! The football is at times better but with no real attempts it's nots looking great! The thing that upsets me is the way he has dismantled our team, loaned out our youths and replaced them with lower league player and Loanees and what for? Its not working, is it!

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Taricco_Fan added 11:54 - Sep 23 For me, the biggest issue is the centre of midfield. I'm not seeing enough desire to want the ball, not enough movement, a lack of one touch, give-and-go passing that can unlock defences. There is no killer ball to utilise Jackson's pace. Chalobah, Skuse and Nolan are too static. I want to see them drop into space or drop short to offer the man on the ball an option. This is a criticism that can be made of the team as a whole. Lack of movement, lack of options, leading to the same speculative long balls we saw under McCarthy. Nolan is the biggest question mark. He is playing at the very centre of the attack, the playmaker, the man to get things moving and bring others into the attack. He looks lost, too often found ball-watching or ambling about. He shows flashes of quality but needs to impose himself on the game rather than being a passenger. It perhaps speaks volumes that the best performance under Hurst was the West Ham friendly where a homegrown midfield of Nydam, Downes and Dozzell looked impressive against much better opposition. Time for Mr Hurst to reassess. Positives? The defence looks OK. We're not shipping goals. Pennington has impressed me and I think a back line of him, Knudsen, Chambers and Nsiala with Donacien as an option is a decent foundation. I like Jackson and feel sorry for him having very little to feed off. I see goals in him but he needs the service. Getting Dozzell, Huws and Bishop back in the midfield cannot come soon enough.

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Swn98 added 11:57 - Sep 23 NoDissboyitfc we are not gloating im as sad as any true fan at this proud club having watched yesterdays rubbish yes MM games could be somewhat boring but they were better than yesterday and you could always get a result from Micks teams.
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Swn98 added 12:03 - Sep 23 happybeingblue you got what you wanted but football is 10 times worse how can that be an improvement?
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barrystedmunds added 12:18 - Sep 23 To my mind, PH stated that his signings needed to hit the ground running, they havent. History tells us that only a small percentage make the step up from the lower leagues and I think that's happening here. Like most, I think too many changes, too soon has not and is not working, and I worry that our youth are being pushed to the fringes. Difficult times ahead, I'm thinking.

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Zondervanromeo added 12:51 - Sep 23 We ended up with paul hurst by default really has was only one left but feel if he was Identified as the right man they should have gone all out to get him in at end of last season when mick said be was going would have given him the time to Assess the squad and taken the pressure off him now as he would have had 6free games last season ( Please don't say he was guiding Shrewsbury through the play offs Or was he not coming Had he won that final)

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robmonkey007 added 13:14 - Sep 23 I remember posting over the summer that surely we can do better than Hurst.....I was bombarded with abuse. You guys still believe he's the guy???? I want Hurst sacked so we can get someone in to turn this shower or poo around. We still have a chance to get out of relegation, but to do nothing until it's too late is criminal. HURST OUT
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Essexipswichboy added 13:37 - Sep 23 Happybeingblue Not trying to get into a load of abuse ....but I do think you need to get some perspective really. Yes the only positive at the moment is that we are not getting smashed off the park That is where it ends. Is the football much better than last year....i doubt it ...goals win games there is a distinct lack of them at the moment. We are not 4th from bottom we are second meaning we will go down. 23 home draws will not keep us up Just remember we have lost too derby and Rotherham. Since when were Rotherham a bigger club than us. Talk about perspective We probably will look attractive in league 1

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ITFCsince73 added 14:01 - Sep 23 How any town supporter can look back on the days of MM with any fondness is beyond me. It may or may not work out for PH. But to pine for Mick the mouth is just crazy. The last three years of his reign, was hellish.
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graham2408 added 14:04 - Sep 23 Nine games in and we were told "it will take ten games to gel". No signs of it yet. Why is Hurst not trying some of our brilliant youngsters? If, as some on this site are suggesting, Burley is brought back you can bet the first thing he would do would introduce the youngsters. He did it last time with success and would do it again, successfully. Come on Hurst, try them. They can do no worse than the current crop. I agree with AlfBuksh.

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tallguy6767 added 14:58 - Sep 23 It's all looking all too obvious that Wurst was the wrong appointment. What's worrying is that our ultra prudent owner will stick with him even if we don't win a single game this season with the theory he'll be qualified at that level to do the job. However the thought of playing 3rd tier in front of about 8000.is a sickening thought !!
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cat added 15:08 - Sep 23 Agree with happybeingblue cause are things really that bad? We are competing in games, the style of play has improved imo, atmosphere in the ground is good, Edwards, Nolan, Donacien, Nsiala, Pennington, Jackson and Trevor have looked decent players and with Dozza and Huws to come back in I'd say we have the makings of a decent mid table championship side. It's just a win we need to lift the mood and give us something to build on. Btw to the likes of Swn98 and fellow such posters sharpening their knifes and frothing at the mouth, if I had a choice of another season with McCarthy or drop to league 1, I can honestly say hand on heart I'd take the latter, no doubt bout it, so if you ever get your ‘told you so moment' I for one won't give a ‘flying one' cause your messiah has gone.

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geminimustang added 15:15 - Sep 23 You should never call for a Manager to be sacked.You may hope it happens but PH was lauded before he arrived,greeted like a King and praised when all he brought was chaos.He should consider resigning as the honourable thing to do but he won't.he'll wait for the pay off.Some people still won't admit MM being hounded out was wrong too.
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Nobbysnuts added 16:19 - Sep 23 Poor. Very poor. The fact we can't beat Bolton (with 10 men) at home is seriously worrying. The table doesn't lie. We are there because we are sh#te.we can't score goals and we have very little creativity . Either Paul Hurst is out of his depth or the team is just not good enough. Personally I think it's both.😔
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karl1426 added 16:19 - Sep 23 Hurst has been Poor and not Paul! I think he should step out and admit that this Great football club of ours is too Big for him to manage. The day he dropped Bart is the day I seen he is the wrong guy. How can a player of the season for the past 3 seasons dropped when his own group of players cannot perform? The supposingly goal getters he brought in are also like him, finding the step up curve too steep! Who is going to replace the goals left by Waggy and Garner? I can't see us winning many games under Hurst. You can argue that you did not lose and scrapping away draws at home, it's a matter of time before we start losing! Please do something before it too late, Evans? I think Jewell still did better than him!

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juniorblue added 16:26 - Sep 23 I will hold my hands up and say that I was one of many fans who applauded the appointment of PH. MM had lost the fans and had to go, which is why I think many of us got carried away with the potential of PH. Losing proven championship players and replacing them with (mostly) average lower league players is proving to be a disaster. Plus loaning out our best younger players, and playing Dozzell in the U23s but saying he isn't fit enough to play is worrying. I had positive thoughts about this season, but am starting to feel the opposite now. Is it PH, Evans or both? Our club seems to be nosediving at the moment. I really hope Evans has a Plan B if our poor form continues.

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Facefacts added 19:37 - Sep 23 So what are the positives? Anyone can say what they want but PH is going to get some more games to try to stop this slide. There is plenty of time to turn things around. I think he was right to drop Bart. A keeper supposedly worth millions is only as good as his last game and he was at fault for some goals in more than one game. Even with a new defence in front of him PH would have expected him to be much more commanding of his 6 yard area. Correct decision until Gerken messes up, which he hasn't as yet. The defence is getting better. Just the midfield to get right both in terms of competing aund supplying more chances for wingers and one striker. Eventually I think he will give Andre Dozzell a chance as his fitness criteria will have to go out of the window as I guess he feels only Nolan is statistically fit enough to play. Huws and Adeyemi won't be used to getting to that level of fitness so they will both struggle to get back. Jackson has pace. Edwards is skilful but defenders will injure him rather than let him trick his way past them. Every game is huge now. Need a scrappy win.

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C_Thomsen added 19:54 - Sep 23 If you were ever sold on the idea that PH was going to play attractive football, look no further than the League One table last season. Shrewsbury was, overall, involved in the matches with least average goals per game. To anyone on here who thinks it will ever get better, you are seriously deluded. The idea that PH is "just messing around to find his right 11" - give me a break - a strong leader/manager knows his system, knows his style and knows what type of player can fill the roles. Desperate signings from a manager, who is, unfortunately, way out of his depth at this level - and I hate to say because I want to be proven wrong (I just dont see a single sign of improvement, neither better judgement by the big man in charge). Like Jewell, PH has got another 6-8 games I imagine. Apart from Boro, Leeds and Swansea - we are facing teams at the bottom of the table: Brum, QPR, Millwall, Reading and Preston... I am sure we will take a win or two - otherwise PH has got to go...

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StavangerBlue added 19:55 - Sep 23 Chaps, we are going down this season. We cannot score. We cannot create. We cannot do the basics.
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Swn98 added 20:02 - Sep 23 Cat you fool atmosphere in ground good there were groups in the sbr lower screaming abuse at each other and nearly ended up in fight. No i'm not enjoying this debacle one bit the football is rubbish MM left a good squad that has been totally dismantled i wonder if all those willing MM out of the door by saying stupid things like i would rather go down than keep MM well it looks like your going to get what you wished for.

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