Bolton win EFL Trophy final after smashing four past Plymouth

Back when their club was on the precipice of oblivion just four years ago, Bolton’s supporters would never have envisaged so soon being in the luxurious position of bathing in Wembley sunshine, sardonically cheering every pass while their side romped to victory in a cup final.

Try telling the 34,000 who had travelled down from the north-west that this was just the EFL Trophy. Indeed, no football match in Europe was played in front of a bigger crowd this weekend than the 79,389 who filled Wembley Stadium.

Chanting the name of cult hero Ivan Campo, who happily signed autographs in attendance, they could allow themselves to definitively believe the bad times were over. It felt like the Bolton of old.

That the scoreline finished 4-0 – the widest-margin victory in the final of this competition – was no more than Ian Evatt’s side deserved, given the enormous gulf evident between the two sides. Where Plymouth froze on the big stage, their opponents flourished.

Any sense of jeopardy was expelled almost instantly, with Bolton’s first two goals coming in the opening 10 minutes, courtesy of Kyle Dempsey and Dion Charles. Elias Kachunga dashed hopes of an Argyle comeback with a third soon after half-time and when Gethin Jones headed in a fourth just after the hour, a fair portion of Plymouth supporters decided they had seen enough and began their long journey back to the West Country.

The victory capped Bolton’s spectacular turnaround from existential crisis to cup champions in four years.

While this was Plymouth’s first cup final at Wembley – having previously contested two playoff finals here – Bolton have four times lifted the rather more prestigious FA Cup inside the stadium. The last of those was 65 years ago though, and to