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Ian Evatt was delighted to see his Wanderers dig deep to protect three points against Exeter City.
Despite leading 2-0 at the break and creating several presentable chances, a tiring Bolton side had to hold firm in the second half to ensure three points stayed within their grasp.
Conor Bradley and Dion Charles scored inside the first half-hour to put the Whites into a commanding position – and the lead could have been doubled by the half time interval.
Although Exeter pushed hard to get back into the game, Evatt was happy to see his team cope with everything they had to offer.
“There was quite a lot that pleased me for quite a lot of reasons,” he said. “First half we were outstanding, we started aggressively with and without the ball, the only criticism being that the game should have been over by half time. But as a first half performance I think it was the best of the season.
“Second half, as much as it was scrappy and frustrating, and we looked really tired and fatigued, I was really pleased that we limited them to very little.
“That is a new back three playing there today. Two lads who have not played a great deal of football and haven’t played together in the back three.
“The physical impact of Tuesday night, as much as the scoreline was comfortable, the data was off the charts because Manchester United ask you questions. And the group has shrunk because of the illness and injuries we have had in the camp. It was always going to be a case of managing the fatigue today.
“But even though we tired and it became quite a scrappy game in the second half I was quite pleased that Exeter were able to create very little.
“It was a job well done and we can move on now to Derby County on the 27th which will a tough game.”
Amadou Bakayoko was pulled out of the squad on the day of the game because of illness and both Dion Charles and Josh Sheehan left the field in the second half – but Evatt said their withdrawal was not because of injury.
“Those two just had cramp, there was no issue other than fatigue,” he said.
“The group has got smaller in the last few weeks and we have asked a lot of these players and not really been able to spend much time on the grass.
“People might think you would be fresher but sometimes if you are doing little you can lose fitness and sharpness quite quickly.
“We haven’t had a lot of time on the grass in the last couple of weeks but we got the job done and that was the main thing today.”
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