Bolton Wandrerers picked up a point away from home as their 10 men held out on the road against Cambridge United in a goalless draw.
In a first half which did not sparkle, Wanderers came closest to taking the lead firstly through Jack Iredale's deflected effort which Amadou Bakayoko almost got on the end of. Then Elias Kachunga volleyed over from the edge of the box as the deadlock remained at the break.
Early in the second half, James Trafford produced a marvellous save to deny Harvey Knibbs the opener. Wanderers broke forward not long after and Dion Charles eventually blasted over.
READ MORE: Bolton Wanderers player ratings vs Cambridge United - James Trafford & Ricardo Santos good in draw
Kyle Dempsey was given his marching orders with 15 minutes to go after bringing Knibbs down, following an earlier booking on Jack Lankester. And Knibbs saw an effort savd by Trafford from eight yards out with the last act of the game as the spoils were shared.
After the game, Wanderers boss Ian Evatt gave his immediate reaction and here's what he had to say.
What’s your verdict?
“I thought we were robust, aggressive and intense. You have to defend your box really well here, we did that.
“Second half I think we’re really in the ascendancy and looking like the goal is going to come. Two huge chances somehow from a four v two overload, we make the wrong decision and then Gethin misses a really simple chance from a corner.
“A minute later when it’s all us, Dempsey is off the pitch and it changes things but even then I felt they were more fearful of us than the other way around. I thought it was a solid enough performance.”
Any complaints about the red card?
“I’m not going to speak about referees because I’ll end up getting myself in trouble.”
Are you concerned about the lack of goals and a couple of chances?
“Gethin’s header is the best chance of the game and chances don’t always fall to centre forwards, so we have to take those chances. Geth knows and that’s fair enough, everyone is entitled to miss opportunities but I still think we’re creating some really good promising situations, second half in particular.
“I felt like we were going to go on to win the game until the red card but I think it looked a bit more like us today.
Six yellow cards as well as yours, is that an issue?
“Yeah it’s a massive issue. It’s crazy. There’s no way our players deserve that many yellow cards today.”
James Trafford appeared to be injured?
“No he’s got a dead leg. He’s okay, but I just think we did everything I asked of them. It looked more like us. It’s still not where we were before October but I think it was a step in the right direction. It’s a good point away from home, a difficult place to come and they’ve got a good home record, so I thought we were in the ascendancy second half and probably would have gone on to win it, but for the red card.
“I just felt some of their players really played the game today with the officials. Physical centre forwards, it’s always a two way street. I was a centre back and I know exactly what was happening. I thought Ironside was very clever in the way he manipulated situations.”
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