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Ian Evatt is confident Wanderers won’t dwell on their late disappointment against Cambridge United.
The play-off chasing squad were licking their wounds yesterday after seeing two points slip out of their grasp in the 95th minute of Monday’s game.
The Whites dropped to sixth, staying above Derby County on goal difference, and have failed to convince since losing central defensive pair Ricardo Santos and Eoin Toal to injury.
But they retain a game in hand on the Rams and go to an Oxford side on Saturday that has not won a game since January 21.
“They are young players and they are learning their trade. It is the hand we have been dealt – not just Rico and Eoin missing but also Jack Iredale, Jon Bodvarsson, top players that any team in this league would suffer if they missed them,” Evatt said.
“I feel like we have had some unfortunate circumstances but people get injured all the time and we have to adapt and overcome, find a way. If we had won the last two games 1-0 we probably wouldn’t be talking about the injuries as much. That is the fine margins of football.
“In the 95th minute they get an equaliser and credit to them, the gameplan worked, but for now we have to park it and while this is still in our own hands we’ll keep fighting.
Evatt’s substitutions came under scrutiny in the second half, with five players exchanged in a 10-minute spell which bridged either side of Declan John’s opening goal.
The Bolton boss wanted to keep his team on the attack rather than defend a one-goal lead and came within 60 seconds of seeing his approach pay off.
“That was always the plan,” he said. “If we couldn’t get ahead early on then we had that up our sleeve to bring players on to go and win it, and it looked like it was going to work perfectly.
“But, again, when the scoreline is only 1-0 you are susceptible to them throwing the ball forwards because they are a physical team and in the last few minutes we didn’t deal with it well enough.”
Without Santos and Toal Bolton are short on options at the back. Evatt has suggested he could rush one or both players back ahead of schedule if absolutely necessary but is likely to go with the same back three this weekend.
“That is all we have got – we have been dealt a bad hand with the injuries,” he said.
“Going back to the Sam Cosgrove challenge in the final\, I am still furious about it because it is us that are suffering now without Eoin Toal while there is no suspension or consequence for that tackle whatsoever. It is my player who is walking around in a protective boot and crutches.
“It has left a sour taste and losing Rico was an enormous blow because he is vitally important to the way we play. We are hopeful he can recover quicker than what we think and, if it comes down to it, we may have to roll the dice. We will see how we go.”
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