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“To see the sunshine, you sometimes have to weather a few storms,” apt words from Ian Evatt as he walked away from Cambridge United on Tuesday night with the promotion mood brightened in Bolton.
Victory at the Abbey Stadium might have been more complicated, given the washout a fortnight earlier, but it also put the Whites into a the best possible frame of mind for their Lancastrian double against Blackpool and Wigan Athletic.
Furthermore, a return from suspension for George Thomason, plus Ricardo Santos’s comeback from injury in time for Saturday’s game at Bloomfield Road could not be better timed.
“George is back, Rico will be back, Randell Williams and Dion Charles are not far away, we’ll know more about Nathan Baxter next week as well,” smiled the Bolton boss.
“We have that little boost now with big players coming back at a key stage of the season, so if we can keep showing the sort of resilience and character we have done, we will be okay.”
Wanderers coped – quite literally – with everything Cambridge could throw at them on Tuesday night, defending countless aerial bombardments.
“You know for the four years we have been here we have always found it difficult but, again, it is part of that development and evolution to win this type of game now,” Evatt reflected.
“Cambridge have improved too, they have some good players, but I am so pleased with what the players gave me – huge amounts of resilience and character – in what was a very pressured environment.”
One of the only disappointments of the night was an ankle injury picked up by young defender Caleb Taylor, who had been enjoying his best game to date since signing on loan from West Brom.
“He getting better and we are seeing more of him now as he gets sharper and fitter,” Evatt said.
“Sometimes you get one of those injuries when you are getting close to your maximum and it is a shame for him but hopefully we will see him back again in the not-too-distant future.
“Our fans probably haven’t seen the best of him yet but he is going to be a very good player, mark my words.”
Another January window loanee, Swansea’s Nat Ogbeta, also gave a strong second-half showing which bodes well for the future.
“First half he got into some really good areas and, for once, his crossing let him down,” the manager said. “That is usually one of his biggest strengths. It can happen but when it does you need to show that strength of character and mind to go again, and he did, he was very good in the second half.”
Wanderers are also waiting on information about Evatt’s own disciplinary hearing, after his red card against Northampton Town on February 10.
The club have put forward their argument against the decision of referee Jeremy Simpson and are waiting for a hearing.
“Not heard anything yet,” Evatt told us. “We have responded and I am guessing the Football Association will come back to us with dates for a personal hearing.”
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