Experience In Reserve For Sunderland Clash

By Mark Heys
February 27 2008

Bolton Wanderers reserves take on Sunderland at the County Ground tonight with the likes of Abdoulaye Meite, Stelios Giannakopoulos, Ricardo Vaz-Te and Nicky Hunt all expected to feature in front of watching manager Gary Megson.

Only Ivory Coast international Meite featured in the sixteen which lost a first team game at Blackburn on Sunday and even then the African centre half didn't get any playing time.

Megson wants be certain that the players who are on the fringes of the first team will be able to step up to the mark for an important run of Premier League and UEFA Cup games hence their inclusion in the second string squad.

Hunt and Meite have lost their places since the arrival of January signings Gretar Steinsson and Gary Cahill, Vaz-Te has featured just once in an injury hit season and Stelios has become a bit part player who is useful from the bench.

The reserves are without a league win all season and their preparations haven't been helped with the postponement of last week's trip to Everton due to bad weather.

Ironically Sunderland boss Roy Keane has also requested that a number of his senior players get a run out tonight with former Manchester United duo Danny Higginbottom and Liam Miller and ex-Arsenal reserve striker Anthony Stokes featuring.

BOLTON RESERVES: TBC

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SUNDERLAND RESERVES FROM: Trevor Carson, Stephen Wright, Danny Higginbottom, Jean-Yves M'voto, Ian Harte, Gavin Donoghue, Jack Pelter, Robbie Weir, Jake Richardson, Liam Miller, Billy Dennehy, Jamie Chandler, Anthony Stokes

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