Home
A penalty shootout could be on the cards tonight – and Wanderers have benefited from Chris Markham’s expertise in that area.
Markham played a key role in planning for spot kicks during his time with the England national team.
His efforts certainly paid off, with Gareth Southgate’s side winning a World Cup shootout for the first time to overcome Colombia in the round of 16 in Russia.
Tonight’s game will go straight to penalties if the scores are level, and Evatt says his side have done their due diligence.
The Bolton boss said: “We will do a lot of work on penalty takers, who should take which penalty and which ones are the most important.
“We have done lots of stuff with that, Chris (Markham) has been excellent. Obviously, he executed England’s penalty shootout gameplan in the (2018) World Cup.
“We are well versed in what a penalty shootout should look like and hopefully it comes down to execution on the day.”
He added: “You can’t ever replicate that pressure or the noise of a penalty shootout, but what you can replicate is good technique.
“We will certainly be doing some practice to make sure the players are comfortable with setting a target and trying to hit that target.”
Despite their preparation, Evatt would much rather get the job done in 90 minutes against John Coleman’s side.
“I have noticed one or two more grey hairs than I had the previous year, so I don’t need any more of those,” he laughed. “I would like us just to perform really well on the night and hopefully get the job done.”
Manchester City loanee James Trafford will play a key role against his former club should penalties be required.
Dion Charles also spent time at Accrington, scoring 30 times in 97 games during a three-and-a-half-year spell with the Reds.
However, he found himself out of the first-team picture during his final months at the Wham Stadium following a contract dispute.
“Players always seem to have a point to prove – not to me or our fans, but maybe to that football club for the way things ended,” said Evatt.
“He wants to go and show everybody what a good player he is and how much he has evolved and developed since he has been part of our club. It is a great chance for him to go and do that.
“He will go about things the same way. No doubt, in the game he will be given some opportunities and hopefully he can take them.”
Source