Party time as jubilant Bolton Wanderers fans and players celebrate promotion
Hundreds of supporters welcomed the team coach home from Crawly Town with flares, songs and dancing
MJ Williams, Oladapo Afolayan and Ricardo Santos in the party mood (Image: Joel Goodman)
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Club
Academy of Football graduate
Oladapo Afolayan – one of four West Ham United loanees to feature for their respective clubs – took a giant step towards promotion from League Two this weekend.
The 24-year-old had been involved in 13 wins in the 18 games he had played for Bolton prior to Saturday, but faced his biggest test yet as the third-placed Trotters travelled to fourth-placed Morecambe with just a point’s difference between the two teams then.
With three teams claiming automatic promotion from League Two and four games of the season remaining, both Bolton and Morecambe were aware that Saturday’s result could have a significant baring on the outcome of their respective seasons.
Club
Four West Ham United loanees featured for their adopted sides over the weekend, with two –
Olatunji Akinola and
Xande Silva – securing important victories for their side.
Representing Leyton Orient, 22-year-old defender Akinola once again played an important part in keeping a clean sheet for the O’s as they defeated Barrow 2-0 at the Breyer Group Stadium.
The shutout was Akinola’s 15th in 29 League Two appearances this season, with the versatile defender reverting to right-back for Jobi McAnuff’s reinvigorated side.
From the flank, Akinola won three aerial duels and contributed two successful tackles, a clearance, an interception and a blocked shot, according to respected analytics website WhoScored.com.
Club
Loan Watch: Double clean sheet for Akinola, Silva makes instant impact
Three West Ham United loanees were heavily involved for their respective clubs over the Bank Holiday weekend, with
Olatunji Akinola helping Leyton Orient to back-to-back clean sheets in League Two.
The 22-year-old defender was in resolute form for interim manager Jobi McAnuff’s O’s side, helping them record shut-outs away at Mansfield Town in a 2-0 win on Good Friday and at home to Walsall in a 0-0 draw on Easter Monday.
Having arrested a miserable run of form early last month, Orient are now unbeaten in their last seven games, winning four of them – with Akinola having started their last five.
Loan Watch: Ajibola Alese wins on first start for Cambridge United whufc.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from whufc.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.