MATCH REACTION: Ian Evatt's verdict on the 1-0 win against Portsmouth

The end result was all that mattered for Ian Evatt as his in-for Wanderers continued their march towards Wembley in the Papa Johns Trophy.

Jon Dadi Bodvarsson scored the only goal of the game to beat Portsmouth in a tight contest where poor conditions and an unpredictable playing surface made flowing football hard to come by.

The visitors improved in the second half, ensuring that Bolton had to work hard to keep a fifth clean sheet in six games, but barring a late save from James Trafford to deny Recco Hackett, passage into the semi-finals was relatively straightforward.

“We got the job done and that’s the most important thing,” said Evatt after the game. “I don’t think we were at our fluid best, but there were moments and flickers of it.

“We decided to make six changes because we trust the entire squad and we wanted to give people minutes.

“There were times when we were good, times when we were not, but we still managed to find a way to win. Portsmouth are a good team and we knew they would be difficult.

“The pitch is becoming increasingly difficult to be at our fluid best, to be honest, and that fault isn’t labelled at anybody, it is just the way it is. We have to find other ways to be productive.

“But I am delighted we are one win from Wembley. We can park this for a little bit and then concentrate on the league game on Saturday.”

Wanderers join Plymouth Argyle, Cheltenham Town and Accrington Stanley in the last four of the competition, with the draw being made on Saturday afternoon.

Evatt admits being 90 minutes away from a Wembley final is an exciting prospect but he hopes to keep his players focussed on league football in the meantime, with Portsmouth coming back to the University of Bolton Stadium again on Saturday.

“It feels incredibly special,” he said. “But it is no good to anyone if we don’t win the next game.

“We will focus on that when it comes. For now it is all about the league and refocusing on that.

“The players are in a really good space. We have kept another clean sheet, which is credit to everyone, and we will go again on Saturday.”

Ricardo Santos made his playing return after a month out through illness, the Bolton skipper having been hospitalised at one stage with pneumonia-like symptoms.

“It is huge to get him some minutes,” Evatt added, “At times you could see how he had been missed, that power, speed and composure. There was also a little bit of ring rust in the second half when he started to fatigue – but that will do him the world of good.

“I am delighted we got him back and through the 90 minutes.”

One name that was absent from the team-sheet, however, was that of Dapo Afolayan.

Suspended for league football for one more game, the attacker would have been eligible to play against Pompey in the Trophy.

Evatt explained his decision, stating: “Dapo is not available Saturday to us, so we felt we would just utilise the squad which is available.

“We had a look at one or two things tonight, so that’s it for me.

“I am not responding to any rumours, I don’t need to speculate. My answer is very simple and plain: We decided to go with the squad that is available for the league this week, and that’s that.”

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