Ian Evatt hails Bolton spirit after victory at Exeter

Posted Saturday, April 08, 2023 by PA

Bolton manager Ian Evatt hailed the spirit of his team as they returned to their League One promotion bid with a dogged 1-0 win at Exeter.

Just five days after thrashing Plymouth 4-0 at Wembley Stadium to win the Papa Johns Trophy final, Bolton were given a far tougher examination by the Grecians, who fared well but lacked a killer touch in front of goal.

“Sunday was a great, monumental occasion for our club and we had to reset this week with some adversity,” Evatt said. “We have lost our captain through injury and we lost one of our centre backs to a bad challenge, but I thought the first half was a really good performance.

“In the second half, we were fatigued and tired and I thought you could see (the effects of) Sunday creeping into our game, but we were really gutsy and I am really proud of the players.

“I thought we did the hard yards in the first half, some of our play was outstanding and the only concern that I had was that our final detail, or final pass, wasn’t there and we really had opportunities to put the game to bed.

“Exeter have won their last four games and the second half was always going to be a challenge, but the boys have toughed it out against decent opposition. I am really pleased for them.

“But this is parked now, we concentrate on our next half now, not even our next game, and that’s on Monday against Cambridge, who have had a great result today. They are down there fighting for their lives, but there is a steely determination amongst our group right now.”

Exeter boss Gary Caldwell said: “I was very pleased with the performance in the second half. I thought it was one-way traffic, but in the first half, we were a little bit too tentative and too passive out of possession.

“Bolton are a good side – we knew that – and we had to be more aggressive when we decided to press. We sorted that out at half-time and I thought the players were outstanding in the second half in how they took the game to a team that’s in the play-offs and but for that bit of quality in the final third, and if we had scored, then I think we would have gone on and won the game.

“Like I say, the second half was one-way traffic. All the play was in that half, we played on the front foot, we were far more aggressive. I felt like when we got it in wide areas, we could have crossed it quicker at times and attacked the box and the scoring zone with more aggression and more numbers, but in terms of effort and application, I can’t fault the players for the second half performance.”