WANDERERS maintained their 100 per cent record in pre-season with a 3-0 win against League One Accrington Stanley.

The game, played at Bamber Bridge FC, didn’t go entirely Bolton’s way but they showed a potency in attack which bodes well for the forthcoming campaign.

Nathan Delfouneso scored once again – taking his tally to four goals in three friendlies – while Eoin Doyle made it three for the summer, scoring from the spot.

Here are a few of the key talking points from the game…

GOALS KEEP COMING: Make no mistake about it, this wasn’t a faultless performance, but there is something ominous about Wanderers when they break forward these days.

There is pace out wide in Liam Gordon and Gethin Jones – the latter being particularly impressive in the first half – and intelligence on the ball in the form of Ali Crawford, Brandon Comley and Antoni Sarcevic.

Perhaps most importantly, the two primary strikers, Eoin Doyle and Nathan Delfouneso, are pouncing on pretty much any chances that are coming their way.

There will be goals. Oh, yes, there will be goals.

CUTS AND BRUISES: Tom White left the field ahead of time with a nasty cut above his eye, which summed up a pretty physical second half.

Wanderers passed and probed for the first hour and Accrington’s reaction might be a hint of things to come in League Two. Patience will be a virtue.

Having said all that, the way the Bolton players rallied around their team-mates after being fouled also said a lot. Had fans been there, it would have been a talking point. And it is most certainly a positive sign about as group which has been fashioned in double quick time this summer.

CAREFUL AT THE BACK: When Wanderers got it right, they cut through Accrington’s defence with precision. Yet there were times when the wrong choice was made on the ball – be it from the goalkeeper, Billy Crellin, or one of the back line.

All the mistakes escaped unpunished and Bolton maintained a perfect pre-season but Ian Evatt knows full well that better choices must be made on the ball if they are to make this style of play work.

If there is no option close in and the opposition is pressing high, Wanderers have to work harder to find spaces they can exploit further down the pitch.

KEEP IT TIDY: It is hard to pick out individuals in what has been a very encouraging pre-season but new signing Brandon Comley really has set the bar high.

Compact in possession and hard-working off the ball, the former Colchester United man has made a great start to life in a Bolton shirt over his first couple of months.

If any lesson has been learned in Evatt’s style of play it is that possession must be respected and the ball cannot be given up cheaply. Comley exemplifies what will be successful in this formation.

GETTING CLOSER: The patterns of play are starting to emerge but there is no hiding from the fact that some players are slightly further down the line than others, fitness wise.

Alex Baptiste and Reiss Greenidge sat the Accrington friendly out and a few others peaked early in the game, fading in the latter stages.

Evatt has assembled a solid squad and still feels four more players are needed to complete it. It seems competition will be incredibly high this season.

We are now just a couple of weeks away from the first competitive game against Bradford City so time for one final push from the squad to get 100 per cent ready.

LAID TO REST: Of course a pre-season friendly win is never going to mask over the horror that was the 7-1 defeat at Accrington last season – but this WAS a strong Stanley side, no matter what the club’s social media might suggest.

Wanderers are aiming at League One and need to set the highest standards possible, ergo beating John Coleman’s side with such clinical precision was an encouraging step in the right direction.

Last season we were told that Accy were the benchmark of where the Whites aspired to be. This team is re-writing those rules.