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Joel Dixon won’t be dumped by Wanderers after another cup mistake.
Ian Evatt offered some words of support to his under-fire keeper after another error in the 3-2 midweek win against Barrow in the Papa Johns Trophy.
Dixon has not played in League One this season but has started all six of Wanderers’ cup games – during which a few gaffs have led to goals and left him open to criticism.
The former Barrow stopper started last season as Bolton’s number one but fell behind James Trafford after he was loaned from Manchester City in January.
Dixon is out of contract in the summer, which has added further pressure on his infrequent appearances, but Evatt has refused to bury his keeper after his handling error gave Barrow a brief window into Tuesday night’s game.
“Joel will be disappointed with it and I know he’s better than that,” Evatt told The Bolton News. “He has been training really well and, for whatever reason at the moment, every mistake he seems to make in games, it seems to go in.
“But we think he’s a really good goalkeeper, we’ll support him. There will be nobody more disappointed than Joel Dixon with that goal, but the most important thing is the team managed to rally and get us through to the next round.”
Wanderers find out this evening who they will face in the last 16 – Burton Albion, Lincoln City, Manchester United Under-21s, Salford City and Accrington Stanley booking their place on the same night.
The big downside of their midweek match – the last before a December 2 home game against Bristol Rovers – was an ankle injury to midfielder Kyle Dempsey.
The former Gillingham man left the UniBol wearing a protective boot and will now have a scan to determine the extent of the damage.
Evatt will be keeping his fingers crossed that Dempsey will not be out of action for too long, having started him in five of the last eight games in all competitions.
“These things come to test and challenge you at times and I think Kyle has had a rough spell and a rough time of things, but he’s a good player and a good character and we need to support him whatever the injury says and what the diagnosis is,” he said.
“But for now, just get round him, give him lots of love and support and hopefully it’s not as bad as we first feared.”
Evatt brought the likes of Declan John, Kieran Sadlier, Josh Sheehan and Dixon in for some game time against Barrow and was happy to see the club progress to the last 16.
“We’ve got a good squad of players,” he said. “We’ve made nine changes tonight and still at times looked very fluid, at times not so good. I was really pleased with Eoin Toal, I thought he was really good and an excellent performance.
“It’s important that we build up these minutes for these players that haven’t been playing regularly on Saturdays and in league fixtures and we saw some good things and some not so good, but the most important thing is we’re through to the next round.”
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