EXETER City got the ultimate payback for their seven-goal drubbing at Bolton last season handing a second successive league defeat to Ian Evatt’s woeful Wanderers.

Brighton loanee Kamari Doyle’s brilliant free-kick on 34 minutes gave the Devon men the lead at half time but things quickly got worse for the Whites after the restart as Milienic Alli poked home Josh Magennis’s flick to double the lead.

Wanderers, who had shown some improvement against Shrewsbury in the Carabao Cup in midweek after a drab defeat at Charlton last weekend, struggled to find any rhythm in their passing game throughout the afternoon.

Exeter gave some encouragement early on with some risky work in possession of their own but Bolton failed to carve out any serious opportunities – a Chris Forino header and a blast over the top from Josh Dacres-Cogley about as close as they got.

The visitors then started to make their physicality count in midfield, gradually seizing control, and Jack Aitchison was unlucky to see a shot bounce off team-mate Magennis in front of goal on the half hour.

Doyle then drew a foul from George Thomason a few moments later, getting up to curl a brilliant shot past Nathan Baxter to open the scoring.

Alli skimmed a shot right across the face of goal before the break, leaving home fans venting their displeasure at the referee’s whistle. And the mood got worse just a few minutes later when a corner on the left was flicked on by Magennis and buried at the far post.

The jeers, now much more audible, were fully understandable. Wanderers had been sucked into a physical fight they were simply not equipped to win.

Evatt made a triple substitution to try and change his team’s fortunes and though Jordi Osei-Tutu did get into some decent positions on the left, it ultimately led to very little.

Aaron Collins guided one shot on to the crossbar but the lack of composure around the penalty box was a truly worrying sign with so many attacking players on the park.

Magennis could have killed the game stone dead when he arrowed a shot just wide with 20 minutes to go, likewise Alli a few moments later, and though Bolton toiled to try and manufacture another chance of note, their lack of quality at times was evident for all to see.