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Wanderers failed to find a way through Burton Albion last night – but Ian Evatt is convinced it was the team’s best performance since he arrived as manager.
Although the Whites somehow managed to take a mere point from a game they dominated almost from the off, Evatt was delighted with the quality of football they produced in front of the Sky Sports cameras.
A disallowed goal for Kieran Lee and a penalty appeal turned down for a late push on Nathan Delfouneso proved the main talking points after a pulsating Monday night clash.
But Evatt was more concerned with a display he felt ranked alongside anything his team has produced in 18 months in charge.
“I couldn’t have asked any more of them,” he said. “The two that came in, Kieran Lee and Liam Gordon, were outstanding. Man for man we were excellent.
“That is as good as we have played under me, the way we moved the ball and manipulated the ball.
“I thought the crowd were excellent as well because they must understand as much as they want us to attack Burton are built for us crossing from deep, or playing long and direct into the box. They want that.
“But when we are intricate and trying to get that better crossing or passing angle then I thought they really stuck with us.
“I am proud of them and I am sure the fans are proud of their players as well.”
After struggling for quality in the wider positions against Cambridge last time out in the league, Wanderers’ supply line was better at the UniBol as Liam Gordon combined with Dapo Afolayan on the left and Gethin Jones with Lloyd Isgrove on the right.
“We do a lot of work on those combinations, the rotation and relationships between our wide forwards and full-backs, the midfielders rotating and Eoin dropping in as a nine,” he said.
“I thought we caused them no end of problems.
“They pretty much had one long range effort, or a small mistake in the second half when we tried to play out. When you play the way we do that will happen from time to time, but you can’t lose faith or confidence and we didn’t, we carried on.
“Everyone could see we deserved to win that game and I am so proud that the whole country can now see that Bolton Wanderers are on their way back.”
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