TWO moments of magic turned a workmanlike Wanderers performance into a match-winning one as the automatic promotion chase got back on track.

Gethin Jones’s superb first-half header gave Ian Evatt’s side a lead which felt rather undeserved at half time – but after losing star striker Dion Charles to injury, Jon Dadi Bodvarsson then stepped up with a classy backheel to settle the points in stoppage time.

Luke Leahy did get a consolation from the penalty spot and Wycombe will argue they were worth much more.

Bolton did what they needed to do, however, to complete a double against the Chairboys and set themselves up nicely for another home game on Saturday against Charlton Athletic.

Wanderers fans had waited all day for confirmation on George Thomason’s suspension, and it finally arrived when his name was absent from the team-sheets announced at 6.45pm, an announcement from the Football Association still nowhere to be seen.

Evatt made six changes to the side which drew at Northampton Town. Jack Iredale, Aaron Morley, Nat Ogbeta, Paris Maghoma and Kyle Dempsey all came in, alongside a first league start for new striker signing Aaron Collins.

Wycombe, who named ex-Bolton wide man Kieran Sadlier in their line-up, asked plenty of questions of Bolton’s defence in the opening 45 minutes but somehow went back in at half time a goal down.

Jones made the difference with a towering header from Ogbeta’s cross, exactly a year from his last league goal for the club – a very similar effort, in fact – at MK Dons.

Wanderers’ plan was evidently to use the pace and movement of Collins and Dion Charles and forsake some of their midfield build-up. It worked on the rare occasion but the football looked much more convincing when they build through the middle, with Josh Dacres-Cogley and Jones proving a reasonable outlet on the right wing.

Wycombe’s front four looked lively from the off, Freddie Potts dancing through with the first attack of the game and sliding a shot inches wide of Joel Coleman’s right-hand post.

Coleman’s kicking looked shaky at first. One poor clearance allowed Dale Taylor to push a pass through for Beryly Lubala, who wasted a good chance with the goal begging.

The Boltonian keeper, making his first league start at the Toughsheet, did bail his team out with an unconventional save on the half-hour, however, as Potts’ shot bounced off Chem Campbell and forced him to scramble the ball away with his feet.

Bolton briefly settled. Charles stabbed a shot wide at the near post and Maghoma scuffed another low cross from Dacres-Cogley and it was at that point the Whites forced their way into the lead.

A short corner was played to Ogbeta, who dug out a lofted cross to the penalty spot, met with perfect timing by Jones, whose header sailed into the top corner.

Wycombe responded well. Taylor’s mazy run was stopped in its tracks by some brave goalkeeping from Coleman and with Bolton’s passing game spluttering nervously, the visitors maintained an air of uncomfortable control to the break.

The Whites improved marginally at the start of the second half. Collins got more involved, putting one dangerous ball in for Charles which he couldn’t quite turn into a shot – and moments later the striker raced through on a long ball from Jones to get the wrong side of Tafazolli and slide the ball past Stryjek, only for an impossibly late flag from the linesman to spoil the fun.

Dempsey had a shot deflected wide and Morley tested the Wycombe keeper with a well-struck free-kick but Bolton’s plan changed when Charles went to ground on the hour mark with an injury and had to be replaced.

Victor Adeboyejo replaced his regular strike partner and would soon be joined by Jon Dadi Bodvarsson as Collins’ night was brought to an end.

Wanderers had ridden their luck at times in the first half but for a few moments after the substitutions, every home fan inside the stadium was holding their breath. Butcher glanced Luke Leahy’s corner narrowly wide and with the next attack, Taylor sliced through the middle of the defence but somehow slotted his shot wide of Coleman’s goal.

Having ridden the storm, it was Bolton’s turn to create, and they enjoyed arguably their most productive spell of the game. Stryjek pulled off a brilliant save to push Maghoma’s shot over his bar after a flurry of intricate penalty box passes, and Low nearly sliced Dempsey’s excellent cross into his own net after getting clear on the right.

Wanderers searched for the killer goal and with Wycombe having conceded more in the final 10 minutes than anyone else in League One, the numbers looked promising.

Maghoma nearly provided the moment, latching on to a clearance and driving past Tafazolli into the penalty box, he ran out of steam and pulled a cross back instead of going for goal. Unfortunately for Wanderers, nobody was in the right spot to make it count.

Six minutes of injury time went up on the fourth official’s board, signalling one final push.

Wycombe, seemingly running out of puff, lost possession in midfield and Kyle Dempsey arrowed a low cross towards the six yard box. Silky as you like, Bodvarsson clipped the cross with his backheel to send it rolling into the net past Stryjek.

The stadium erupted into a long overdue Thunderclap. And that would have been a nice way to finish.

But in the 97th minute, sub Sam Vokes was brought down by Coleman, giving Leahy a penalty he drove down the middle to put Wycombe on the scoreboard. It was probably the least they deserved – but the points, most importantly, were Bolton’s.