IF the reaction on social media is anything to go by, Filipe Morais drove the team bus back from Gillingham, delivering the mail and then all the babies in the maternity ward on his way home on Tuesday night.

Joyous Wanderers fans were having some fun celebrating the winger’s exploits after he became the first player in the Football League this season to register four assists in a single game.

Putting his achievement into context is difficult. It is known that only six Premier League players have ever managed to have a direct hand in four goals in the same 90 minutes.

The most recent addition to the select bunch was Dusan Tadic of Southampton in an 8-0 rout of Sunderland. But the group also includes Santi Cazorla (Arsenal), Emmanuel Adebayor (Tottenham), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Jose Antonio Reyes (Arsenal) and Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal).

Champions League examples are even rarer – Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG) and Neymar (Barcelona) the only two players recorded by official sources since the competition began in its modern format.

Understandably, Football League records are more difficult to track down.

Morais created three goals at Fleetwood on Saturday, at which point some eagle-eyed supporters pointed out that Liam Feeney had managed the same in a 4-3 defeat against Watford in 2015.

No examples have yet emerged to prove a Bolton player has ever managed four, although The Bolton News would be keen to hear if readers know otherwise.

Parkinson gave due credit to Morais after the final whistle on Tuesday night but was in no mood to attribute the team’s success to one player.

The Wanderers boss hailed the “fantastic deliveries” which had created goals for David Wheater, Mark Beevers, Adam Le Fondre and Josh Vela but also wanted to highlight some of the unsung heroes in his pack.

“We nearly scored goal of the season – I just hope that gets an airing on Twitter or whatever else people look at,” said the manager, swatting away another question about Morais to continue his own agenda.

“That was one of the best moves I’ve seen for a long time. The keeper pulled off a great save and it’s just a shame Darren didn’t get his goal because his performance really deserved it.”

Pratley’s lung-bursting display was all the more impressive considering it came just a few days after Fleetwood, which had been his first outing in seven months since fracturing his ankle.

Though Dorian Dervite had been afforded the luxury of a few development squad games before forcing his way back into the first team, Pratley’s return was virtually unannounced.

Parkinson was thoroughly impressed with both players’ efforts.

“I spoke to Dorian and Darren on the morning of the game in the hotel and asked if they could go again – and their response was incredibly positive. There was no doubt they would,” he said.

“Darren covered every single blade of grass for us and at 60 minutes I’m telling him to put the reins on and conserve some energy because we’re home and dry. It’s so tough to get him to do that because he wanted to win every ball.”

Dervite did not get on the scoresheet, as his defensive partners Wheater and Beevers had done, but he contributed to a defensive effort which left Ben Alnwick’s goal almost entirely untested at Priestfield.

“We’d kept shouting right to the end to keep the clean sheet because all keepers and defenders should want that notch, just like strikers want to score,” Parkinson said. “I thought we looked solid and there were only one or two moments where they looked dangerous. Dorian was very solid. He can be very pleased with his performance.”