Charles return, quickfire goals - Two ups & three downs for Bolton in Sheffield Wednesday loss

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Bolton Wanderers suffered their first defeat of the new season yesterday with a 2-0 loss at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday.

The Whites went close to taking the lead in a tight opening half an hour which they edged against the Owls. Liverpool loanee Conor Bradley put wide from a glorious one-on-one opportunity.

And not long after that, the Owls took the lead when the visitors capitalised following a big error which nearly resulted in an own goal for Bolton skipper Ricardo Santos. George Byers slotted home following that as Wanderers failed to react quickly enough.

READ MORE:'Gamesmanship' - Ian Evatt pinpoints Sheffield Wednesday qualities Bolton Wanderers succumbed to

The Owls scored a quick second not long after as Liam Palmer put them two up heading into half-time. Jack Iredale forced David Stockdale into action in the second half in perhaps the closest Wanderers came to pulling one back as they slipped to a 2-0 loss.

After the game, we analyse the ups and downs from the clash from a Wanderers perspective and here's what we took away from it.

Ups

Charles returns from injury

A big plus from the game was the return of star striker Dion Charles to action. The forward had only featured in the season opener versus Ipswich Town before yesterday.

He had then been ruled out owing to a slight thigh injury which Wanderers did not want to risk making worse. It kept him out of action until yesterday.

Charles was given half an hour in the second half and looked sharp after coming on. Hopefully it will not be long until he is back fully firing and finding the back of the net.

Tight opening phase shows small gap to competitors

Before the Owls took the lead at the University of Bolton Stadium, it had proved to be a tight