ONE small step for Wanderers, a giant shot in the arm for belief around the Macron Stadium.

For weeks, if not months, Bolton’s fans have been asked to have faith results would turn without a whole lot of evidence to back it up.

Phil Parkinson’s side threw everything they had at Ipswich, Bristol City and Villa but came up frustratingly short. And more than a few people were writing them off as relegation fodder without a quarter of the season played.

For 90-plus minutes on Saturday – and buoyed by the return of key man Josh Vela – Wanderers showed they very much belong on this stage.

Hope returned to the terraces as every ball was kicked, missed opportunity rued and goal-line clearance admired.

Sammy Ameobi ended the Whites’ near 13-hour scoring drought and when Sam Hutchinson sliced the ball into his own net after an hour it should have been feet up, and look forward to QPR next weekend.

But after Gary Madine wasted a golden chance to make it three, the Owls gave their own large contingent some confidence as Keiran Lee dragged them back into the game with 22 minutes to play.

What ensued was one of the most breathless, frantic games of football we have seen in the last 20 years at the new stadium – and to have come out on the right side of the result is worth its weight in gold.

Parkinson earned his money as manager over the international break, making three key decisions to ensure three points against the Owls.

Giving his players an extended rest at the start of the two-week hiatus when other managers may have dragged them back into Lostock for extra sessions served to reinforce the respect he clearly still holds in the dressing room.

In tough times like this cracks often appear but Parkinson and his staff have kept their dressing room impressively on message.

Putting Vela straight back into the starting line-up after nearly two months out with an ankle injury was a brave move which paid off handsomely. The midfielder will have technically better games but for sheer heart alone, he fully deserved the standing ovation given to him when he left the pitch with six minutes of normal time to play.

Lastly, Parkinson’s tactical nous has been questioned in some quarters over the winless start but having identified Wednesday’s weakness down the left, he exploited it ruthlessly with the rampaging Mark Little and Ameobi.

Adam Reach – a winger playing full-back – and the free spirited Barry Bannan are players who would grace any Championship line-up but their lack of defensive nous left the Owls lop-sided and vulnerable for a large chunk of the game.

With his players fit and new arrival Karl Henry now settling in to bring the best out of the team-mates around him, there is nothing to say the Wanderers boss cannot recover ground lost at the start of the season.

Defeat really wasn’t an option for Wanderers, who were looking to avoid becoming only the third club in history to lose their first six home games.

The club had rallied round in the strongest way imaginable in the build-up, and if that had not been enough it is difficult to see where they could have gone next.

Thankfully, and for the first time since that glorious day against Peterborough United, the Whites were able to take the lead.

Ameobi drifted past two players on the right to cut in on his left foot, sweeping a majestic shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. Wanderers’ threat at set pieces also returned. David Wheater had the first of two efforts cleared off the line by Tom Lees – but Mark Beevers did just the same at the other end after the ball fell kindly for Reach after a goalmouth scramble.

Jack Hunt’s ugly challenge on Ameobi just before half time lessened his impact and could easily have earned the full-back more than a caution.

Wednesday improved in the second half and sub Jordan Rhodes – rarely a friend to Bolton down the years – had two big chances to draw his side level, one of which was cleared off the line by Little.

Filipe Morais entered the fray and his first task was to sweep in a near-post corner which was slashed into his own net by Hutchinson under pressure from Darren Pratley.

Madine should have made it three, conspiring to hit the post from a yard out after Vela had cut a cross back from the by-line. The big striker could have been re-living that miss in his nightmares had his former club gone on to get something from the game.

The Owls did halve the deficit, Lee heading home after Morais had blocked Rhodes’ shot on the line with a desperate save. Thankfully, new rules which have given referees the opportunity to use common sense in such situations meant the winger was issued with a caution and the goal stood.

Wednesday could have had a penalty when Lee went sprawling under a stray foot from Wheater but ref David Coote chose to book the midfielder for diving, much to the chagrin of Carlos Carvalhal.

Just as it was in the Carabao Cup, the running battle in the technical areas was just as entertaining as the action on the pitch. A serious injury to Rhodes took the sting out of the game in injury time, however, and Wanderers were able to see home their maiden win of the season.

A step in the right direction, without doubt, but for this survival fight to be successful Parkinson and his players are going to have to play flat-out from here on in. It remains a huge task but afternoons like this remind us that anything is possible.