Evatt | The End Result Is An Important Point

Evatt Forrester congratulations

Boss Ian Evatt praised Wanderers’ resilience and the backing of the fans as the 10-man Whites secured a precious point, writes Pete Oliver.

Wanderers had to play the second half without stand-in captain Gethin Jones after he was sent off for a foul on Peterborough winger Ricky Jade-Jones.

The Whites had already come from behind to equalise through Victor Adeboyejo as they took less than a minute to cancel out Jonson Clarke-Harris’ opener for The Posh.

And they then defended superbly with a re-shuffled back four to keep Peterborough out and get themselves moving again in the push for places near the top of the table with a 1-1 draw.

“The end result is an important point. We’ve had so much to cope with the last couple of weeks, with the injury list, people playing not 100 per cent fit but doing it for the team and this football club,” said Evatt.

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Dion Charles applause Peterborough

“The resilience they showed second half was absolutely brilliant. We need to keep finding that resilience because in football seasons you do face adversity.

“In life you face adversity and it’s how you come through those times which really defined and shapes who you are as a person and a team and I think today we’ve shown a lot of character.

“We’ve rode our luck at times but I’m a firm believer that hard work puts you where good luck can find you and today that hard work did that. When called upon we needed that little rub of the green and we deserved that.”

Evatt thought Jones should only have been cautioned for the challenge which ended his afternoon early and was again left frustrated by what he deemed a lack of consistency over yellow cards.

With Jones now banned for the next three league games - along with a one-match suspension for George Thomason - and Ricardo Almeida Santos facing two or three weeks out with a hamstring strain, others will need to step up.

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Jon Dadid Bodvarsson wave

And central defender Will Forrester certainly did that in a superb full league debut as he was instrumental in blunting a Peterborough side that hit the woodwork twice in the second half.

“I thought Will was outstanding. I thought the back four in the second half were outstanding,” added Evatt.

“It’s tough. They put you under pressure and against one of the best attacks in the league, with the bodies we’ve missing and going down to 10 men, it was a phenomenal effort to keep the score at one.

“I’m really proud of the boys. I said in the week that football always gives you opportunities. Last season with the injuries that we had, unearthed Eoin Toal and he had a fantastic season. I think Will Forrester is going to be this season.”

Wanderers were backed by most in an excellent Community Day crowd of over 21,000 and Evatt also praised their role in securing a result that underlined Wanderers’ collective spirit.

“I’ve got to say, the fans were absolutely unbelievable,” said the Whites’ boss. “They were like the 11th man in the second half. The players were receptive to the support they were being given and that really got us a point and got us over the line, so a massive thank-you to them. When this stadium is positive, it’s a difficult place to come.”

Watch the manager's full post-match interview on Wanderers TV HERE

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