Wanderers booked their place in the Papa Johns Trophy last 16 following a 3-2 victory against Barrow at the UniBol.

Dapo Afolayan and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson gave the Whites a 2-0 lead in the first half, but the visitors hit back through Josh Kay and Niall Canavan.

Elias Kachunga scored the winner 21 minutes from time, slotting home after Paul Farman had tipped Afolayan’s deflected strike onto the post.

Promising display by Toal

Eoin Toal played his first full 90 minutes for Wanderers last night and delivered an assured performance at the back.

The young defender’s early Bolton career was impacted by an ankle injury, but he now seems to be going from strength to strength.

Ian Evatt has previously spoken about how well Toal has adjusted to life in England and says he understands what is required from him in the current system.

There is plenty of competition for places in defence, but the centre-back will now be keen to push on and get more minutes under his belt.

Kachunga back on the scoresheet

Kachunga looked lively after coming off the bench and reacted quickly to stab home for the winning goal.

It was his second goal of the season – his first coming in the 5-1 win against Salford City in the Carabao Cup.

The experienced forward also had the ball in the net with a clinical header – but was denied by the offside flag.

After the game, Evatt called Kachunga an “intelligent player” and hopes he can keep getting in the right areas to score.

Afolayan has his mojo back

It has been a challenging spell for Afolayan, who went from last season’s top scorer to battling for a place in the starting line-up.

But the former West Ham man seems to have rediscovered his best form, having now scored in back-to-back games.

He made an immediate impact against the Bluebirds, heading home just two minutes after replacing Kyle Dempsey.

Afolayan showed good awareness to get on the end of MJ Williams’ superb pass and kept his cool to steer past the goalkeeper.

More bad luck for Dempsey

Dempsey’s bad injury luck continued against Barrow, with the midfielder forced off during the first half with an ankle problem.

He had to wear a protective boot last night and Evatt fears it looks like a “pretty nasty” injury at this early stage.

Dempsey has the talent to be a big player for Wanderers but has so far struggled to get a consistent run in the side since making the move from Gillingham.

What next?

Wanderers will learn their opponents in the next round when the draw takes place on Thursday afternoon.

The competition remains regionalised at this stage, with separate draws for the northern and southern sections.

Lincoln, Burton, Manchester United Under-21s, Accrington and Salford were all victorious in the northern section last night. Port Vale also take on Barnsley tonight, while Everton Under-21s host Mansfield later this month.