Derby head coach Paul Warne applauded goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith for his part in a crucial 1-0 victory over League One promotion rivals Bolton.

Wildsmith made several outstanding saves before Kane Wilson’s header settled a tense contest at a packed Pride Park.

Bolton will look back on several moments, notably when Jon Dadi Bodvarsson’s 17th-minute header was brilliantly saved by Wildsmith.

Bodvarsson was again denied by Wilsdmith early in the second half and George Thomason saw his curling shot in the 64th minute turned behind.

Wildsmith’s reactions were rewarded when Wilson scored with Derby’s first effort on target in the 78th minute, clinching a victory that took County four points clear of Bolton with seven games to play.

Warne said: “Joe pulled us out, we congratulated him after the game which is unheard of, managers congratulating goalkeepers, but he pulled off two unbelievable saves.

“One in the first half from a header, as soon as the cross came in I just thought it was going to hit the net so that’s a great save and one in the second half as well, so Joe has been part of a decent team performance.

“We just had enough to win. There wasn’t anything in it really. Joe made two great saves and it always felt like it was going to come down to one set piece. In really tight games a set piece goal can win you it and today it did.

“If I was in the other dressing room I’d be disappointed that I wasn’t leaving with a point because I thought the game probably was a draw, but to win and keep a clean sheet is crucial.”

Bolton manager Ian Evatt is not giving up hope of earning automatic promotion.

“It’s not over, there’s a lot of football to be played, we have to stay calm and keep the faith,” he said.

“Nobody in the stadium could agree that Derby deserved to win the game. We were completely dominant. I think it was the first time in our final third second half with the corner and we’ve conceded a poor goal.

“I’m proud of the way the players played, obviously the result matters and it makes it more difficult for us, but there’s loads of football to be played and a long way to go.

“We had the better chances, their keeper is probably man of the match which speaks volumes. Football isn’t fair sometimes, but the most important thing for us is to keep believing.”

Kane Wilson’s header gave Derby a 1-0 victory over promotion rivals Bolton at a packed Pride Park.

Wilson struck with 12 minutes remaining to earn the Rams a four-point cushion in the battle for automatic promotion.

In front of over 32,000, the biggest attendance in League One this season, Bolton had the first chance when Nathanael Ogbeta crossed and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson’s header was brilliantly saved by Joe Wildsmith.

Derby striker Dwight Gayle limped off in the 21st minute but the home side had a good chance soon after from a Joe Ward free-kick which Curtis Nelson headed over.

Bolton ended the first half strongly and Derby made three changes for the second, although it was the visitors who threatened with Bodvarsson forcing Wildsmith into another good save.

Wildsmith denied George Thomason in the 64th minute but against the run of play it was Derby who broke the deadlock when Wilson headed in Callum Elder’s pinpoint corner.

The home side protected their lead despite fierce late pressure to leave Bolton third and without a league victory at Derby since 1981.

Jon Dadi Bodvarsson produced another vital contribution from the bench as Bolton twice came from behind to earn a 3-3 draw with Charlton in League One.

The Icelandic super sub denied the visitors a first win in 17 games with a 71st-minute equaliser to add to a midweek winner against Wycombe.

Bolton, who remain just outside the automatic promotion places, led after 19 minutes when Victor Adeboyejo turned in Zac Ashworth’s cross for his ninth goal of the season.

But the Addicks threatened to gain a first win over their hosts since 2017 when Thierry Small and Lloyd Jones struck after 22 and 40 minutes.

Small’s deep cross – on his Charlton debut – deceived keeper Joel Coleman who endured a nervy afternoon deputising for the injured Nathan Baxter.

Bodvarsson replaced Adeboyejo at half-time and six minutes after the interval Paris Maghoma curled in a spectacular right-foot leveller.

Daniel Kanu restored Charlton’s lead just past the hour. Bolton, however, protested that referee Ross Joyce should have stopped the game for a potential head injury to Josh Dacres-Cogley in the build-up.

But Bolton rallied and Bodvarsson turned in Dacres-Cogley’s centre for a deserved point.

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.

Second-half goals from Dion Charles and Victor Adeboyejo gave Bolton a well-deserved 2-0 win at Fleetwood.

The visitors dominated throughout in atrocious conditions on the coast but had to wait until the 49th minute to lead, then seeing out the victory with little resistance and sealing it with a late goal from Adeboyejo.

Title challengers Bolton made all the running in the first half but failed to turn their dominance into goals.

Jon Dadi Bodvarsson went closest as half-time loomed but his reaction finish from Charles’ cross cannoned back off the post at close range.

The Iceland striker had also been inches away from turning home when Fleetwood keeper Jay Lynch parried Randell Williams’ shot.

Bolton did have the ball in the net after 25 minutes, Charles sliding in a cross from Josh Dacres-Cogley, but the offside flag cut short their celebrations.

Fleetwood, second bottom and without a league win since early November, offered little going forward with a weak shot from Phoenix Patterson, easily collected by Nathan Baxter, their only effort on goal.

It took Wanderers just four minutes of the second half to finally edge ahead. The ball fell to Charles in the Town box and his shot took a cruel deflection off Josh Earl, wrong-footing Lynch.

Substitute Adeboyejo doubled Bolton’s lead after 83 minutes. Charles stepped over Kyle Dempsey’s pass and Adeboyejo, who hit a hat-trick in their home win against Fleetwood in August, duly hammered in the second.

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.