AS players and staff walked slowly around the pitch in ones and twos to climb back aboard the team bus at St James Park, Ian Evatt was in deep conversation with his goalkeeper.

The details of the conversation shall remain private but suffice it to say the tone was motivational and Joel Coleman – like many of his team-mates – looked in desperate need of a pick-me-up despite having fought back to claim a late point.

Unlike Barnsley a few days earlier, there were no jubilant scenes at the final whistle in Devon. Eoin Toal’s equaliser was greeted with joy and relief at the time but while the 950-strong travelling support could appreciate the guts being shown by their team, it was hard not to also feel some concern that they are not in promotion-quality form, nor did they play much promotion-quality football on the day.

Throw in the fact that Victor Adeboyejo limped off with a hamstring injury after only a few minutes and the news that Dion Charles has suffered a setback in his own return, and the grey skies into which the team flew back on the plane took seemed all the more symbolic.

This time last week it was Evatt in need of a fillip. The drama at Oakwell had fired him back up after a difficult spell and fans prayed that would be the same for a team which has delighted and exasperated in equal measure since the turn of the year. Sadly, this was another one of those days which make Bolton such a hard team to read.

On the plus side, even after Adeboyejo’s exit, their dominance of the first half was absolute. Paris Maghoma put them ahead after 33 minutes, finishing off a lovely flowing move involving George Thomason and Josh Sheehan which exemplified everything about the Whites at their best.

It would be wrong, however, to claim that reducing the home crowd to whispers, or having such territorial advantage equated to goalscoring chances. Aaron Collins hit the bar with a dipping shot and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, rushed on unexpectedly after four minutes, poked and slashed at a couple of other crosses which came his way.

Gethin Jones looked positive in a right wing-back role and Maghoma’s shimmying style stood him out against the pack. Yet the single goal was all they had to show for their supremacy, and how often have we been left to reflect on those spells?

The few minutes after half time will surely have been replayed in the minds and nightmares of Evatt and several of his players. Before some people had even retaken their seat for the second half Sonny Cox was racing through to lob a shot over Coleman – who had inexplicably darted off his line.

Toal, Ricardo Santos and Jack Iredale looked at each other in bewilderment, their heads hardly out of the dressing room. And in those moments a reaction should have materialised, someone, anyone, had to get a grip and prevent the game from slipping completely from Bolton’s grasp.

Exeter’s fans suddenly un-muted – roars from the Big Bank calling them back towards their end. A relatively straightforward ball down the left put the pacy Cox in again and with Santos unusually unable to recover ground – perhaps with the images of Blackpool still fresh in the mind as he nibbled at the striker’s heels – the Grecians man unleashed a powerful strike which pierced the net before Coleman could blink.

Had Wanderers recovered their poise at that stage, there was still 40-plus minutes to rebuild, and as they showed at Barnsley a lot can happen in less time.

The reaction to going behind was frustrating in the extreme. All confidence on the ball was lost for a long spell and Exeter will feel they could have put the result beyond doubt with some more ruthlessness in front of goal.

Coleman made one excellent save to deny Cox a hat-trick, later pulling off another spectacular stop from substitute, Mo Eisa. On the flip side, an effort from Jack Aitchison seemed to slip his grasp and trigger a goalmouth scramble from which Toal produced an important clearance.

From one to 11, the inconsistency within 90 minutes at Wanderers can be quite exhausting.

It wasn’t until the 37-year-old Cameron Jerome came on that the Whites started to slowly gain some traction once again.

Critics can point to his goal record all they like, his experience, movement and pace have helped Bolton avoid a few catastrophes this season, and this was one of them.

The equalising goal came two minutes from the end of normal time, Toal rising to head Iredale’s cross down and under keeper Viljami Sinisalo. With plenty of stoppage time expected, there was genuine optimism among the Bolton fans who snaked around two sides of the ground that we could see another spectacular finish.

Then, again, the final touch eluded Wanderers. Iredale was desperately unlucky with a low shot from the edge of the box that was touched around the post but on a handful of occasions the ball went into the right area with absolutely no Bolton player to be seen.

Eisa nearly snatched a winner, as if to remind Evatt and his players that they had not had things their own way entirely. Had he found one, goodness knows what the psychological impact would have been. Ask Barnsley.

In the end, we are left with facts. Bolton are third, a point behind Derby, who they play next weekend at Pride Park. Before that, they host play-off chasing Oxford United in a TV game that could broadcast the best or the worst of Evatt’s side, perhaps even both in the space of one night?

Evatt has to motivate, he has to keep his messages positive, however deep the injuries to Nathan Baxter, Dion Charles and Co have cut. There is simply no time to mope.

The record books won’t show that Bolton Wanderers have been patched up, only that their promotion chase has been a success or a failure.

More of these performances and the Whites will be on the wrong side of that line.