It might have only been a friendly but Ian Evatt really wasn’t happy with as Bolton scraped a late draw with FC United of Manchester this afternoon.
In an even first half, there was no breakthrough. Wanderers, like in their opening two games of pre-season, more or less made a full change of team at the break, but a mistake from Joel Dixon allowed a trialist to give the Northern Premier League side the lead. George Johnston would keep the unbeaten pre-season going with a header right at the end of the match, but Evatt wasn’t taking any positives from it bar the fact it wasn’t a competitive fixture.
“My lads have just been told in no uncertain terms that it was unacceptable,” he said. “I am actually embarrassed for them. Fortunately, it was a pre-season game. I am not having the excuse that they have worked hard all week and run around or trained more physically. They are part-time and yet they had more energy than us. For me, it’s between their ears. They need to want it more. There wasn’t a single positive from that, not one. I am not taking any positives because my standards are higher than that. This club’s standards are higher than that.”
It was a hot day, but there was a lack of quality. Especially in the first half, considering that was nearly a full-strength side, with the COVID-infected Eoin Doyle being the one missing from the potential side to play MK Dons. I would not like to be a Bolton player between now and Tuesday…
First half team: Gilks; Jones, Almeida Santos, Baptiste, John; Sheehan, Lee, Sarcevic; Isgrove, Bakayoko, Afolayan
Second half team: Dixon; Brockbank, Johnston, Baptiste (Senior 60), Gordon; Williams, Tutte, Thomason; Amaechi, Bakayoko (Darcy 60), Delfouneso