Ian Evatt spoke of the issues of forthcoming fixture congestion after Bolton’s game at Cambridge was abandoned.

Both head coaches agreed that referee David Rock made the correct decision in calling the game off after he consulted both Neil Harris and Evatt before leading the players off the pitch with only nine goalless minutes played.

The abandonment was confirmed 16 minutes later.

“I think we’ve got one Tuesday free until the end of the season, so that’s that gone,” Evatt said afterwards.

“It’s a challenge, it’s a test but there’s no way we could have played on that pitch.

“I think we’ve both got a free Tuesday two weeks from now, let’s just get it on as soon as we can.

“All I saw was what happened at Burton. The pitch was perfectly fine and then two hours later it was waterlogged.

“When I came I could see the level of the rainfall. It’s a really good pitch actually but when the pitches are as good as that it seemed to pool and waterlog really quickly.

“Once it started to pool it was only going to get worse.

“Both teams wanted to play tonight. The conditions suit probably one team more than the other, but that’s football.

“I think the referee made the right call.”

Cambridge boss Harris would have preferred the match to reach its conclusion.

He said: “From our perspective we wanted the game to be played because we thought the weather conditions sort of fell in our favour a little bit here against a really good football side.

“I understand the referee’s decision and the EFL’s decision and I’ve got no complaints about it. I just think it’s unfortunate. I thought it had the makings to be a really good game.

“I think you saw in the first nine minutes that was played, that there could have been goals at either end. I think one thing’s for sure, it wouldn’t have ended up 0-0.

“We could all see what was coming. You could see the ball just stop rolling. I think George Thomas ran past the ball at one stage because it had stopped.

“So you knew the moment was coming, you just hoped that the rain lays off a bit and the pitch has got time to recover.

“It’s not just the players, it’s the fans. How long do you wait while you leave the fans in the cold and wet?

“I’ve got no complaints with the decision. I’m disappointed, frustrated because we’re on a great run and I was really looking forward to the game.

“I thought the conditions tonight suited us to make it a real scrap. So I’m frustrated but accept it.”

Bolton boss Ian Evatt gave an honest assessment following his side’s 1-0 defeat to Leyton Orient in Sky Bet League One.

Promotion hopefuls Bolton, who started the match two points off the top of the table and with two matches in hand, should have taken the lead in the first half when leading scorer Dion Charles headed against a post.

However, the visitors paid the price when Dan Agyei netted the only goal of the game in the 54th minute, his third in as many matches, to give Orient the points.

Evatt, who was impressed with his team’s display in Tuesday’s FA Cup replay loss to Luton, said: “I’m very disappointed and I think we got what we deserved.

“They didn’t create lots but played the conditions better and showed more fight, more determination and a willingness to do the ugly side of the game better than we did.

“Some of our decision making and execution was baffling after Tuesday, when it was the opposite.

“I made five substitutions but I wish I could have made 11. If I could have made 11 changes then I would have.”

He continued: “I wasn’t happy with anybody. We made the wrong choices and showed the wrong body language.

“Very rarely am I disappointed with that group of players to the extent I am today.

“Having said all that we still had the best two chances in the game, which you cannot afford to miss. Both gilt edge, right in front of goal with no pressure and one on one. We saw that at Portsmouth and we saw that again today.”

In contrast, Orient assistant manager Matt Harrold was understandably upbeat after his team stretched their unbeaten league run to five matches, a run that includes four victories.

He said: “We’re really thrilled with the result. We’ve looked a really good team (in the) last six games.

“We need to stay aggressive and keep it going. We were really positive, it was a dominant performance despite them having the best two chances of the game.

“We had to stay patient with Dan Agyei having picked up the long-term injury pre-season but his return has been a massive boost for everyone.

“We need to keep him fit and he can go from strength to strength. He’s got that strength, power and unpredictability so we need him to keep going.

“Credit to the overall team though. We’re working hard and stopping the opposition from higher up the pitch, which means we’re not conceding too many chances.

“The big emphasis has been ‘let’s get back to what we are on the front foot, physical and aggressive’.

“There are a lot of games in February and March and the squad is going to be needed and we will attack each game as it comes.”

Ian Evatt hailed Bolton’s “best victory of the season” as they saw off Fleetwood on a windswept night on the Lancashire coast.

Dion Charles and Victor Adeboyejo scored in the second half to leave Wanderers just two points behind League One leaders Portsmouth.

Evatt told Wanderers TV: “That was a proper performance, I’m so pleased with that.

“For me, the best victory of the season in the circumstances – the weather, the storm, the wind, the pitch was all against us really, but I thought we were just so professional.

“I think we dominated both halves really, with the wind and against it. Obviously disappointed not to score in the first half but stayed calm, stayed composed and did the business in the second half.”

Charles opened the scoring four minutes after half-time with his 12th goal of the league season and stepped over Kyle Dempsey’s pass for Adeboyejo to hammer in a late second.

“Great time to score,” said Evatt of the first goal. “I’m delighted for Dion, who I thought was excellent tonight, and then a bit of magic from Dion again with the ‘over’ for the second one for Victor.

“As away performances go, that’s a proper performance.”

Lee Johnson rued individual errors which meant an otherwise impressive battling display from his Fleetwood side went unrewarded.

“It was a tough game,” he said. “We knew the quality Bolton have – they’re a well established side in the division that’s had time to build, and an ex-Premier League club.

“But we felt, genuinely, at half-time that we had a good chance in this game. We defended ever so well in treacherous conditions, the spirit was good, the blocking was good.

“We’re not affecting boxes anywhere near enough, we know that, and we have to because wins are very important.

“You have to give credit to Bolton but again we’re masters of our own downfall with individual errors and that seems like the story of almost the calendar year. If we want to get out of trouble, they’re the bits we have to stop.

“We had 15 players, for various reasons, unavailable for this game and it’s difficult for a club like us.

“We’re not throwing the towel in, I’m well up for the fight. We’ve got 23 games now in which we need a number of wins.

“The first thing we’ve got to stop is the individual errors because there was a clean sheet in that game, and that’s what’s frustrating.”

Bolton boss Ian Evatt hailed his side’s persistence after a last-gasp 1-0 win at 10-man Lincoln.

The resolute Imps looked to have held on for a hard-fought point after Danny Mandriou was sent off in the second half.

But Eoin Toal sent Evatt and the traveling Wanderers fans into scenes of jubilation with his dramatic 89th-minute winner.

“I thought we played so good,” said Evatt. “I thought we dominated from start to finish.

“We had moments we didn’t take, but we kept the belief and kept the faith.

“It shows you the value of set plays. It was easy to throw the ball in at that stage, but against 10 men it’s harder so we utilised the space around the edge and it worked.

“I wish I could bottle up that feeling because what a feeling that was in front of the away end.

“I was really pleased with the performance because I was delighted with the way we played.

“When you have the ball for so long and it’s wave after wave, it was just relentless and eventually we got what we deserved.”

The Trotters cut the gap with the top two after Portsmouth were stunned at Bristol Rovers and Peterborough were held to a late draw.

But Evatt, whose side are two points off Posh with a game in hand, stressed: “It’s getting tight at the top.

“Everyone spoke about the strength of the league, when you look at the pace the top five, six are setting and the points they’re stacking up, it’s large quantities of points.

“For us, we’re not even halfway through the season. There’s so much football to play.

“There’s no talk of this or that. We just focus on the next game. It’s really boring to say but that’s the way it has to be.”

Lincoln slipped to a second successive defeat and are four games without a win.

On Mandriou’s second sending off of the season, boss Michael Skubala said: “It’s a really tough one to take. We had 20 minutes with 10 men, the lads were digging deep and 89th minute, it’s hard to take.

“I thought we deserved something out of the game.

“The red card is a game-changing moment, there’s no doubt about that. I can’t stand here and say it’s not a game-changing moment.

“I don’t really want to talk about Danny if I’m honest, I want to talk about the warriors who for 20 minutes looked like they were going to get something out of the game.

“I thought they were brilliant to a man and we were so unlucky not to come away with something. Getting something out of that game would have been a proud performance from those 10 men.

“He will apologise. He knows. I don’t think it’s about Danny, these situations are about the other guys.

“I was really proud of the crowd, they were amazing. When we were under the cosh you could hear them and we will need that in the next few weeks and months as we’re depleted.”

Relieved Ian Evatt hailed the importance of getting over the line after sealing his 100th victory as Bolton boss against Leyton Orient.

Bolton were 3-0 up inside 10 minutes, but they were a couple of stoppage-time blocked shots from allowing Orient to claim the unlikeliest of points.

“It didn’t matter how we won, we had to win,” said Evatt, who had been marooned on 99 wins after back-to-back losses to Portsmouth and Bristol Rovers.

“All of a sudden, you lose two games and you are the worst team in the league and everything is chaos.

“But at the end of the season all you see is three points. That is all the matters.

Evatt added: “It is one of those games people can pick holes, but the win was the important thing.

“It is amazing how quickly you lose confidence from negative results and I felt there were some nerves in the second half.

“The first half we were scintillating at times and when Dion (Charles) missed his chance before half-time, no one could imagine the effect that could have on the game.

“In the second half we didn’t react to their changes. They went direct and aggressive, but the boys dug deep and found a way to win.”

Josh Dacres-Cogley put Bolton ahead after two minutes before Dion Charles seized on a Jordan Brown mistake to register his 16th goal of the campaign. The Northern Ireland international then played in George Thomason to score at the second attempt.

But goals inside five second-half minutes from Shaq Forde and Theo Archibald put the result in doubt until the final whistle.

“It is a tough place to come, it’s even tougher when you are 3-0 down after 10 minutes,” said Orient boss Richie Wellens.

“The first 10 minutes we were awful. Some of the young lads were like rabbits in the headlights. Then we recovered well.

“The last 25 minutes of the first half we were the better team. In the second half, it was all one-way traffic.

“If we get a goal with six or seven minutes left, I thought they were done. But credit them for holding on.

“We are a club that is trying to get to where Bolton are. Bolton should never be a League One club.

“But we can’t start like that. I would love to be their manager. With that squad, I win the league. But we are where we are.

“Our supporters need to be patient and go through the process. We have to respect they are a really good side with good players that have been built over two or three years.”

Bolton replaced Portsmouth as Sky Bet League One leaders, with top scorer Dion Charles scoring twice to help thrash struggling Exeter 7-0 at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.

Grecians boss Gary Caldwell went into the contest boosted by backing from club directors and owners, but in-form Wanderers handed the Scot a reality check with an eighth successive win in all competitions – their biggest of the campaign.

Ian Evatt’s side laboured for 34 minutes to break the deadlock against the early-season leaders of the third tier.

But when Jack Iredale headed in from Charles’ cross, the outcome was never in doubt.

Striker Victor Adeboyejo doubled Bolton’s lead before half-time, netting for the first time in two months.

Caldwell used defender Cheick Diabate as a striker but his services may have been better deployed in a more familiar position.

Paris Maghoma made it 3-0 after 55 minutes before Northern Ireland international Charles took over.

His 12th and 13th league goals of the season came 11 minutes apart while substitutes Kyle Dempsey and Dan Nlundulu completed the rout late on.

Ian Evatt called George Thomason’s stunning match winner “very special” as Bolton’s fifth straight Skybet League One victory was made in Blackpool.

Midfielder Thomason, let go by the Seasiders at 16, netted a superb 74th-minute strike to the delight of ex-Bloomfield Road favourite, Evatt, with the Tangerines beaten 1-0.

“Football throws up these stories sometimes,” said the Bolton boss who earned promotion to the Premier League during his seven-year career on the Fylde Coast.

“For a young boy to be released by Blackpool and score the winner for Bolton is something very special.

“I am very proud of him. But I am proud of them all because that was a very tough game.

“That club (Blackpool) is dear to my heart but so is this one. There is nobody happier than me that we won that game “

Bolton did not have things all their own way with Karamoko Dembele hitting a post, Matt Pennington heading wide and CJ Hamilton failing to convert James Husband’s second-half cross.

“What an advert for League One football,” enthused Evatt after a derby watched by 24,238 fans.

“I thought it was such a high-quality game, two teams that are good with and without the ball.

“I thought we shaded it, to be honest, had the better chances, and we raised the tempo second half.

“The togetherness in the group, the people they are, they are amazing. I can’t wait to get back out on the grass with them again on Monday. It excites me working with this group of players.”

Pool chief manager Neil Critchley reckoned he had been more annoyed after seeing his team win this season.

But he remained upset a potential handball by Thomason was not punished with a penalty by referee Ben Toner.

“It was a good game played between two good teams in the right spirit,” he said echoing Evatt’s words. “It took a fantastic strike from outside the box to decide it.

“I can’t fault the way we played or the effort. I have been angrier after some of the games we have won this season.

“I am disappointed to lose any game. It is a horrible feeling and with the following we had who got right behind the team you want to send them home happy.

“Performance wise though, we contributed to a good game. We knew they were in form but I thought we more than matched them.

“There wasn’t anything in it really. We just didn’t work their keeper when we created our chances.

“But For me there was a clear handball and penalty. The referee can see it, he should give it but he didn’t.

“One big decision he had to make he got it strong. You need those things to go for you in game of fine margins.”

One-time Bloomfield Road youngster George Thomason scored a spectacular 74th-minute winner to earn in-form Bolton a 1-0 Skybet League One win over Blackpool in front of 24,238 at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.

And Wanderers’ sixth successive win in all competitions was extra special for boss Ian Evatt who spent seven years as a player with the Seasiders, helping them into the Premier League.

Now, Evatt, who picked up a late booking, has sights set on taking the Trotters into the Championship.

But the home side were second best for large parts of the opening half. Karamoko Dembele curled a shot against a post after only three minutes as Neil Critchley’s team relished its task of trying to take down Bolton’s winning run.

However, the Trotters grew into the contest and Randell Williams hit the woodwork with a free-kick before forcing Dan Grimshaw into an unconvincing save.

Bolton, who had not previously beaten Blackpool in the league since 2014, remained in the ascendancy with Grimshaw twice denying top scorer Dion Charles.

CJ Hamilton squandered a great chance for the visitors after 69 minutes via James Husband’s cross before Thomason broke the deadlock with a rising left-

foot drive from 20 yards.

Bolton boss Ian Evatt was pleased with how his side defended after a 2-0 win over Shrewsbury made it four consecutive League One away victories.

The triumph helped the Trotters pile the pressure on second-placed Oxford, with whom they are now level on points.

It was a game of few chances for both sides, but the visitors were the more clinical.

Paris Maghoma’s long-range effort trickled through the palms of the injured Marko Marosi and Aaron Morley confirmed all three points after he found the bottom corner in additional time.

Evatt said: “This is a tough place to come, they are a big physical strong team, every player coming on is my size.

“I thought we defended set-plays superbly well. We are not going to have it our own way all the time; we have to be patient.

“They set up in a good shape, made it difficult for us, difficult to play through, they frustrated us at times, but back to what we spoke about in previous years, they cannot do it for 90 minutes.

“I thought we just started to get them fatigued and started to take over when the first goal came. Then we had to dig deep, and this group can dig deep; they are capable of that, and they showed that tonight.

“They have won their last four home games and not conceded many goals, so to get the victory is really pleasing.

“It is quite a heavy pitch and lots of bobbles, so when we are trying to be precise with our passing, particularly the final third, some of our fast connections against a deep low block couldn’t quite come off at times, but the players didn’t get frustrated.”

Shrewsbury suffered a third consecutive league loss.

Boss Matt Taylor said: “The performance was good up until an error which is uncharacteristic for Marko.

“He has been brilliant since I have been here, and he has been a fantastic servant to the football club and that changed the game.

“The first goal in this league is hugely important, so they go on and we give away a second goal slightly naively.

“For large parts, we were excellent out of possession. We, of course, always want to be better with the ball, but in terms of effort and performance, really good.

“Up until that point (Marosi’s error), we dominated in terms of final third entries, corners and in terms of the areas of the pitch we want to be in.

“We haven’t made them territory advantages count, but we are playing against one of the best and biggest clubs in the league.”

Ian Evatt described his first FA Cup managerial success as “strange but nice” as Bolton hammered home the 48-place difference between the League One club and their National League visitors Solihull Moors.

Evatt had lost five times in the competition with Bolton and previously as boss of Barrow.

But the visitors, who had skipper Jamey Osborne sent off in injury time, were swamped by the third tier’s third-placed side who scored through Ricardo Santos, Paris Maghoma, Will Forrester and Dion Charles. Top scorer Charles also had a penalty saved by Tommy Simkin.

“I am delighted the monkey is off my back,” said a relieved Evatt. “I can have a cup of tea now and enjoy Match of the Day for once.

“The message to the players was we didn’t want to be headline news. We didn’t want to feel embarrassed, we wanted to show everyone what we can do.”

Evatt, who last enjoyed success in the competition as a Chesterfield player in 2016, added: “It has been annoying because It’s not as though I have deliberately changed the team and not taken it seriously.

“I am fortunate I have had a lot of success early on as a manager: two promotions, a cup win (Papa John’s Trophy) and play-offs. But this has been one box I have not ticked.

“People talk about ‘the league is our bread and butter’ – that’s just nonsense, the players want to play football and want to win.

“We want to win consistently and if that’s in the FA Cup we will take it seriously.

“This game was all about attitude. We spoke how this game would show me where they are as a group, what their mindset is like. They showed me they are in a good place.”

Moors manager Andy Whing, booked by referee Scott Simpson in stoppage time for protesting at Osborne’s dismissal, said: “Bolton are a very good team. I was really impressed with them.

“It’s not as though they constantly carved us open. We were better than we have been in the last two or three weeks in terms of creating more chances.

“However, I am gutted. I don’t like losing football matches whether it’s against a Premier League side or against Biggleswade. But I am proud of the players at the same time.

“It’s a game of football you want to win but Bolton are some team, with a fantastic manager and coaching staff. Hopefully they go up this season.

“I thought we created some great chances, especially at 2-0, but they were straight at the goalkeeper.”

Bolton boss Ian Evatt felt his side should have been returning from Burton with a three-point haul rather than just one despite their slow start to the match and falling a goal behind.

Wanderers, looking to bounce back from last weekend’s 4-0 home mauling by Wigan, trailed to Mark Helm’s goal just after the break but drew level before the hour through Dion Charles.

However, Bolton could not go on to find a winner – and a first-ever victory at the home of the Brewers – as the match finished 1-1, much to Evatt’s frustration.

“It’s a game we should have won,” he said.

“First half we didn’t start great and for the first 20 minutes they put us under pressure, and we didn’t make the right decisions, which is understandable after last week, which really rocked us.”

Helm caught Bolton cold with Albion’s goal less than a minute into the second half which also irked the Bolton boss.

“We didn’t start the second half well either, making a critical error in the first minute,” Evatt said.

“To be fair, after that we rallied and took over the game, but we have missed some critical chances that should have put the game to bed.

“I think we can do better. We know we can do better. It would have been easy going behind again to feel sorry for ourselves and the only real frustration is that we should have gone on to win.”

Burton boss Dino Maamria was pleased with his team’s performance, but the former striker was also frustrated by their failure to kill off the game when Albion were on top.

“The performance is there to see. An excellent performance. I might have to put my boots on because we do everything apart from that last seven or eight yards,” he said.

Bobby Kamwa, making his first league start of the season, was guilty of an early miss having rounded Bolton keeper Nathan Baxter and hitting the post, a chance that would have capped a dominant opening to the game for Albion.

“A game like today should have been done and dusted in the first half but we just lack that quality in those final yards to score goals but everything else was excellent,” Maamria said.

“We played in their half and pressed them really well but couldn’t get the goal we deserved.”

He added: “Second half we got the goal and needed to kick on but the disappointment is that we conceded from a second ball from a long ball and it’s preventable.

“Is it a fair result?. I think if we had the killer instinct in those final 10 yards, we would have won the game.

“Their keeper denied Deji (Oshilaja) with his trailing leg at point-blank range and any other day that goes in, and we win the game. It wasn’t meant to be.”

Bolton boss Ian Evatt was sent off for “misuse of technology” after Victor Adeboyejo’s first-half hat-trick set-up the League One leaders’ 3-1 win over Fleetwood.

Northern Ireland international Dion Charles was also dismissed by referee Tom Nield for a caution in each half.

Charles was the first to receive his marching orders after 69 minutes following a clash with Town keeper Jay Lynch.

Evatt followed five minutes later and under this season’s new regulations was unable to take his post-match press conference.

Instead, assistant manager Peter Atherton explained: “We saw Dion come alongside the keeper who stuck out his leg and tripped Dion.

“What he saw was very different to what we saw and unfortunately for Dion it was a second yellow.”

After watching on a pitchside monitor, Atherton added Evatt then drew the incident to the fourth official’s attention.

“The gaffer said he had seen it back. There was no misconduct in terms of abusive language.

“He just said, ‘I have seen it back and you got it wrong. From just referring to saying he had seen it back, that is a red card.”

Bolton fans’ anger was heightened by an incident last season against Forest Green Rovers when Nield mistakenly dismissed Charles instead of former team-mate Elias Kachunga.

On the plus side was Adeboyejo’s first hat-trick since his move from Burton.

“Last year Dion was the main goal scorer,” said Atherton.

“But we have said we have to share (goals) among the team.

“Vic has worked hard on the training ground and it’s nice to see him get the rewards with the hat-trick.”

Fleetwood have picked up only one point from their first three games and were also knocked out of the League Cup,

Josh Earl scored a stoppage-time consolation though home goalie Nathan Baxter twice denied Bolton old boy Josh Vela and a Scott Robertson free-kick.

Manager Scott Brown said: “It starts tough because we lost a goal after three minutes. They get that momentum.

“They had great shape and great structure behind and in front of the ball.

“It’s that bit of quality in the final third they had that was a lot better than we had.

“Their wing-backs were bolting in behind, first-time deliveries across the goal and their striker wanted it more and was switched on more than our defenders.

“It comes down to desire but also ruthlessness. They had that ruthlessness and we didn’t.

“The ball was a magnet to him .We had five defenders in the box at one point circulating him and he found the space.

“We had a few chances we probably should have scored off but we end up scoring off a corner in the 94th minute. We didn’t give ourselves a chance.”

Victor Adeboyejo netted a first-half hat-trick but strike partner Dion Charles and manager Ian Evatt were sent off as leaders Bolton beat Fleetwood 3-1 in League One.

The former Burton star became only the second Wanderers player in nine years to score a treble, firing the Trotters towards a third consecutive league victory.

Paris Maghoma claimed assists for his team-mate’s first two goals after three and 14 minutes, while a third right-wing cross from Josh Dacre-Cogley was also converted by Adeboyejo eight minutes from the interval.

Bolton’s win was soured by referee Tom Nield’s dismissal of Northern Ireland international Charles.

Last January, Nield mistakenly sent off Charles instead of then team-mate Elias Kachunga in Bolton’s win over Forest Green.

This time he booked Charles for a first-half stoppage-time foul and cautioned him again for clashing with ex-Wanderers’ keeper Jay Lynch in the 69th minute.

Five minutes later Evatt followed after protesting too vehemently over a Fleetwood challenge.

The 10-man eventually conceded their first goal of the campaign to Josh Earl’s stoppage-time consolation.

Ian Evatt warned the rest of League One there is much more to come from his Bolton Wanderers side after their impressive 3-0 win at Cheltenham Town.

Dion Charles scored twice, along with an own goal from Liam Smith during a one-sided first half at the Completely-Suzuki Stadium.

The result puts Bolton top of the table with two wins from two, along with a Carabao Cup first round victory, making it seven unanswered goals this season for Evatt’s men.

“The weight of expectation is with us this season and it’s a really solid start, but I think there’s loads more to come,” Evatt said.

“It looks like we’re a lot more creative this season and are more of a threat. We have more athleticism, speed and dynamism.

“This group is very talented, but we aren’t going to get carried away because it’s only August so we’ll keep working hard.”

Charles’ opener arrived in the 15th minute after a clever ball from Victor Adeboyejo set him up to slot confidently past Luke Southwood.

Southwood dived to catch Randell Williams’ header two minutes later and Kyle Dempsey curled one just wide as Wanderers continued to dominate.

It was 2-0 after half an hour when a free-kick from Aaron Morley was whipped towards the near post and Liam Smith deflected it into his own net.

Charles added his second and Wanderers’ third with a fine curling finish in the 33rd minute, giving Southwood no chance.

“Some of our build up play was as good as you’ll see and I think we had another gear,” Evatt said.

“I thought Dion and Victor were superb. It’s really important that strikers get off the mark, but the way they play the goals will always come.

“It’s an exciting group to work with, but this result is parked and now it’s on to Tuesday (Fleetwood Town at home).”

Morley forced Southwood into another save 10 minutes into the second half before Cheltenham’s penalty appeals were waved away two minutes later when Rob Street went down in the box.

Lewis Freestone’s header from Liam Sercombe’s corner was brilliantly tipped over the bar by Nathan Baxter in the 79th minute and Street forced another save in the final seconds, but Wanderers comfortably made it three wins from three in all competitions to send their 1,486 travelling fans home happy.

Cheltenham boss Wade Elliott admitted his side lost their way during the opening 45 minutes after a promising start.

“It was a tough one and the goals were soft from our point of view,” Elliott said. “For 15 minutes, we got on the front foot and had a go.

“Their first goal knocked the stuffing out of us a little bit and obviously the game got away from us by half time.

“We stuck at it and kept going, showing a little bit of grit and character and kept pushing at the end even when in reality the game was beyond us.”

Zac Ashworth’s first senior goal secured Carabao Cup progress for Sky Bet League One Bolton courtesy of a 1-0 victory over fourth tier Barrow.

And on a night of unexpected results, manager Ian Evatt was just pleased his former club could not add to the list of giantkillers.

Ashworth, on a season-long loan from West Brom, curled in a 44th-minute free-kick to mark his debut in fine style.

“We should not take progression for granted,” said Evatt after Wanderers followed up last Saturday’s opening league win against Lincoln.

“There have been some strange results and big shocks so I am delighted to get through.

“Overall, I thought it was comfortable but great credit to Barrow. They made it tough for us and got a lot of bodies behind the ball.

“Obviously while they are still in the game they can have a last-minute push and anything can happen.

“We were waiting for them to come out earlier than they did. They probably waited until injury time to throw men forward.

“But we were completely dominant in possession, but probably not productive enough in the second half.

“There were very limited opportunities, but we were perhaps a little safe in the final third. But we limited them to very little so lots of positives.”

On Ashworth’s match-winning contribution, Evatt added: “I am pleased for Zac and great we managed to blood him along with Paris Maghoma and Carlos Mendes Gomes to get them some match minutes to bring them up to speed.”

Barrow boss Pete Wild refused to be too downhearted by his team’s exit.

“For me the Carabao Cup is a free hit,” he insisted. “It has been a night out for the fans and a good chance for the players to play at a top League One ground.

“Ultimately, I won’t be judged on what round of the Carabao Cup I get to. I will be judged on what we do in the league.

“We watched Bolton over the last couple of days and you have a decision to make. Do we come out and be blasé because it is the cup and have a right go but leave yourself wide open?

“Or you can sit in, try and frustrate and in the last 15-20 minutes, if you are still in the game, have a chance to have a go at them.

“The plan was to sit in and frustrate for long periods. And what a shift the lads put in.

“We had a couple of chances at the end to maybe nick something. But we came up against a top League One side.

“They play the same system as us but with a lot more purpose and power.”