Wanderers missed out on a return to Wembley by the slimmest of margins following a 2-1 aggregate defeat against Barnsley in the play-off semi-final.

Liam Kitching got the only goal on the night at Oakwell, powering a header past James Trafford after getting on the end of Luca Connell’s cross.

The Whites struggled to carve out chances at the other end, with Aaron Morley going closest to an equaliser.

Strikers isolated

Wanderers struggled to carve out chances in the final third against a stubborn Barnsley defence over the two legs.

This has been a common theme at times over the past season, with many sides sitting back and looking to frustrate Ian Evatt’s side.

The Whites scored 62 goals in the league this term - the fewest total out any of the sides in the top seven.

Jon Dadi Bodvarsson’s bad injury luck hasn’t helped. The Icelander scored eight goals in all competitions before his season was cut short.

Victor Adeboyejo has also proven he can be prolific at this level and will benefit from a first pre-season at Wanderers.

Big shoes to fill

It wasn’t the way James Trafford and Conor Bradley wanted their loan spells to end, but there is no denying how much of an impact the pair have had at the UniBol.

Trafford has gone from strength to strength at Wanderers and the England Under-21 international looks destined for big things.

The future also looks bright for Bradley, who made the transition to League One football look easy over the past season.

Both players will be extremely tough to replace in the summer, but Evatt and Chris Markham’s track record of identifying promising youngsters bodes well for the future.

The bigger picture

While they weren’t able to secure a return to Wembley, Wanderers can take plenty of encouragement from what they have achieved this season.

A fifth-place finish in League One represents another season of progression under Evatt and the Papa Johns Trophy success was an added bonus that will live long in the memories of Bolton supporters.

The Whites have proven they can cause any side in the division problems on their day, and there is no reason why they shouldn’t be aiming high next term.

The standard in the third tier has been particularly high over the past couple of years and it will be interesting to see if that trend continues next season.

Loyal support

The Bolton faithful also deserve a mention, having travelled up and down the country in their numbers over the past season.

Evatt previously called on the fans to make the UniBol “a cauldron of noise” and will be pleased with the rising attendance numbers over the past few months.

Those who were lucky enough to get a ticket at Oakwell made plenty of noise and there were great scenes after the final whistle despite the result not going their way.

It was just a shame that Wanderers were limited to around 2,000 tickets. There is no doubt they could have packed out the away end in South Yorkshire.