29-04-2025
Wanderers' U18s secure the league title with victory at Chesterfield
Wanderers' Under-18 side have been crowned Youth Alliance League Northern champions following a 2-0 victory at Chesterfield.
Bolton only needed a point to finish top of the table but secured all three thanks to goals from David Abimbola and Latrell Lewis during the first half.
It has been an impressive season for Julian Darby's side, who also won the LFA Professional Youth Cup after beating Blackpool in the final earlier this month.
Wanderers have only lost once in the league this season and that defeat came against Salford over the weekend when a significant number of the squad were on first team duties at Peterborough.
What a group! 🤍 A league and cup double for Wanderers U18's! 🙌🏻#bwfc
— Bolton Wanderers B Team and Academy (@BWFCBandAcademy) April 29, 2025
Abimbola, Harrison Rice and Harley Irwin were all back in the starting line-up against Chesterfield, several days on from their trip to London Road.
Abimbola, in particular, has had some valuable experience around the senior squad lately, making his first League One start at Lincoln City on Easter Monday.
Daeshon Lawrence has also been an important player for the Under-18s over the past season but was absent from the squad, potentially with the B Team's final against Burnley tonight in mind.
Darby, of course, had a stint with the first team this season. The club legend was in the dugout for the victories against Huddersfield and Northampton with assistance from Andy Taylor and Andrew Tutte.
Wanderers have won 19 of their 23 league matches since the start of the campaign to see off competition from Wrexham for the title. Bolton have another league game to play this weekend against Shrewsbury at Lostock.
Earlier this month, Darby said: 'I love it with the kids, they're a really good group and they've done really well this year.'
He added: 'They're an excellent group. I can't speak highly enough and I just hope that a few of them get that chance to play at the stadium.'
