IAN Evatt enjoys a good boxing analogy and so were this hard-fought win to be described as a footballing version of rope-a-dope, he would probably appreciate the reference.

It is a rare occasion that we have seen Wanderers deviate so completely from their possession obsessed brand, so rare in fact that at times on Saturday lunchtime it felt like watching a completely different team.

Forget control, Crawley were positively encouraged to attack in waves, punching themselves to a standstill without seriously testing Nathan Baxter’s goal, all for the moment the right pass or a well-timed turnover could send them rocking back on their heels.

The plan was not without its risks. The newly promoted Reds were game, they attacked in swarms, they were aggressive without ever being reigned in by official Jacob Miles, and had they somehow found a way through Bolton’s defences a very different tale could have unfolded.

But Kyle Dempsey’s early goal provided a solid foundation and in the moments that Wanderers elected to counter-punch they looked far more likely to cause damage. The knockout blow did not come until 12 minutes from the end from sub John McAtee, a venomous drive followed by an acrobatic celebration in front of 1,000 travelling fans who, at times, did not know what to make of this alternate approach, but who appreciated the end result nonetheless.

Manager Evatt has so often been accused of lacking tactical diversity, his preferred Pep Guardiola-influenced style increasingly being used as a stick to beat him over the head when mistakes are made on the pitch.

Even Sam Allardyce joined in the pile-on a couple of weeks back, bringing his former club’s defeat against Huddersfield Town into the anti ‘Tippy Tappy’ football debate on his popular podcast.

Big Sam would have appreciated much about this away performance. It echoed days of old at Bolton when a ‘you have the ball, we’ll score the goals’ ethos ruffled feathers all over the Premier League.

This was Crawley. At this time last season they were still one of the favourites for relegation from League Two and under Scott Lindsey they managed to secure one of the most unlikely promotions in recent years.

This was also the week in which the Reds lost their manager to MK Dons, but any sense of vulnerability disappeared early in the game after Dempsey had smashed home Josh Sheehan’s corner and the home side had stabilised once again.

Once ahead, Wanderers initiated their plan. Those of us watching from the outside wondered if the Carabao Cup defeat to Arsenal had somehow taken the edge off their confidence on the ball but the ploy was quite deliberate. Crawley were allowed to progress, their shape to open up, with Bolton looking to pinch the ball and hit quickly through the exposed gaps.

Dion Charles looked right up for the challenge and twice got through on goal, once denied by Jojo Wollacott and a second time by the toe of a defender’s boot, diverting his left-footed effort inches wide.

Dempsey was also unfortunate to see another effort bounce off the underside of the bar and on to the goal-line, and at one point Szabi Schon led a procession of Wanderers players unable to turn home a Josh Dacres-Cogley cross at the far post.

If Crawley’s efforts on goal appear to have been overlooked, it is because for all their time on the ball, their movement around the penalty box, there was practically no end product. A defence which has leaked like a sieve in recent weeks suddenly looked solid once again, with centre-back Eoin Toal enjoying his best outing of the season so far.

Wanderers lost their way a little at the start of the second half. The ball still stayed away from Baxter’s goal but for 20 minutes or so the home crowd started to feel like something was possible. Bolton’s fans, lined up in a slender stand behind the goal, saw practically nothing at their end until the introduction of McAtee and Aaron Collins off the bench.

Both strikers had given Arsenal problems at the Emirates and instantly got to the pace of the game, proving a little more streetwise.

Referee Miles had been impossible to predict, contributing to a nasty, unhappy atmosphere around the compact ground. His reluctance to crack down on Crawley’s off-the-ball shenanigans or midfielder Jay Williams’ persistent fouling was baffling at times, and home fans also took issue with his assistants, who they felt were slow to raise the flag on a few counter attacks.

More controversy was just around the corner, though, as Schon scampered on to a loose ball on the left, just saving it from going out of play. Home fans appealed for the throw but the Hungarian wing-back carried on his run, switching a pass for Collins who then rolled another for McAtee to lash a brilliant second.

It had not been a game for the purists but the type of unglamorous occasion that has often tripped Bolton in the past. Had they carved out a few more points without playing their most attractive football last season, the play-offs would not have been necessary.

Job done, travelling fans applauded the effort. Evatt and his squad responded in kind, yet many who were there in Sussex and watching back home on TV pointed out that Ricardo Santos had hung back from the applause.

This had been one of the centre-back’s better games this season and he nearly capped it with a header which was pushed over the crossbar by keeper Wollacott.

Santos has been through the mill of late – his form questioned, and his captaincy passed on to George Thomason. Criticism has, at times, gone overboard, particularly on social media, and one wonders if that has left the big defender simmering somewhat.

It has also left a fanbase discussing between itself if a line has been crossed.

Much like the manager, Santos probably has some work to do if he is to restore his stock previous highs. The respect he is held in, however, is not in doubt.

Wanderers have taken tentative steps back towards normality in recent weeks and it would be a fine thing indeed to see one of the club’s most important players look happy once again in the shirt he is wearing.