The Latics had started the day 19th and one point above the relegation zone but once again came away from this fixture with bragging rights and could easily have done so by a greater margin.
Dale Taylor and Theo Aasgaard did the damage on the day. Who knows what harm has been caused in the long term, as Bolton’s fans once again showed their vocal disapproval towards Evatt, joining in with chants from the away end of: “You’re getting sacked in the morning!”
That course of action looks unlikely as things stand but this was not a performance that furthers his cause one iota.
Wanderers made four changes to the side which had beaten Huddersfield Town in the Vertu Trophy on Tuesday night, bringing Nathan Baxter, Szabi Schon, John McAtee and George Johnston back into the side. Evatt also kept faith with Jordi Osei-Tutu on the right, which meant that Josh Dacres-Cogley was dropped to the bench for the first time in a league game this season.
Whatever tactical thinking was behind the decisions, it became very quickly apparent that the plan was not working; nowhere near, in fact.
Wigan immediately worked the ball to the wings in a bid to pull Bolton’s wide centre halves out and keep their wing-backs working back in the wrong direction. Recent evidence also suggests the Whites have struggled to defend crosses, and so it would prove again for the whole of the first half.
After starting the game in buoyant and positive mood there was already a note of caution in the sound coming from the terraces before the visitors took a 18th minute lead.
Matete was turned too easily by Theo Aasgaard in the middle of the pitch and after he squeezed a pass through for Taylor, he did well to tuck a clever shot past Baxter.
In truth, Wigan could have been a few goals to the good by half time.
Wanderers had already been harried out of their plans to play from the back but their attempts to go direct were just as wasteful. Steadily the early hope drained from the home support as the ball was persistently given up.
Thankfully, Wigan were not in a ruthless mood. Toby Sibbick stabbed one effort wide from close range, Taylor swung at fresh air after a good cross from Silko Thomas and Steven Sessegnon had a goal-bound effort charged down by Gethin Jones.
Szabi Schon scuffed the only chance of note for Bolton, Sam Tickle barely registering it as a save.
Baxter then came to Bolton’s rescue with a fine save from Taylor’s header, Baba Adeeko should really have mopped up the rebound but, again, the keeper was in the right place at the right time.
Wanderers have struggled to produce goals or performances in the first half of games this season – at least in League One – so there was at least a feint hope that with the score still at 1-0 a revival could be staged.
Evatt’s side came out with some renewed spirit. Osei-Tutu forced Tickle into a decent save at his near post and Schon should definitely have equalised after another rushed effort close to goal.
But Wigan were still creating chances. Sibbick wasted another one from six yards and Aasgaard’s powerful drive from the half-clearance was blocked by Baxter.
Though George Johnston did have a brief chance to improve his own dire afternoon with a headed chance, the wind was soon taken completely out of Bolton’s sails by a Wigan second.
James Carragher, recently on as a sub, put a ball into the box from the left and Aasgaard calmly controlled and turned a shot into he net in front of the travelling fans.
Evatt has tried in desperation to change things from the bench and both Aaron Collins and Klaidi Lolos passed up presentable opportunities to give Bolton something, anything, to build on.
The sight of Osei-Tutu with a feint limp being hooked for Dacres-Cogley with 14 minutes to go was a concerning one indeed, particularly as both Ricardo Santos and George Johnston had picked up their fifth booking of the season in the first half, ruling them out of Friday’s trip to Wycombe.
Wanderers fans began fling out of the building well before the five minutes of injury time was flashed up by the fourth official’s board, and who can blame them? They had done their bit and once again this team failed to produce in a moment they needed it most.
The manager did not appear to stick around after the final whistle and players in white spent as little time as they could completing the formalities of a game in which they had failed to compete.