'Reality check' - Bolton Wanderers B team boss' verdict on Southport pre-season friendly loss

Bolton Wanderers B team boss Matt Craddock believes his side's pre-season friendly loss to Southport is a 'reality check' as he felt his outfit did not do the basics well enough in the defeat.

Wanderers' new B team squad travelled to Haig Avenue to take on the Sandgrounders for their third pre-season friendly. The Whites' second string have previously suffered narrow 1-0 losses to Atherton Collieries and Bamber Bridge.

The young Whites tasted defeat ultimately versus the National League North side. Niall Watson put the hosts in front before the break as Gez Sithole missed a gilt-edged first half chance, while Connor Woods added a second before full-time as Bolton lost 2-0.

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B team boss Craddock was frank with his assessment of how his side performed overall in the encounter. He felt his team did not do the basics well enough in the clash and the deficit would have been greater had it not been for several saves by Luke Hutchinson.

Though he believes the standard of opposition has increased during pre-season and most recently versus Southport, he belives his side must still put in the hard yards during matches. Though the key for the B team is long term play development, Craddock still wants to see the fundamentals done properly in every encounter they play.

He said: "It was a reality check, I think for the lads. You could say a similar story to the last couple of games really where we were having to deal with a lot of physical challenges and then I think we just didn't do the basics well enough.

"That's probably the disappointing thing that in the first half, once you manage to deal with the long ball and the balls into the