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Northampton Town boss Jon Brady admitted there were mixed emotions following his side's 1-1 draw against Wanderers.
The hosts took an early lead when Kieran Bowie lashed home, and things got worse for the Whites when George Thomason was shown a straight red card for a foul on Aaron McGowan. Ian Evatt also saw red during the half-time interval.
But Bolton fought back in the second half and substitute Carlos Mendes Gomes headed home to secure a point.
“It’s a bit bitter-sweet really,” said Brady. “I feel like we should have won but I spoke to the players about representing ourselves better and looking more like us today.
“At Portsmouth (last weekend) you are up against the best team in the league, and I just felt like that represented us today. The way we set up, structurally, I thought it was good and it worked early on.”
He continued: “That is down to the players and the attitude they had today - their tactical awareness to take on board what we try to do, their energy and effort.
“Overall, we would take a point all day long against Bolton Wanderers but it ebbed and flowed. They had some chances as well, it could have gone either way.”
Even after the red card, the Northampton chief knew it would not be easy to see out the result against Evatt’s side.
“You see the players they bring on, we talked about it in the week,” Brady added.
“Aaron Collins comes on, they bought him for a substantial amount. Cameron Jerome, players like that coming on can make a huge difference for them.
“That is why they are fighting to win promotion and they could be a Championship club come the end of the season.
“They have got the infrastructure and everything. We went toe-to-toe today and overall, it’s a good point.”
Gomes took advantage of a moment of hesitation in the Northampton, beating Bolton-born Louie Molden with a clinical header.
“The fella is on the front foot and we would normally defend that better in the moment,” Brady explained.
“It is frustrating because we concede from it, but you are going to concede throughout the season and it is about how you bounce back and how you deal with that. That is the most important thing.”
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