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Ian Evatt was pleased to see Wanderers advance to the knockout rounds of the Papa Johns Trophy after “wearing down” Premier League Leeds United’s Under-21s.
Tested in the early stages by the Elland Road kids, Bolton steadied their nerves with a Jon Dadi Bodvarsson strike midway through the first half.
Amadou Bakayoko and Kieran Sadlier extended the lead later on as Bolton’s greater experience and strength began to show.
Evatt was pleased to emerge with a result which not only puts the club into the last 32 but also in a winning frame of mind as they head to Accrington on Saturday.
“Cup competitions are always about progression and progressing to the next round,” he said. “We are delighted to do that.
“Credit to them, everything I saw pre-match from them was very, very good. I think they are having a good season so far.
“They scored five at Tranmere, so we paid them a lot of respect. First half, they were very fast in transition. A typical Leeds team really, you could see the identity and what they were trying to do.
“I thought eventually, once we got to grips with that, we wore them down and they got tired in the second half. But credit to them, they gave us a good game.”
Wanderers were forced to make two changes, with Josh Sheehan going off for Kieran Lee at half time and Bodvarsson limping off to be replaced by Bakayoko on the hour.
Evatt believes both players will be OK for the weekend.
“Jon is okay,” he said. “I think he has just rolled his ankle, but no issues there. And Josh Sheehan had a bit of a back spasm. Again just no risk really, just get them off and get them ready and prepared for Saturday.
“It was a good victory. We did lots of things right. Obviously, we still could have been more clinical and scored more goals, and they had one or two moments in transition. But I thought it was a really good game and am delighted to progress.”
The night also saw Lloyd Isgrove make his first start since returning from nearly a year on the side-lines with a hamstring injury.
The former Southampton man created the first-half goal for Bodvarsson and showed enough to suggest he could start against Stanley.
“We have missed him,” Evatt said. “We have missed his energy, on the training pitch as well as on matchdays. A moment of quality for the first goal. A good pick out and a good finish from Jon. I thought that settled us down after three games of not scoring, which isn’t like us at all.
“I think we have had 24 shots and 10 on target. We have worked the keeper tonight. We have created like we always create and we have managed to be clinical.
“We can still do better in those positions and those moments, but (we are) pleased with the victory. I think they are a good team and really well coached.”
Declan John was substituted midway through the second half for Owen Beck, with cameras catching him reacting angrily as he walked back down the tunnel.
“I didn’t see that,” Evatt added. “I don’t expect anyone to be happy coming off the pitch. It is not about Declan, it is about the team and Owen Beck needs and wants some minutes. I thought Owen was excellent when he came on.”
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