WHILE the Champagne is on ice for League One leaders Portsmouth, Wanderers must hope for another slip-up if they are to realise their automatic promotion ambitions.

Ian Evatt’s side battled bravely, created more of the clear-cut chances, and may well feel hard done by as they walked off the pitch applauded by the biggest third-tier audience the Toughsheet Stadium has ever seen.

But while the jubilant travelling fans sung about being top of the league and can seal their fate with a win against Barnsley on Tuesday night, it promises to be a more reflective few days for the Whites, who once again suffered for their profligacy in front of goal.

After conceding a sloppy opening goal to Abu Kamara early on, there was much to admire about the way Wanderers took on the challenge of getting level and trying to find a winner.

Aaron Collins produced a brilliant header to raise hopes for the second half but despite some relentless pressure and a hugely positive home crowd of 25,726, they could not find the goal that really mattered.

Derby’s 3-0 win against Leyton Orient mends the damage done by their midweek hiccup at Wycombe and Peterborough’s shock 5-0 defeat at Oxford United could well affect what happens next in this unpredictable campaign. But it was hard not to feel this was an opportunity missed, in every sense of the phrase.

Wanderers made just one change from the side that beat Bristol Rovers, bringing vice-captain Gethin Jones back into the defence for Jack Iredale. Dion Charles – who has not kicked a ball for Bolton since February 13 – was a welcome sight back on the bench.

Knowing what was at stake, nerves at the start of the game were understandable. Bolton hadn’t really settled into any sort of rhythm in possession, nor really threatened the Pompey goal, by the time they found themselves behind in the seventh minute.

Frustratingly, Kamara’s goal came from a Bolton throw, a mix-up between Josh Sheehan and Nat Ogbeta which allowed the winger to run almost unchecked to the edge of the Bolton area before tucking a shot past Nathan Baxter into the bottom corner.

News that Derby had also gone ahead against Leyton Orient followed quickly, deflating a previously buoyant atmosphere faster than the blue balloons that had escaped the away end, which were now being eagerly popped by referee Anthony Backhouse.

It took the Toughsheet a little while to get back to full volume but the goal produced a reaction from Bolton, who started to use the ball much more effectively.

Paris Maghoma had a shot charged down on the edge of the box before Collins had another effort cleared off the line by Conor Shaughnessy.

Ogbeta was having to be careful how much space was being offered to Kamara – but going forward he was causing issues for the visitors, too. After nearly picking out Collins with one cross, he then saw another drop agonisingly over the toe of Jon Dadi Bodvarsson.

Pompey were already trying to slow the game down. Bolton, by comparison, looked to be in too much of a rush to get their equaliser.

Maghoma failed to gather a great ball from George Thomason which could have put him in on goal and another cross from the left – this one from Bodvarsson – was inadvertently taken off Maghoma’s toes by Collins as he wound up a shot at goal.

The equaliser finally arrived on 36 minutes, and once again it came from a cross on the left. Collins did superbly well to direct his header at an awkward height on target, netting his sixth goal in eight games.

There was still time for one more big chance as Norris pushed aside Collins’s shot and Bodvarsson tried to turn it back in at an acute angle, clipping the crossbar in the process.

Though Sheehan struggled to make his mark on the game, Maghoma’s influence had grown considerably and the on-loan Brentford midfielder was starting to worry the visitors every time he got hold of the ball.

Bolton’s urgency continued into the second half. Thomason and Sheehan had early efforts and Pompey’s policy of slowing everything down to a crawl also continued unabated. One triple substitution threatened to last until sunset, with Eoin Toal – a tad unwisely, given he was already booked – shoving ex-Wigan man Callum Lang towards the touchline as he dawdled on his way off the pitch.

The switches also treated us to a reunion between Kusini Yengi and Ricardo Santos, and one that the Bolton skipper seemed to relish with some gusto.

Pompey’s threat hadn’t disappeared completely, and lively replacement Tino Ajorin sent one effort skimming just wide of Baxter’s post to remind Bolton that the scoreline was still a very fragile one indeed.

Given Derby’s lead, Wanderers knew they needed a winner. Bodvarsson should have provided it after being picked out by Dacres-Cogley’s cut back, and Santos had two chances from set pieces but failed to make a telling connection.

As the minutes ticked down, the jeopardy increased. Santos had to make a couple of well-timed interventions to stop Pompey hitting on the break but Wanderers threatened each and every time they attacked.

The rains came belting down as Dion Charles entered the arena – and just a few minutes later he had hit the base of the post with a close-range effort after some great work by fellow sub Kyle Dempsey.

The fourth official put six minutes up to send another wave of hope around the stadium.

The travelling fans knew their celebrations will most likely come another day. But the home support yearned for one more big chance to be created.

Dacres-Cogley and Dempsey combined to win a corner with more than 96 minutes on the clock. The ball was cleared and Williams tried his luck from distance but, alas, his shot drifted over the bar.

Who knows what twists and turns await over the last three games? But Bolton’s fate is now out of their hands once again.