Former Wanderers man Kevin Nolan has backed Ian Evatt’s side to bounce back from their 2-0 defeat at Portsmouth.
As Pompey moved six points clear atop the League One standings, Conor Shaughnessy and Kusini Yengi both scored in the closing minutes of each half.
Will Norris had earlier denied Jon Dadi Bodvarsson’s header, tying the score, and Dion Charles had blown a fantastic opportunity.
Just before halftime, Portsmouth scored their first goal, which Nolan thought was absolutely huge, according to Sky Sports.
Bolton was unable to withstand the intensity they displayed in the second half as they attacked him early on.
They need to remain composed, and with Ian leading the way, I have no doubt that they will do so and recover from this.
Before Shaughnessy’s header, not much had separated the sides in the first forty-five minutes of play.
Nolan went on, “I believe that whoever looks back at this will be thinking about Bodvarsson.” Is he inside the box too much?
Furthermore, Thomason. You have to hold on to that man; he is yours. You must make sure you stay with him; you cannot leave him. It was far too simple.
“Also, Thomason. That’s your man, you can’t let him go. Y
ou can’t leave him, you have got to make sure you stick with him. It was too easy.
“That was so big because the first half was neck-and-neck. They would have gone in a 0-0 and you would have said the keepers and defences had come out on top.
“Pompey, as they have done on so many occasions, scored on the stroke of half time and they went in with their tails up.
“They came out, went after Bolton and disrupted their play. They deserved it in the second half with Yengi being a main part of that.”
Ex-Portsmouth boss Danny Cowley was also impressed with what he saw from his former club, labelling them an “efficient team”.
“They played man-to-man against Bolton, particularly in the second half,” the 45-year-old explained
They confronted them, choked Bolton, and prevented him from leaving their half. Although Bolton possessed the ball for the most part, it was all inside their own half.
“I thought Portsmouth looked like a really efficient team in the second half, especially with the number of times they turned over Bolton.” They now lead by six points and are in the lead.
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