Manager Ian Evatt admitted Bolton’s return to winning ways was not easy on the eye but described the 2-1 Sky Bet League One victory over Wycombe as “huge.”

Captain Gethin Jones headed the Trotters into a 32nd-minute lead and substitute Jon Dadi Bodvarsson’s added-time goal sealed a first win in four games in all competitions.

Luke Leahy’s penalty consolation for Wycombe came just before the final whistle.

Evatt whose side sit third but have games in hand on leaders Portsmouth and second-placed Derby, said: “It is a huge win but every one is a huge win now.

“It is not always going to be amazing, beautiful, and aesthetically pleasing. You have to find different ways to win matches.

“The team stood up to be counted and that point last Saturday (a 1-1 draw with 10 men at Northampton) looks a very good one.

“We have backed it up now and we have 16 more huge games to go. We are in a very strong position.

“If we take care of our own business no one can stop us and touch us, which is what we want.

“So, I am delighted to win. We did the hard yards really well.

He continued: “Wycombe have only lost once since Boxing Day and they are on a good run of form.

“They have reverted to type a little bit and ask you lots of questions. But we stood up to be counted, magnificently at times.

“In the first half we rode our luck and looked a bit fearful. But the second half was much better.

“We created one of two good opportunities and defended the box a lot better until the last kick of the game.”

Wycombe manager Matt Bloomfield said: “We are frustrated not to take anything from the game because we created some good chances.

“We came up against a very good opponent and Ian Evatt has put a strong squad together. You can see with the amount of changes they can make and still be as strong as they are.

“But I am proud of the performance we put in. We came to go toe to toe and we did that.

“We just lacked a cutting edge in last third of the pitch. But we shouldn’t be negative on a night when we have played like we have.

“I am proud of the way the boys kept going. We rightfully got a goal because we had worked hard. It is nothing less than we deserved.

“It is just a shame it didn’t come five minutes earlier because had it done so we might have been able to get an equaliser.”

Captain Gethin Jones scored his first Sky Bet League One goal for almost a year to help promotion-chasing Bolton beat Wycombe 2-1.

The Australia international, recently returned from Asian Cup duties, netted a superb 32nd-minute header from Nat Ogbeta’s cross after the visitors had impressed early on.

Jones’ previous third tier goal had been another fine header on Valentine’s Day, 2023.

Bolton’s win was sealed by substitute Jon Dadi Bodvarsson in stoppage time, before Luke Leahy scored a penalty for the visitors.

Ian Evatt’s side also needed some vital interventions from goalkeeper Joel Coleman.

Coleman, handed a home league debut with Nathan Baxter injured, produced three first-half saves; the best of them denying Dale Taylor a fine solo goal.

Wycombe came close to a 70th minute equaliser but Taylor fired wide with just Coleman to beat and that was as close as the Chairboys came to rescuing a point.

Paris Maghoma almost doubled Bolton’s lead with a stinging drive before Bodvarsson made sure of the points from Kyle Dempsey’s assist in the first minute of time added on.

Coleman’s hopes of a clean sheet disappeared seven minutes later when Leahy converted his spot-kick, awarded after the goalkeeper had brought down substitute David Wheeler.

Jon Dadi Bodvarsson struck a first-half hat-trick as Bolton breezed into the third round of the FA Cup with a 5-1 win against Sky Bet League Two side Harrogate.

The Icelander last claimed the match ball for Reading in a 3-0 win against Stevenage five years ago and this time triggered a ruthless performance which took Bolton to a club record 104 goals for the calendar year.

Gethin Jones and Will Forrester conspired for Bodvarsson’s first in the ninth minutes, and his second was down to some unselfish work from Dan Nlundulu just after the half-hour mark.

The hat-trick goal was stabbed in from close range after goalkeeper Jonathan Mitchell failed to keep hold of Carlos Mendes Gomes’ stinging shot.

George Thomson ended Bolton’s seven-game streak of clean sheets with a curled 20-yard shot before the break but Nlundulu quickly ended any hopes of a comeback with two delightful finishes shortly after the restart.

Town keeper Mitchell denied Nlundulu and Kyle Dempsey before the end but it proved to be a most comfortable afternoon for the League One promotion chasers.