BOLTON are smarting after a familiar foe returned to deal a bitter blow to their hopes of climbing into the mid-table comfort zone of the North One West.

Eccles, promoted automatically as champions last season while the Cherry and Whites had to take the play-off route, beat their local rivals 16-6 at Avenue Street and gained a measure of revenge.

Chris Cockton’s men had the better of Eccles in the 2013-14 season, drawing the home game then snatching a single-point away win with a late penalty. And they have since made the better start in the higher division.

But it was the visitors who took the bragging rights on Saturday as their widely anticipated forward-dominated approach saw them register their first win of the campaign and land a late penalty themselves to deny Bolton the consolation of a losing bonus point.

“Eccles came with a game plan and put it into practice very well,” said skipper Cockton reflecting on a defeat by a converted try and three penalties to two penalties.

“They caused us a lot of problems up front and in the pack.

“That was the first time this season we have been dominated physically and that was the biggest disappointment. It’s something we have got to reflect on and, hopefully, come back strongly.”

Bolton will need to up their game significantly if they are to produce a winning response, since they travel to league leaders Birkenhead Park on Saturday with injury problems that will present coach Nick Holmes with a number of selection problems.

But Cockton is hoping the team spirit within the camp, which is still high despite a sixth successive defeat, will at least bring an improved performance.

“The really frustrating thing for myself and Nick Holmes was that Eccles didn’t play any better than last season when we beat them,” he said.

“We were the architects of our own downfall. Passes weren’t going to hand, the decision-making was poor across the park and Eccles latched onto that.

“They looked more up for it than us and it was especially disappointing that, being our local rivals, we gave them their first win.”

Nevertheless, confidence in the Avenue Street camp remains high with players recently taking on their share of responsibility for finding ways to put things right, accepting the invitation from the management to put their individual ideas forward.

“I still believe the improvement will come,” Cockton added.

“One thing we have learned in this league is that any team can beat any other – provided they hit a level of consistency, which is something we are still striving for.

“Players are having a lot more input in training, putting forward their own opinions and what might be going wrong and the coaching team are looking at that.

“It won’t be easy for us at Birkenhead Park, but we went to Widnes earlier in the season with something of scratch side and came away with a losing bonus point.”