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Ian Evatt refused to pin the 3-2 FA Cup defeat to Crewe Alexandra solely on errors from his on-loan goalkeeper, Billy Crellin.
Despite two goals from Nathan Delfouneso, the Whites crashed out at the first-round stage for the second successive season thanks largely, in the words of the head coach, to “individual mistakes”.
Mikael Mandron, Oliver Finney and Charlie Kirk did the damage for the Railwaymen but each of the Railwaymen’s goals were aided in part by some lacklustre defending and goalkeeping.
Crellin’s form has come under serious scrutiny in the last few weeks – with Evatt issuing a very public dressing down after a draw at Cambridge.
But the Bolton boss bit his lip in the post-match press conference, simply admitting that his side were architects of their own downfall.
“I think Crewe are a good team,” he said. “I watched their game against Gillingham last Saturday and they lost 1-0 but should have been 5-0 up by half time.
“We knew what we were coming up against because we had played them twice already – they ask questions, move the ball, rotate, but the frustrating thing for me is that we scored two excellent, well-worked goals but the opposition don’t have to work equally hard to score against us.
“On the back of that, which is crazy to say because they scored three goals, but the back three have defended really well. I just think we have made individual errors again which have cost us the game.
“The first one we gave the ball away in transition, 1-0 down, we got back into it with a fantastic goal. Second goal Tom White is beaten too easily and then it probably goes in far too easily.
“At that stage we’re trying to make changes to win the game, got Isgrove and Miller on who need minutes, but before they can make an impact we were 3-1 down.
“Crewe, for all their nice play hadn’t really created too much.
“We rallied and scored an excellent goal, Isgrove was a bit part of that, but then we ran out of steam. For me, it’s another game where we have huffed, puffed, seen glimpses of brilliance, but also the other side which is not so good.
“We beat ourselves, rather than Crewe beating us.”
Crellin’s part in the second and third goals will no doubt bring further questions on whether the Fleetwood loanee should continue as Bolton’s number one.
Asked whether he should be taking the 20-year-old out of the firing line, Evatt added: “What I said before to Billy after the Cambridge game, we got a response out of him,” he said. “Sometimes with young players, they are going to be inconsistent. They are not the finished article.
“Billy is a fantastic kid with a great attitude. He is going to be a top keeper but right now we’re being punished for everything.
“He will keep working. He has our blessing and our backing. We will keep working with him, with others, to get them up to the standards that some of them are setting for themselves.”
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Despite two goals from Nathan Delfouneso, the Whites crashed out at the first-round stage for the second successive season thanks largely, in the words of the head coach, to “individual mistakes”.
Mikael Mandron, Oliver Finney and Charlie Kirk did the damage for the Railwaymen but each of the Railwaymen’s goals were aided in part by some lacklustre defending and goalkeeping.
Crellin’s form has come under serious scrutiny in the last few weeks – with Evatt issuing a very public dressing down after a draw at Cambridge.
But the Bolton boss bit his lip in the post-match press conference, simply admitting that his side were architects of their own downfall.
“I think Crewe are a good team,” he said. “I watched their game against Gillingham last Saturday and they lost 1-0 but should have been 5-0 up by half time.
“We knew what we were coming up against because we had played them twice already – they ask questions, move the ball, rotate, but the frustrating thing for me is that we scored two excellent, well-worked goals but the opposition don’t have to work equally hard to score against us.
“On the back of that, which is crazy to say because they scored three goals, but the back three have defended really well. I just think we have made individual errors again which have cost us the game.
“The first one we gave the ball away in transition, 1-0 down, we got back into it with a fantastic goal. Second goal Tom White is beaten too easily and then it probably goes in far too easily.
“At that stage we’re trying to make changes to win the game, got Isgrove and Miller on who need minutes, but before they can make an impact we were 3-1 down.
“Crewe, for all their nice play hadn’t really created too much.
“We rallied and scored an excellent goal, Isgrove was a bit part of that, but then we ran out of steam. For me, it’s another game where we have huffed, puffed, seen glimpses of brilliance, but also the other side which is not so good.
“We beat ourselves, rather than Crewe beating us.”
Crellin’s part in the second and third goals will no doubt bring further questions on whether the Fleetwood loanee should continue as Bolton’s number one.
Asked whether he should be taking the 20-year-old out of the firing line, Evatt added: “What I said before to Billy after the Cambridge game, we got a response out of him,” he said. “Sometimes with young players, they are going to be inconsistent. They are not the finished article.
“Billy is a fantastic kid with a great attitude. He is going to be a top keeper but right now we’re being punished for everything.
“He will keep working. He has our blessing and our backing. We will keep working with him, with others, to get them up to the standards that some of them are setting for themselves.”
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