Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
John McDougall

'Mixture of the two' - Ian Evatt's mixed Bolton Wanderers feelings after Bristol Rovers draw

Ian Evatt believes there is a mixture of positives and frustration with Bolton Wanderers after their late draw against Bristol Rovers but believes there is significant improvement still to come from his side.

The Gas stunned the hosts inside two minutes when Anthony Evans' low cross was finished off from close range by Josh Coburn as the visitors went in front. It was a lead they preserved at the break, as Dapo Afolayan fired over the bar from distance and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson saw a low shot saved.

After the break, Charles went close to equalising off the bench as he nearly connected with Afolayan's dangerous cross. Charles forced James Belshaw into action after capitalising on James Connolly's error.

READ MORE: Bolton Wanderers player ratings vs Bristol Rovers - MJ Williams, Conor Bradley & Eoin Toal good

The visitors were resilient in defence and kept Wanderers at bay for much of the game. But the hosts deservedly drew level when Charles curled home a beauty from inside a crowded box to ensure the spoils were shared in a 1-1 draw.

The result saw Wanderers remain in fifth place in League One and three points ahead of Portsmouth in seventh as they remain in the top six play-off positions. With results elsewhere last night, such as top two Plymouth Argyle and Ipswich Town both failing to win and the former losing, he believes getting consistent results in the division is not an easy thing to do as he pointed to the positives of what his outfit are doing.

He said: "I think there’s a mixture of the two in there, I think we are positive about a lot of the things we’re doing. There’s obviously some frustration when you have that much dominance that you really should win football matches, but you’ve got no given right to win these games.

“You’ve only got to look at the results elsewhere to see that it’s not easy gaining points in this division consistently and I think we’re doing that at the moment. But there’s a lot to like about what we’re doing. I still feel there’s significant improvement to come and there will be.

“But for now just focus on ourselves, focus on what we’re doing, the boys are working extremely hard, they’ve worked extremely hard today and deserve more than what they got.

“We should have won, I don’t think anybody could argue. I think they had two shots, one on target in the first minute of the game and after that, we had 19 shots, five on target and completely dominated.

“I’ve never known a spell where we’re having so many chances and so much dominance, so much final third position and we’re just not taking them. I just think that has to change. We’re doing so much work on it. I have so much faith in them all and it has to change.

“There’s so much right about our performances at the moment, but we’re just lacking that final 10 to 15 per cent, but that will come. It was a game that we should have won, deserved to win clearly and I’m really pleased. The players never know when they’re beat and despite the chaos and disruption, they kept their focus and carried on until the end.”

Don't miss a thing from the club you love! For all the latest updates on Wanderers, sign up to our free newsletter packed with all the latest news here.

READ NEXT:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.