Barry Corr admitted Wanderers "had too much” for Cambridge following their 2-0 defeat at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.

George Thomason opened the scoring and Aaron Collins doubled the lead after the break – the forward’s first goal for Bolton since his move from Bristol Rovers.

Interim boss Corr says the U’s weren’t aggressive enough during the first half but felt they improved after the break.

“You have to respect the opponent, they are very good,” he said. “They are up at the top of the division and ask lots of questions of you.

“We were probably pinned into a low block for too long in the first half and maybe became a bit passive. We weren’t finding our moments to be aggressive when the spaces are smaller.

“But in terms of effort and application, the players were spot on. We had a few moments in counter attacking situations, I thought we were better in the second half with that.

“We were able to get after them higher up the pitch but the reality of it is they probably had a bit too much for us.”

Josh Dacres-Cogley had a big chance early on but struck the bar from close range after getting on the end of Collins’ low cross.

“They pin the wide players back and when you regain the ball, you are so deep and it is a long way to their goal,” Corr continued.

“It is difficult, but there were times when we had those moments. Not to make excuses but I thought the referee could have been a bit stronger.

“When we did go to break away, there always seemed to be a small foul. You have to understand the game there, they are big moments for us when we break and there are massive spaces.

“But it is what it is and the reality is the better team won today. It won’t determine our season.”