Wanderers’ fine run of recent form was brought to a sudden halt at play-off rivals Derby County. 

Goals from Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Conor Hourihane gave the Rams a thoroughly deserved victory, stretching the Whites’ wait for a league win in the town to 42 years. 

Kieran Sadlier grabbed a consolation deep into stoppage time – but it was too late to salvage anything on a day where Bolton had been miles short of their best. 

Wanderers went into the game having lost just once in their previous 13 games, talking confidently about bridging the gap between themselves and the top two, let alone the play-offs. And that made their rather circumspect start to the game all the more difficult to understand. 

Derby, to their credit, pressed hard from the off, never letting Bolton settle into possession.  

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing set the nerves jangling early on when he levered Will Aimson off the ball on the left, forcing George Johnston into an important clearance in front of his own goal. 

Haydon Roberts then tested James Trafford for the first time with a stinging effort following a quick exchange on the edge of the area from David McGoldrick and Mendez-Laing. 

Nlundulu looked the most likely to make something happen, causing a few problems with his direct running. But elsewhere Wanderers were quite wasteful with the ball, with even Aaron Morley’s reliable set piece delivery dropping below standard. 

Derby were winning possession back quickly in most areas – and it was a good 50-50 challenge from Jason Knight which set Tom Barkhuizen away on the right wing after 16 minutes, his cross turned in at the near post by Mendez-Laing, under heavy pressure from Aimson. 

Nlundulu punched one hole in the Derby defence half an hour in, playing a ball right to the overlapping Bradley, whose control let him down at the crucial moment. 

The Liverpool loanee redeemed himself at the other end a few moments later, making a block in front of his own goal from Barkhuizen’s low shot.  

And on the stroke of half time Bolton might have grabbed a leveller, Eoin Toal crossing low towards Kieran Lee, whose flick was saved by Joe Wildsmith. Had the midfielder been missed out, however, Dion Charles was unmarked with the whole goal at his mercy. 

Bolton did improve slightly after half time but despite getting more territorial advantage, they struggled to create chances – Kyle Dempsey’s blast over the bar the best it got. 

Evatt brought on debutant Shola Shoretire to add some creativity, the Manchester United teen showing a few nice early touches and looking keen to get on the ball.  

But just as Derby looked like they were slowing down, they found a fresh spark with a second goal. 

Max Bird’s angled ball was flicked on by Barkhuizen, and midfielder Conor Hourihane burst in to drive a left footed shot past Trafford. 

Roberts might have made it three when he directed a header just wide of the post with 10 minutes to go, the wind at that stage completely disappeared from Bolton’s sails. 

It almost came as a surprise to the sell-out 3,000 travelling support when Sadlier grabbed a goal at the death. The winger, who had replaced Randell Williams, cut in on his right foot from the left to bury his shot into the bottom corner.