Shrewsbury Town defender James Bolton revels in ‘surreal’ goal experience
James Bolton insists scoring his first goal for Shrewsbury Town was a ‘surreal experience’.
Bolton poked home after Shaun Whalley’s corner to seal a 1-0 win for Town at Portsmouth on Saturday.
And the Stone-born right-back, 23, recalled when he visited Fratton Park as a Stoke City fan when he was younger – Pompey winning 4-0, back in 2009.
“I remember coming here as young kid, supporting Stoke, in the League Cup,” he said.
“I think I paid £2, got a bus up with all my mates, so it’s surreal to be playing here now and scoring.
“It’s really nice, coming here – a big occasion, to a club with a lot of history.
“I really enjoyed it. (The ball) came through a lot of bodies and I just got my foot onto it, and luckily it went in.
“I don’t score often so I didn’t know what to do celebration-wise, but it was a brilliant feeling.”
It was Bolton’s first goal since scoring for Gateshead in a 3-2 defeat at Bromley in the National League in August 2016.
“I scored one goal last season – and it was a bit of a banger, to be fair,” he said.
“It was not bad for me, actually. It’s brilliant obviously, it shows where I’ve come from. To come to places like Fratton Park now is brilliant.”
And on the performance which saw them leapfrog Blackburn Rovers into second in League One, Bolton added: “The boys dug in and defended well, and we got the result.
“We all want to win, that’s in our nature.”
