Bolton manager Ian Evatt says that despite a positive performance there’s a lot of lessons that can be learnt after his side’s Carabao Cup home defeat to Middlesbrough.
Dion Charles had given Bolton the lead after 23 minutes, before Matt Crooks equalised ten minutes later for the away side. Boro then nicked the win in injury time, with Riley McGree scoring in the 91st and Morgan Rogers adding a third in the 94th.
“I thought first half we were the better team, we had good control for large spells, I thought they scored slightly against the run of play at a time when we were pushing for the second,” Evatt told The Bolton News.
“It was really positive first half but second half what happens when you don’t manage the ball you end up out of possession for large periods and like we do to teams in our own division, you eventually get fatigued. Against the best teams – and they really are a good team – I think you get picked off.
“We showed great resilience, great courage, defended our box really well, so to lose the game in the 90+1 90+4 minutes is disappointing because there are lots of positives to take and lots of lessons to be learned.
“The reason we play how we play is because, hopefully, once we get to the next level we can compete because we can manage the ball and sometimes rest in possession. If you spend large spells out of possession against these top Championship teams, eventually you’ll get picked off.
“We just needed a little more bravery in the build phase, especially from the keeper. But all in all, considering the number of changes we made compared with the number they made I think we gave a good account of ourselves for large periods.”
Ian Evatt on lessons learned
Evatt spoke of why he wants to play the possession-based style he does, but admitted that his side can learn a lot from Boro and how they kept the ball in the second half, when the away side were on top.
“The reason we play the way we play, the way we are coached, and the way I believe we should play is that the higher you go, the more you need the ball. If you don’t, you’ll tire and you can’t spend that long out of possession because eventually you’ll lose concentration,” he added.
“Also, if you do get that moment – and we had one with Dion at 1-1 – a sharp Dion Charles who hadn’t spent 25 minutes out of possession, I believe he would have finished that chance.
“I think they are a really good team and I have watched their games back, they are in a false position in the Championship. Their performances have been excellent and had Michael (Carrick) been in charge from the start of last season they would have been promoted along with Burnley.
“For large spells we gave a really good account of ourselves against a really good team.”
Bolton appear to have lost their backup keeper Joel Coleman, who had to come off at half-time due to an ankle injury, adding to Evatt’s injury woes with captain Ricardo Santos coming off at the weekend with what looked to be a similar injury.