Ian Evatt watched play-off chasing Bolton lose 1-0 at home to relegation-threatened Accrington in Sky Bet League One and admitted: “We caused our own demise.”
Ethan Hamilton’s sixth goal of the season plus a late double save from Lukas Jensen earned Stanley a first away win since last November.
However, John Coleman‘s team remain in the drop zone, two points from safety, with games to play against Cambridge and Oxford.
The Trotters are two points clear of seventh-placed Peterborough with two matches remaining, starting with Fleetwood at the University of Bolton Stadium on Saturday.
“We got away with it at Burton and we got away with it last Saturday (against Shrewsbury),” said Evatt on his side’s failures in front of goal.
“But when you are continuously missing chances like we did, especially in the first half, you make things difficult for yourself.
“Then you give teams fighting for their lives a leg up with a sloppy goal.
“Then, off the back of that, we had two massive chances. We had to score which would have changed the entire game.
“We’ve got to get back to being instinctive and clinical in the final third.
“We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. There can be no sulking and we must move on from this and focus on winning the game on Saturday.
“We are still in the best position of three teams chasing the two positions.”
Stanley assistant boss Jimmy Bell said: “We never thought we would be getting three points but we needed them.
“We told them – as we have for the last eight or nine games – we had to get something from the game.
“The penny finally dropped, or hopefully it has. That’s one win with two massive games to go.
“Three points at this stage of the season from a game no one expected us to win is massive.
“It was a massive performance by every member of the team; even the young physios were jumping and screaming.
“We had a game plan and the players stuck to it magnificently. Bolton are one of the top teams in the league, full of intricate footballers who can all handle the ball.
“They have a way of playing and we had to nullify that.
“This (win) is a massive relief and gives us a chance. If we can replicate what we did tonight then we have a chance.
“And if we had given a few more performances like this one we wouldn’t be in this position.
“But we have a chance and we’ve got to fight for everything and see where it takes us.”
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