Paul Heckingbottom delighted after Leeds see off Bolton - 7M sport

Paul Heckingbottom delighted after Leeds see off Bolton



Posted Saturday, March 31, 2018 by PA

Paul Heckingbottom delighted after Leeds see off Bolton

Leeds boss Paul Heckingbottom could enjoy his job once again as his side ended a four-match winless run with victory against Bolton.

Goals from Caleb Ekuban and Pablo Hernandez early in each half secured the Whites just their second win of 2018, both of which have come since Heckingbottom took charge in February.

The former Barnsley boss was in an upbeat mood after the 2-1 victory – but he felt the winning margin should have been bigger.

“I’ve always said the best bit of this job is the games and the best bit of that is winning,” he said.

“That’s what it’s all about so I’m delighted with the win and the three points. And it was deserved.

“(We started well) in both halves. We wanted to be on the front foot and aggressive and set the tempo.

“Ultimately it was us who made the game difficult for ourselves by not really capitalising when we were on top, not taking our chances and conceding when we were in a comfortable stage of the game.

“There were definitely a lot of chances we should’ve put away.”

Ekuban’s strike was his first in the Championship, but the forward was denied on two occasions by Bolton goalkeeper Ben Alnwick in one-on-one situations.

Heckingbottom, who confirmed defender Liam Cooper will miss “a few weeks” with a thigh tear and midfielder Adam Forshaw sat the game out with a calf injury, hopes Ekuban focuses on the strike that went in.

He added: “Everyone who watches Leeds, his team-mates especially, appreciates his value for the team and the selfless nature of his game, but he’s a frontman and he wants to score. I’m hoping he goes away delighted that he’s got a goal.”

Bolton boss Phil Parkinson could not understand his team’s slow start, before Adam Le Fondre’s second-half strike gave them some life.

“Today was a setback,” said Parkinson after his team failed to match the heights they had reached against promotion-chasing Aston Villa in their last fixture.

“We started slowly. We always knew coming here today – in front of a big crowd against a team that could’ve potentially been nervous – we needed to start well.

“At 2-0 down we could’ve let our heads drop but we didn’t. We got the goal back and we had a couple of good chances to get the equaliser.

“We’ve got to give our lads credit that they kept going but equally we need to analyse the start of the game and what we need to do better.”

The defeat leaves Bolton six points ahead of the relegation zone with seven games to play.

“It’s not going to be enough if we don’t get any more points,” Parkinson said.

“We know we’ve got to get at least three more wins. That’s our aim. We’ve got ourselves in a good position and we’re confident we can achieve that.”

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