Ian Evatt was left to reflect on the ‘harsh reality’ of Bolton’s penalty shoot-out defeat at Wigan in the second round of the Carabao Cup.
The two north-west neighbours – whose grounds are less than seven miles away from each other – produced a thrilling cup tie in front of almost 12,000 fans at the DW.
The only thing it lacked was a goal, with Wigan making the most of misses by Kieran Lee and Nathan Delfouneso to advance on penalties.
“It was a tight derby match, tight, not many chances at either end,” assessed Evatt.
“We probably had the best ones and we gave it our best shot.
“We are disappointed but that is the harsh reality of football.
“We came out on the right side of a penalty shoot-out against Barnsley (in the last round) and the wrong side of one here.
“It happens, it isn’t from the lack of trying.”
For Wigan boss Leam Richardson, it was a fantastic night which created an atmosphere not seen for far too long.
And he paid tribute to goalkeeper Jamie Jones who, for the second round in succession – smashed home his spot-kick to help his side through.
“We’ve spoken before about Jamie Jones, and he actually joins in at the end of training to practice shooting as well as saving,” said Richardson.
“Obviously he’s there to do his job, and it was a great save to see us through at the end.
“But I thought all of the takers showed a lot of confidence to take their penalties, even the ones who missed, on both sides.
“Both sides were determined to win the game and I think it showed throughout the night.
“Obviously the priority remains the league, but wins and clean sheets and very good habits to get in.”
