"I thought we performed very well but we're obviously disappointed with the end result," says Freedman
Dougie Freedman felt Wanderers’ exit from the FA Cup was harsh on his side, as John Heitinga’s injury time goal was the difference in a closely-contested affair.
Steven Pienaar opened the scoring in fortuitous circumstances but a well-worked Bolton move culminated in Marvin Sordell rifling home an equaliser.
But Bolton’s all-action performance was undone in the dying embers, as Heitinga slammed home a loose ball to book a place in the fifth round for the Toffees.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Freedman said: “First and foremost I’d like to thank the groundstaff, volunteers and fans for their huge efforts in getting the game on. It would have been easy to have called it off, but the work they put in was beyond the call of duty.
“Looking at the game, I thought we performed very well but we’re obviously disappointed with the end result.
“We were maybe a little bit nervous in the opening ten or so minutes, but once we settled I thought we were fantastic.
“Everton went a goal up and that didn’t set us back. We settled and started to show what we’re all about.
“We then got a deserved equaliser and pushed on from there. From a coach’s point of view it was very pleasing to see the work we’re putting in on the training ground pay off for our goal. We knew that we could capitalise on that near post area and Marvin took his goal well.
“Everton are a top side pushing for a place in the Champions League and they showed that. The end result is difficult to take and I feel for our fans, whose backing was magnificent today.
“We’re showing signs that we’re moving in the right direction. We’ve shown that we’re able to match some of the top teams, the key for us is to now do that on a consistent basis.
“There are plenty of positives for us to take away from the game. I thought Chung-Yong Lee played very well and it was good to see the reception Stuart Holden received.
“We also created a lot of opportunities and defended very well. It was a good all-round performance.
“We’re back to work on Monday. I’m still looking to add a couple of fresh faces to the squad before the window closes.”