Upbeat Ian Evatt feels Barnsley ‘sacrificed’ ambition to play for draw at Bolton

Ian Evatt claimed Barnsley showed “no real ambition to win the game” after Wanderers failed to score for a third successive match.

Respective keepers James Trafford and Brad Collins only had three on-target efforts to save between them in this top-seven encounter.

“There were so many things to be positive about,” insisted Evatt after the Trotters collected a point after back-to-back defeats at Cheltenham and Forest Green.

“Barnsley have just come down from the Championship and almost made the Premier League 18 months ago,” said Evatt.

“That team beat Sheffield Wednesday comfortably at Hillsborough and we have completely dominated the game.

“There was no real ambition from them to win the game and that speaks volumes.

“They have come and paid us the ultimate respect to sacrifice everything they have been doing, keeping men behind the ball to frustrate and disrupt.

“Against that type of low block it is difficult to create clear-cut opportunities. We did have two good ones which we didn’t take but that is the way things are going.”

Barnsley boss Michael Duff – whose side stay sixth, one spot ahead of Wanderers – countered Evatt’s claim, saying: “It wasn’t a case of settling for a point.

“In the 93rd minute, we were the ones who had a good chance to win the game. It’s never a case of shutting up shop; it’s being difficult to beat, hard to play against and picking your moments.

“That’s one thing we didn’t do particularly well, we could have picked our moments slightly better.

“But it is a good point from a difficult place to come. And it was a good performance on the back of last week’s poor performance (a 2-0 home defeat to Exeter).

“We could have used the ball a bit better. Last week we passed it for the sake of passing it, this time we turned it over a few too many times.

“However, you take a point and clean sheet away from home all day. There is slight frustration but after last week you take the positives.

“You look at the armoury they brought off the bench and they only had one shot on target, I am told.”

Collins kept out a second-minute effort from Dion Charles while the Wanderers striker could not convert a close-range second-half chance.

Barnsley, who have not beaten Bolton now for 14 matches and 24 years, might have cracked the division’s tightest defence in the closing stages.

Instead, James Norwood headed over Nicky Cadden’s cross and substitute Cadden’s even later free-kick was saved by Trafford.