Ian Evatt disappointed with referee decision as Bolton claim late point at Wigan

Posted Sunday, April 03, 2022 by PA

Bolton boss Ian Evatt was left seething after Wigan were allowed to keep 11 men on the field for the duration of Saturday’s 1-1 Sky Bet League One draw at the DW Stadium.

James McClean had given Wigan a seventh-minute lead, but was then cautioned for bringing down Wanderers winger Oladapo Afolayan.

Moments before half-time, McClean again felled Afolayan, only for referee Samuel Barrott to decide against brandishing a second yellow.

Bolton levelled eight minutes from time through Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, but Evatt was still incensed with McClean avoiding an early bath.

“I don’t see how it isn’t a yellow card,” he said. “The whole stadium knew it.

“Dapo got there first and played the ball around James and Dapo was going in towards goal.

“The linesman said the ball went out of play but it only did after three or four bounces and Dapo not running after it because he had been brought to the floor.

“It was a really disappointing decision because that really does put things in our favour.

“But massive credit to our lads, we wrestled back the impetus after that first half-an-hour and we were outstanding.”

Evatt spoke to the official at half-time and did not feel he got an acceptable explanation.

“His opinion was that it wasn’t his fault – that was the information he got from the linesman,” added Evatt.

“But the information was wrong. Everyone knew it was a yellow, and that’s that.”

Unsurprisingly, opposite number Leam Richardson felt the referee got the big decision spot on.

“I thought both sets of fans, both sets of players were excellent today,” he said.

“I didn’t think there was a tackle in the game that deserved to make it an uneven game.

“I thought the referee and the officials managed the game extremely well.

“In my opinion, there was no need to send anybody off.”

On the game itself, Richardson felt his side let Bolton off the hook by not taking full advantage of their first-half dominance.

“I thought we controlled large parts of the game,” he said.

“I thought we were excellent in the first half, possibly should have put the game to bed by half-time.

“In fact, for the first 60 minutes, we dominated large parts of the game, but now and again you have to dig in and defend.

“Both teams kept each other honest throughout, it was fantastic for the fans, and a good derby occasion.”

Evatt, meanwhile, reckoned Bolton were good value for a point after recovering from a poor start.

“For the first 25 minutes to half an hour, we weren’t good enough,” he said.

“They got the ball and dominated us not through good play but more from our own mistakes. I thought we looked nervous.

“It was territory, set-plays, them nicking second balls in midfield and it felt like we were under pressure when really we weren’t, and we didn’t manage that spell well enough.

“When they scored it jolted us and we took over the last 10-15 minutes of the first half and then the whole of the second half, really.

“I’m delighted we got the goal. It was the least we deserved.”