IT may have taken place more than a quarter of a century ago, but Bruce Rioch can still relive every detail of the 1995 play-off final, which turned out to be his last game in the Bolton Wanderers hotseat.
Over 120 pulsating minutes, his side had completed one of the most incredible comebacks Wembley had ever seen to take their place in the new Premier League for the first time.
The victory was the culmination of the White Hot era, two promotions and several cup kills that rallied the city behind his team and created memories that are still cherished to this day, turning the key players into legends.
Seemingly dead and buried at 2-0 down and facing a penalty to make it three, Keith Branagan’s legendary save from Stuart Lovell minutes before half-time was a plot twist any Hollywood screenwriter would be proud of.
And for Rioch, whose revolution was about to end at the end of his third year in charge, it marked the pinnacle of his managerial career.
“The football gods were with us that day,” he told The Bolton News. “But let me first say that without the team spirit and character these players produced, none of this would have been possible.
“It was a really great day. There is an old saying that 2-0 is an unreliable lead, and I don’t think this has ever been better proven.”
After beating old foes Wolves in the semi-final, Rioch and the players spent time in Portugal to recharge the batteries for the final and give him time to think about the line-up he would field at Wembley.
“The hardest part of a manager’s job is picking the team and the way Reading were playing I felt we needed an extra man in the middle of the park, Neil McDonald,” he explained.
“We trained so that we could switch and I was confident that Jason McAteer and Alan Thompson would hold up if we only needed two.”
Despite feeling well prepared, Wanderers were caught by two early goals, while the Royals produced some fantastic early football.
Lee Nogan was up next, shooting to beat Alan Stubbs for the first, Simon Osborn’s quick thinking on a free-kick for Ade Williams’ second in just twelve minutes.
Lecture chair John Madejski was dancing in his seat in the director’s box, but the look of disgust on Keith Branagan’s face was matched only by Stuart Butt’s comment on co-commentary: “Sometimes you’re at a loss for words. What did Bolton’s defense do next? I really do not know?”
Even Rioch couldn’t explain what had happened.
“There was no explanation for it. We were first 1-0 behind and then 2-0 behind. I admit I was hoping we would get in at half time without conceding any more goals. And then you get the fine.”
Michael Gilkes’ movement had been a problem throughout the first half, but when McAteer’s late lunge tripped the winger during an attack in the penalty area, the end seemed nigh for Wanderers.
“For me personally, my heart dropped,” Keith Branagan described. “At 2-0 I thought ‘we can still fix this’, but at 3-0 it would be so difficult.
“Then it was about who took it because the manager usually does that and he was a substitute.
“So I had no idea – but I thought, ‘what would I do?’ You’d be a cool player if you posted it. Any right-footed player would most likely put their laces through, so I went to the right.
“When I saw his run-up, I knew I was going to the right. It was a huge punishment for them, it would have sealed the match.”
Fortunately, Branagan’s hunch was right. Stuart Lovell’s penalty was pushed away and the ball was cleared. The Bolton fans celebrated as if they had scored.
“That was the moment,” Rioch said. “If Branny hadn’t made it, I think it would have been virtually impossible to get back into the game. When he did, there were only a few minutes left before half-time, but I marched straight over the referee and said, ‘I’m making a substitution.’ ‘We took Neil away and brought on Fabian Defreitas. And when I walked into the locker room, I thought this wasn’t a lost cause and I wanted to make sure those players knew that too.”
Although Rioch labeled the formation change as “4-4-2”, he had in fact changed the shape to 4-2-4 and did so based on old advice from his trusted scout, Ian McNeil.
“We had talked about substitutions a few years earlier and Ian was puzzled as to why teams would so often sign a striker and sign another in the hope of getting back into the game,” he said.
“He said: ‘Goal scorers score goals and win games.’ And when I looked around that team, I had a lot of them. Even Thommo and Macca joined in, it was just a matter of making those players believe the game wasn’t over yet.
“When I went into the locker room, there were a few players looking down. I remember telling Alan Stubbs to get his head off the ground because that next goal would be crucial and if we could get that I knew my team had the character to go on and win the game .
“Looking back, the fact that they knew they were going to go to a 4-4-2, which had that extra attacking advantage, it restored all the energy in the team.”
After the break, a rejuvenated Wanderers would pull off one of the most incredible comebacks in the history of the play-off finals.
It wasn’t until the 75th minute that Owen Coyle got the goal that 30,000 Bolton fans were longing for.
The Scot had moved wide in the second half to deliver some lovely crosses, but when he stepped to the back post and headed in McGinlay’s cross, the comeback had really begun.
“Never in my life have I seen 30 to 40,000 people go from total ecstasy to despair,” Rioch said. “It’s what made this game the most amazing I’ve ever been involved in.
“Life is all about ups and downs, dealing with different scenarios, but in that moment a goal changed the mood of every person at Wembley.”
Two minutes before the end, Stubbs strode majestically out of the defense and played in Thompson. He spotted Defreitas’ run and the Dutchman was able to spin his marker, Dariusz Wdowczyk, and put a low shot under Hislop’s desperate dive, causing pure pandemonium among Bolton’s support.
“Wow, it’s been so long,” Defreitas recalled, speaking from his home in Belgium, where he works as a property manager. “You score goals and play games and it passes you by as you play. It’s only when you see the videos 25 years later that you sit back and say ‘that was me, I did that’.”
“When I meet people and talk about football, I am sometimes surprised how many people remember that final.
“But of course it was a moment I will never forget. It was the best moment of my football career.”
The question was: can Wanderers raise their game again?
In the second half of extra time it took only a few moments for an answer to come.
McAteer found a burst of energy to sail past two Reading defenders and back heel for Coyle, his cross headed back to the far post by McGinlay and plundering Paatelainen’s home.
“These Reading fans can now realize all their Premier League hopes.” But exclaimed.
But the drama wasn’t over yet. With Osborn out of action and feeling cramp, McGinlay took a quick free-kick down the right to find Paatelainen and his low cross was tucked in for Defreitas’ second attempt to make it 4-2.
Wanderers fans were in celebration mode but their senses were shaken when Reading substitutes Jeff Hokinson and Jimmy Quinn conspired for the seventh goal of the match with a minute left on the clock.
Bolton’s players killed every second they could before referee Peter Foakes finally blew his whistle.
The Wanderers bench emptied onto the pitch – David Lee, who had missed the match through injury – staggered on to embrace his teammates at a pace few of them had achieved in extra time.
“Receiving a promotion was the end of an extraordinary journey,” Rioch said. “And when I look back, I have to thank so many people who made this possible.
“I loved the club – I still do – and am so grateful to have been part of this adventure.”
This article was first printed in May 2020.