Bolton will make the daunting journey to the Racecourse Ground on Tuesday night to take on Wrexham in the EFL Trophy quarter-final.
The two sides are a week behind when it comes to the EFL Trophy, due to the previous round’s tie between Wrexham and Port Vale being postponed last month.
Wrexham got through that game in the end, with a 4-1 win away from home and plenty of fringe players getting meaningful game time. We expect the same again when Phil Parkinson selects his Wrexham lineup for the Bolton game.
But, whatever team Parkinson opts for, new Bolton manager Steven Schumacher will only need to look at his predecessor’s previous assessment of the Red Dragons to feel like he has a good idea of what to expect.
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Bolton ‘coped’ with Wrexham’s long ball and set-pieces last time out
Speaking to Bolton Live back in August after the two sides played out a 0-0 draw in their League One meeting at the Racecourse Ground, Ian Evatt insisted his team deserved more from the game.
He said: “I thought we deserved to win it. I think we were the team probing and asking questions for large spells, we had control. But we had enough chances to win the game, their keeper has got Man of the Match. We had nearly 70 per cent possession, 11 shots and eight on target.”
While Arthur Okonkwo was the key man at the back for Wrexham on the day, Evatt suggested his side were more than comfortable dealing with the Red Dragons’ attacking approach.
“Wrexham ask you a lot of questions and score a lot of goals, but I don’t think they created a great deal,” Evatt said. “We coped with the long ball and set plays really well. They did their best to disrupt second half and we probably lacked that rhythm we showed in the first.”
Evatt was relieved of his duties at Bolton last month, but his words will still ring out as a warning to Wrexham that their next opponents will know exactly how to handle them if they’re not willing to change their game plan.
Home crowd can make all the difference in EFL Trophy tie
However, there is one thing Evatt and his Bolton players were mindful of at the time — the intense home crowd at the Racecourse, who imbue Wrexham with that extra edge they need at times.
After that last trip to Wales, Evatt added: “I thought their fans were excellent and gave them the energy to keep running and blocking… it is great we had that atmosphere.”
The Wrexham squad will be hoping the home supporters can be their 12th man once more on Tuesday night and help get them through a tricky cup tie.
While the EFL Trophy could be a distraction, there’s no denying that a successful cup run could be exactly the momentum boost Wrexham need in their pursuit of promotion.