Bolton Wanderers rattled five goals past hapless Harrogate to book their place in the FA Cup third round – but manager Ian Evatt could barely raise a smile.
Even though the outcome of the game never looked in doubt as Jon Dadi Bodvarsson helped himself to a first-half hat-trick and Dan Nlundulu extended the lead with a double after the break, the Trotters boss admitted his team’s performance on bitter day left him feeling cold.
‘We are better than that,’ he said. ‘I know people will say ‘but you won 5-1’ and call me grumpy but I try and tell the players the truth and how I feel, and it is because of how they train and play that gives me an idea of how good they can be. And that wasn’t it.
‘I don’t know if there was an air of complacency, but we were just OK, nothing more.
‘When they dip below it, I will tell them. Today there were parts that were good – I thought the two centre-forwards Jon and Dan were outstanding – but there were others that were not so good.’
Jon Dadi Bodvarsson took home the match ball after netting a hat-trick for Bolton on Saturday
Dan Nlundulu (front) also bagged himself a brace as Harrogate Town were eliminated
Part of Evatt’s annoyance was that Bolton had failed to claim a club record for consecutive clean sheets, George Thomson’s consolation just before half time shattering a run of seven on the spin.
‘It’s really annoying,’ he said. ‘I was really disappointed with that goal because we wanted the record as our own, it was a really silly one to give away.’
Bodvarsson opened the scoring nine minutes in following some incisive work from Gethin Jones and Will Forrester.
The former Reading and Wolves striker was then teed up by strike partner Nlundulu for his second, and plundered a third before the interval after Jonathan Mitchell failed to hold Carlos Mendes Gomes’s powerful effort.
Bolton showed off some clinical finishing with Bodvarsson netting a first-half hat-trick
Thomson curled a consolation on the stroke of half time but any hopes of a comeback were ended swiftly by a quickfire double from the industrious Nlundulu, the first a solo run and finish, the second a delightful glance at the near post from Dempsey’s low cross.
There could have been more as Mitchell prevented Nlundulu from securing a hat-trick and also made a fine block from Dempsey.
Harrogate boss Simon Weaver admitted his side had never looked capable of causing an upset.
‘I sent that side out because it had done well against Wrexham on Tuesday night,’ he said. ‘But I can only apologise to the fans. I thought we would put up more of a fight but we have let them down.’
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