Bolton boss Steven Schumacher has defended Celtic loanee Johnny Kenny after the striker was criticised for his involvement in an incident against Reading.
Kenny, making his first start for Bolton, was at the centre of a second-half flashpoint that left Paudie O’Connor needing stitches following contact to his face. Reading manager Liam Richardson had branded the challenge “disgusting” after the match.
The incident came as both players chased a loose ball down the wing. O’Connor stepped across and went to ground, with Kenny’s momentum carrying him forward. His foot made contact as he tried to avoid the fallen defender.
Schumacher was quick to back the 22-year-old. Speaking after the game, he made clear he did not believe there was any intent behind the challenge and rejected suggestions Bolton were fortunate to keep 11 men on the pitch.
He said: (TCW), “Yeah, Lynsey Hooper at Sky asked me about it right after the game and she said: ‘Do you think you were lucky to still have 11 men on the pitch?’ And I said, no, I don’t think so.
“To me, it looked like it was an accident. And I’ve spoken to Johnny (Kenny) since. You can see obviously he’s running at real speed.
“[Paudie] O’Connor’s got in front of him and fallen down. And I just don’t think it’s in Johnny’s character to do that intentionally. I think he’s just running and obviously his foot has made contact with O’Connor and it’s not nice if someone suffers a facial injury like he did.
“And the extent of it, that’s never nice. But as I say, it definitely wasn’t intentional, because it’s not in Johnny’s character to do that.
“I’ve watched him play loads of times. I’ve never seen him put an elbow in on anyone or leave a high foot in late. I just don’t think that’s his type of game.
“For us, it was an accident, nothing more. Unfortunately, in football these things happen.”
For Kenny, the main thing now is getting back to football. He is at Bolton to play games and score goals. A first start should have been about his runs, his hold-up play and how he linked with team-mates, not an incident like that.
Instead, most of the talk after the match was about the collision. That can happen when a player is new and still trying to make his mark.
Bolton did grab a late equaliser, but that barely featured in the reaction. The challenge took over the headlines.
Schumacher has made his position clear. He believes it was a split-second coming together in a fast move, not anything nasty.
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