WANDERERS certainly showed all the grit they will need for an automatic promotion push in League One but none of the subtlety in a tense goalless draw against Wrexham.

Questions have been asked of what scars would be left by the play-off defeat exactly three months earlier and Ian Evatt will undoubtedly draw some positives from the way his side handled the Welsh side’s relentlessly rough-and-tumble approach.

An endless stream of set pieces were repelled, shots blocked, challenges won – but when Bolton needed to find a moment of quality at the other end of the pitch it was a different story.

Good chances fell to Dion Charles and Aaron Collins but the Whites found ex-Arsenal keeper Arthur Okonkwo in terrific form, and he walked away with the man-of-the-match award as well as a first clean sheet of the season.

There was no Ryan Reynolds or Rob Mcelhenney in the directors’ box and no Hollywood glamour over 90 minutes. At times it had all the glitz of a Ken Loach kitchen sink drama.

But Evatt’s men showed fight, and at times those qualities have been doubted, especially since Wembley.

Wanderers made two changes from the side that beat Leyton Orient on the opening day of the season, bringing George Johnston in for his first league start since the play-off semi-finals in 2023, replacing Jack Iredale, and John McAtee for Scott Arfield in the front three.

Anyone expecting a free-flowing football classic probably hadn’t done their homework on the opposition – Parkinson’s side just as scrappy and physical as the one he created at Bolton to get promotion from this very league in 2017.

For the first 15 minutes the visitors struggled with Wanderers’ movement, particularly down the left where Szabolcs Schön, Johnston and George Thomason found some early successes.

On the other side, Josh Dacres-Cogley also stole an early march on James McClean, albeit the experienced Northern Irishman, being used as a wing-back, got back on equal terms as the half wore on.

Okonkwo was definitely the busier of the two keepers and was needed to push Aaron Collins’ bouncing shot wide after just six minutes. From the corner, he struggled to hold the ball amongst a mass of arms and legs but Tom O’Connor came to his aid with a clearance before it could be forced over the line.

Wrexham survived that spell of pressure to start applying some of their own. What the Welshmen offered was mainly restricted to set pieces and, pleasingly, Bolton defended them well, even 5ft 7ins Hungarian Schön – watched by compatriot and ex-Whites keeper, Adam Bogdan – chipped in with some important clearances.

Bolton continued to carve out reasonable chances. Collins arrowed a low cross to Charles, whose flick landed on the roof of the net, and Josh Sheehan had a curling free kick pushed over by Okonkwo.

Midfield was a mess of snapping and snarling challenges, the game balanced in a perpetual state of transition. Wanderers might have been ahead on points in this slug-fest but they were struggling a little to land a clean blow.

Likewise, Wrexham did not spark into life until the second half. Tom O’Connor blasted one shot a goal, blocked bravely by Ricardo Santos, but only mustered a real shot on target a couple of minutes after the restart when Nathan Baxter got down to push Jack Marriott’s effort wide.

Almost immediately, McAtee put an excellent ball through for Charles, who had slipped the other side of his marker. Unfortunately, he could not beat Okonkwo with his weaker left foot.

Wrexham were given another free kick in a good area when Santos made a clumsy challenge on Andy Cannon. When the ball was launched into the penalty box it took a vital clearance from Thomason in his own six-yard box to prevent problems.

Whether it was the occasion, or an element of over-excitedness, but Wanderers had not been as exact in possession as they needed to be. Even the safest hands - Sheehan or Collins, for example – were just off the mark. Just before the hour, though, it nearly all clicked into place as Sheehan, McAtee and Thomason conspired to give Charles a chance, his shot clawed wide by Okonkwo at full stretch.

Still the game hung in the balance. Elliott Lee smashed a shot from 25 yards which had Baxter momentarily shifting anxiously back towards his line and McClean laced a volley over the bar after yet another corner.

The 13th corner of the game nearly proved a lucky one for Bolton as Eoin Toal climbed to beat his marker, his effort cleared from close to the line. Santos then followed up, his header clearing the crossbar.

Evatt freshened his options with Kyle Dempsey making a welcome return from injury. Vic Adeboyejo, Jordi Osei-Tutu, Scott Arfield and Jay Matete also entered a game now looking like it would be won by whichever side could find some composure around the penalty box.

The two sets of fans kept themselves entertained with some light-hearted banter. The last time the two sides met in 1988 there had been fewer than 6,000 at the Racecourse Ground but five minutes before the end it was confirmed that the crowd of 25,957 was indeed the biggest Bolton had welcomed since dropping out of the Premier League in 2012.

The tension climbed as the second ticked down, each side knowing a mistake could cost three points. Sub Stephen Fletcher struck an effort from distance that Baxter could only parry away – thankfully only in the direction of one of his own defenders.

Dempsey had added some direct running and twice nearly carved out an opportunity for Adeboyejo, once again the crucial moment of quality was lacking.

There was a penalty shout at the bitter end, Santos appealing that his shirt had been pulled by Eoghan O’Connell – a view that seemed to be shared by Evatt on the touchline – but the protests fell on deaf ears.

Three minutes of stoppage time were almost all used up as Bolton got one more chance to load the penalty box, Osei-Tutu winning a free kick on the right. The home fans had been crying out for their team to launch something forward but when the ball was cleared, referee Ben Speedie was quick to end the game as Johnston tried to dig out one final cross.