Bolton secured passage through to the knockout stages of the EFL Trophy in style, winning 3-0 at Rochdale.
Wanderers have also secured top spot whatever happens in their group, having picked up a maximum haul of nine points from their group matches.
In a slight surprise, although a welcome one, Bolton went very strong with their team selection. Alex Baptiste came in at the back for Will Aimson and George Thomason came into midfield but otherwise it was a similar starting XI to that who played at Portsmouth at the weekend. There was some space for other players to get minutes. Liam Edwards eventually got to make his long awaited return from injury, while Mitchell Henry got a late cameo too.
On the night that string Bolton side were just too good for Rochdale. Dapo Afolayan continued his fine form this season, scoring a screamer as he cut in from the left and left Jay Lynch absolutely stranded. He also drew the foul out of Lynch for our third goal, from which Eoin Doyle converted the penalty – from the spot or not, hopefully that goal will give him a bit of confidence. Declan John scored in between that, and Bolton had the game won by half-time.
It’s a much needed win, if we beat Stockport as well it might just keep a few tails up ahead of getting back to the league. And a cup run will be great.