Home
Mark Bonner admits Cambridge struggled to deal with Wanderers’ front three following their 2-0 defeat at the UniBol.
Amadou Bakayoko and Dapo Afolayan were on target either side of half-time, while Dion Charles continued his impressive form.
Bonner felt his side played into Bolton’s hands in the first half but made things tougher for Ian Evatt's men after the break.
“I thought they caused us too many problems with the front three and we weren’t able to get too much control in the midfield early on,” said the Cambridge chief.
“They really commit to forward runs and run off the ball brilliantly. They ran harder and were more intense than us in certain moments.
“We played into their press too much in the first half. Second half, we played a bit more direct and got them off us a little bit more and were able to sustain a few more attacks.
“We needed to stay in it longer in the second half and not gift them that opportunity. It’s frustrating for us because they’re a good side who punish you if you give them the chance.”
Bonner’s men were unbeaten in their last four league matches prior to their trip to the UniBol.
The win sees Wanderers climb to 11th in the League One table – 12 points behind sixth-placed Oxford, who have played an extra game.
“I thought Bolton played really well. They played technically a better game than us and used the ball better,” Bonner added.
“It’s not often we play them and match them for possession. They’ve played 10 more passes in the game than us in total so in terms of a possession game, we got some control of it in periods.
“We had a few decent chances but we haven’t had an attempt on target. We’ve come close on a couple – we’ve hit the post with a header and Sam (Smith) is really close in the second half.
“We’re in the game and a mistake lets them run away with it. They’ve got a good side. They’ve got some really good players.
“They played in a way that was very good in the first half and put us a lot under pressure, but we were always in the game.”
Source
