Evatt: A Game To Enjoy

Ian Evatt was delighted for Wanderers’ players and fans after watching his side mount a thrilling fightback.

Wanderers were facing the prospect of a third successive away league loss when they went 2-0 down at Accrington Stanley just after half-time.

But a tweak of tactics and personnel produced a devastating effect as a Harvey Rodgers’ own-goal got the Whites back in the game.

And Kieran Lee and an inspired Dapo Afolayan then struck in the space of five remarkable minutes in front of a packed away end to secure a dramatic 3-2 win which lifted Evatt’s side back into League One’s top six.

“That was a game of so many emotions. It was crazy. Some real lows and extraordinary highs at the end,” said Evatt after a second away success of the season.

“That’s football. It’s just an incredible game sometimes. We all love it and that was a game to enjoy.

“I’m delighted for the boys. I’m so happy for the players because they’ve suffered.

“I know it (the recent away run) is in their heads as well and hopefully that eradicates all the negativity they’ve been feeling.

“I hope it gives them back a huge amount of confidence that we’d lost. It’s a really important result.

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“I’m delighted for the fans. I feel and sense their emotion as well. We all get emotional in these games but we have to keep believing in these players.

“They’re a good squad, they’re really together and you can’t win games like that unless you are together.”

Wanderers had also failed to score in their three-game winless run in a testing time for Evatt’s men.

But Stanley couldn’t live with Wanderers’ attacking threat once the momentum at the Wham Stadium had shifted.

And Evatt hopes the renewed sense of belief will have a long-lasting effect as the push for places near the top intensifies.

“The last three results have really affected us. Those three results had knocked the players’ confidence,” added the Whites’ boss, who is now planning for Tuesday night’s visit of Burton Albion.

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“During that game we all felt those emotions of ‘here we go again’.

“We’re all thinking ‘what can it be?’ We’re so much better than that.

“When we got that first goal you could see the confidence flooding back and we just turned it on. And we turn it on teams struggle to live with us.

 It’s a fantastic result for them and hopefully that will lay down a marker now for the other away games to come.

“Hopefully it reminds them how good they can be when they put it all together.”

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