Wanderers celebrated their 5,000th league game with a stunning 5-0 victory against Peterborough at London Road.

Dion Charles scored a hat trick, including a couple of clinical penalties, while Ricardo Santos bagged a brace.

Ian Evatt’s men have now won four matches on the spin as they aim to keep building momentum in the promotion race.

Hat trick hero

Charles couldn’t have imagined a better afternoon, becoming the first Bolton player to score a league hat trick since Joe Mason in 2014.

Two of his goals came from the penalty spot, keeping his cool to beat Will Norris from 12 yards and set up a memorable victory on the road.

He also slotted home from close range after getting on the end of a pinpoint pass from Gethin Jones following a quick break down the right wing.

Charles is now up to 17 goals for the season in all competitions and is only two behind Jonson Clarke-Harris in the race for the Golden Boot.

Santos off the mark

The Bolton skipper has had to wait a long time for his first goal for Wanderers, but only had to wait another hour or so for his second.

There was an element of fortune with the first, getting a slight touch to divert Jones’ low drive past Norris.

But there was no doubt about the second, smashing home from close range after the hosts had failed to deal with Aaron Morley’s cross.

Santos will be delighted to finally get on the scoresheet for the Whites, and it was even sweeter coming against his former club.

Mbete impresses on debut

England Under-21 defender Luke Mbete made his first Bolton start after joining on loan from Manchester City for the remainder of the season.

The young centre-back has a point to prove after a difficult spell at Huddersfield during the first half of the campaign.

Mbete delivered a promising display against Posh as the Whites recorded yet another League One clean sheet.

There will be strong competition for places at centre-back when George Johnston returns from injury.

But it is a good problem for Evatt and company to have heading into the business stage of the season.

Nicely placed

The result saw Wanderers climb to fourth in the table – and they were briefly as high as third at one point in the afternoon.

Evatt refuses to give up the chase on the top two just yet, and the gap to Sheffield Wednesday is now down to six points.

However, it is worth noting that the Whites have played at least one extra game than the sides around them.

Tuesday night’s clash with struggling MK Dons is another opportunity to keep the pressure on the top sides in the division.