Ian Evatt was "proud" after his Wanderers side earned a 2-0 victory at Stockport to secure a home tie in the next round of the EFL Trophy.

Jon Dadi Bodvarsson made the most of his return to the starting line-up, scoring twice in the opening 45 minutes.

The Whites had a number of chances to extend their lead after the break but couldn’t find a way past Jordan Smith, who made a series of impressive stops.

“I think some of our play tonight was fantastic,” said Evatt, who watched from the stands after picking up a third booking of the season against Blackpool.

“The players applied themselves in the correct way, we wanted to be professional. Obviously, we are frustrated not to score more.

“I think our performance deserved more goals but credit to their keeper, he made some great saves, and some poor finishing in the final third.

“Some of our approach play and patterns were there for all to see. I am proud of the players tonight because it wasn’t an easy fixture to take on after an important block of league games, and in the internaitonal break.

“To have this extra game was a little bit frustrating as I spoke about prior to the game, but we asked the players to apply themselves correctly and treat it as the last bit of work before they can reset. They did that exactly how I would expect them to do it, professionally.

“It is amazing that our fans travelled in those numbers for this type of game, great credit to them. It was a pleasure to listen to them singing and watching us play like that, it was a really enjoyable evening.”

The Bolton boss had been careful with Bodvarsson following his return from injury but believes the forward is starting to show signs of getting back to his best form.

“He is just clinical when you get him into those areas of the pitch,” Evatt continued. “He is calm, composed and he finished them superbly.

“Jon is getting back to himself and we are pleased with that. Obviously, we have had to tread carefully and cautiously but I have seen some really good signs from him in the last few weeks. He deserved his goals tonight.

“I thought Dan’s (Nlundulu) performance was really good. Some of his hold-up play was excellent and he laid a couple of goals on a plate for his team-mates and they didn’t quite take those chances. I thought those two were excellent.”

With no league fixture this weekend due to international call-ups, Wanderers now have a chance to reset.

“Stockport have been on an unbelievable run, 13 straight wins, so it is no mean feat to go and do what we did tonight,” said Evatt.

“We want to go on that type of run, keep ticking off the victories and getting that habit of winning consistently. We wanted to pay them respect and really go for it, and I think the players did that tonight.”