Bolton Wanderers 3-0 Portsmouth - Marc Iles's Big Match Verdict

Portsmouth – managerless, rudderless, bereft of ingenuity or confidence – showed for the second time in five days that they are way off the standard required for the top six, a reasonable target for a club of their stature and budget.

And then there was Bolton Wanderers, a team revelling in very opportunity they have to show their pre-Christmas doubters wrong.

This run of fixtures between mid-December and mid-January was, in the opinion of some, where Ian Evatt’s side would be found out. But once again we are discovering that both the manager and his team tend to get through their best work in the New Year.

Each of the goals scored against hapless Pompey made a statement about why this group of players can challenge for promotion, whether that be via the play-offs, or, dare we whisper it, the top two?

OK, that latter statement needs to be side-lined for the time being, but we should be able to look forward with some degree of optimism in the second half of this season, particularly with a Papa Johns Trophy semi-final at Accrington Stanley thrown in for good measure.

Dion Charles’ opening goal showed something of the tenacity in this team. The striker’s own determined style has won him plenty of supporters on the terraces, even if that opportunity-to-goal ratio has been thoroughly examined. Here, he wriggled free in the penalty box to bring a fine save out of Josh Oluwayemi on his line but Bolton’s quick-thinking second wave were on the second ball before Pompey’s defenders could even call to push out. Randell Williams sent a bouncing shot back towards the goal and Charles made no mistake the second time.

Portsmouth should have been level when the unmarked Michael Morrison headed wastefully wide from close range, which proved the only occasion all afternoon that any criticism could be levelled at the home defence.

Things slowed towards the end of the half and were not helped by an injury to Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, a player who just cannot seem to catch a break right now.

The Icelandic striker has been in good touch recently but after landing awkwardly on his ankle and attempting to play on for a few moments, he was forced to concede. That gave us a first look at Southampton loan striker Dan Nlundulu, not to mention something for the bored away support to occupy their thoughts.

Nlundulu seemed eager to impress. His physical frame came in handy holding up the ball, with Bolton forced to play slightly quicker through midfield on a difficult playing surface.

The 23-year-old also showed a deft touch at times outside the penalty box, and should Bodvarsson’s injury keep him out for any length of time, his link-up play will be vitally important.

Bolton’s midfield has shown big improvement over the past couple of months. Part of that has been the availability of Kyle Dempsey, whose effusive energy and tenacity make him a perfect foil for the more subtle and refined Aaron Morley, or Kieran Lee, whose quality in this kind of game is satisfyingly reliable.

And so it was the 34-year-old who grabbed the second goal of the game shortly after the interval, at a time when Portsmouth still fancied their chances.

Dempsey’s scurrying run down the right wing took him past Denver Hume and a hooked cross proved too slippery for keeper Oluwayemi to handle. Lee arrived on the bouncing loose ball with five defenders and the keeper between him and the target – but with one casual wave of the right foot, he was running away in celebration before anyone could set themselves.

Bolton have been making such complex situations look simple of late. Their work out of possession is especially well rehearsed, and stems right the way back to the training grounds of Lagos in Portugal in the summer.

It is entirely right to say there have been casualties as Evatt refined this playing style, the hugely watchable Dapo Afolayan and Kieran Sadlier being the chief two, but the manager’s case that the means justify the ends is looking stronger with each passing week.

Any life Pompey had left in them was extinguished by the third goal, a work of art that you might have expected from one of the fleet-footed front men, and not a 6ft 5ins centre-back.

Football can be a cynical old world at times, but you get the sense that Eoin Toal really is enjoying every second at Bolton Wanderers right now.

Strolling up from the back at 2-0 up, a one-two with Kyle Dempsey, another with fellow Northern Irishman Conor Bradley, a steered shot into the bottom corner – it’s all just part of the fun for the man they are calling the ‘Derry Taggart’.

Both Toal and George Johnston are in superb form, and both would acknowledge that they owe at least part of that to the on-field direction being supplied by Will Aimson, Bolton’s own renaissance man, who has found a significant voice at exactly the right time for Evatt’s side.

Six consecutive clean sheets equals a club record which has stood unmatched since 1937, and this with a back three which had seemingly been put together because no other centre-halves were available at the time that Gethin Jones and Ricardo Santos dropped out through injury and illness.

Towards the start of that run was a goalless draw against Derby County, a result which felt slightly unsatisfying at the time as it seemed to highlight Bolton’s inability to surpass the top sides. Several games on, with some hindsight, it feels more of a foundation.

Evatt’s side go to Pride Park next weekend, for what now looks an appetising contest between two sides bang in form.

Regardless of the result, this run has given the Whites some extra insurance against the play-off chasing pack – now six points behind – and strengthened a mindset within a group of players who do look hungry for success.