It was better than Cambridge and it was better than Rotherham and yet Stevenage conceded double what they had managed in those two matches.

A third straight defeat for Boro in League One, and a 4-1 reverse at home looks rotten, even if it is against a very good Bolton Wanderers side.

Not as grumpy about this one but weirdly, that makes marking a harder job. Here's what I came up with.

Player ratings

Stevenage (0) 1 Bolton Wanderers (2) 4

Taye Ashby-Hammond - 5

There was no blame attached to him for the first three goals but the boss believed he could have saved the fourth, and he probably could. Conceding four on the back of two at Rotherham and two in the BSM Trophy match at Peterborough won't do his confidence any good as he comes back from injury. 

Luther Wildin - 5

Didn't have a bad game in all honesty, and remember he is playing out of position, even if he is a very cultured defender, but he made two mistakes and they both ended in goals. Teams like Bolton will punish those errors. A tough lesson but one I'm sure he'll heed.

Dan Butler - 6

It looked perhaps worse than it was because Josh Dacres-Cogley had so much space down that flank at times, but some of that was down to the fact there wasn't always support ahead of him. Did start to put the ball in a bit more, would like to see him (and Stevenage in general) do that more often but from really wide areas. A little bit too narrow with crossing at times. Again though, that's a general thing.

Carl Piergianni - 7

Showed why he was missed on Saturday. Another typically consistent performance from the skipper. And even he felt he should have had a penalty, and he is notorious for getting up, respecting the decision and getting on with it. 

Dan Kemp - 7.5

His best game since the start of the season and he has his goal at last. Second half was much improved, a real livewire, so much so I'll break my system and give him a half-mark and make him Comet Sport man of the match.

Jordan Roberts - 7

He was given the MOTM award in the ground and at half-time I would have agreed with that. His pressing and tackling were top notch in that first half, his movement good too. Not as much of it after the break though.

Kane Smith - 6

Got forward well, he's at his best when he arrives at speed on the overlap and can stick the ball in. Could have crossed one or two times more, especially in the first half, and perhaps was too safe at times (another general thing really) but there was promise in this show. 

Elliott List - 5

Butler give him a right roasting late in the first half for not tracking. It's an alien concept for him to be fair but he did it superbly three minutes into the second period, coming back and winning the ball. So much so, I started bellowing "better" and applauding loudly, forgetting where I was for a second. Couple of good moments going forward too but not enough.

Jamie Reid - 6

His shot for the goal was more like the Reid of last season, scampering down the right channel and thumping a hard, low shot that the keeper could only parry. There was a sense of brain being turned off and instinct taking over. Need to see more of that.

Dan Phillips - 6

I was surprised he was substituted off but then I realised he did have a quiet game. His own high standards may go against him but bar one thumping but fair tackle on Szabolcs Schon, he did not light up the game as much as usual.

Louis Thompson - 6

There was a moment in the first half when he got the ball and after a moment's hesitation, he set off, gliding through the Bolton midfield before slipping in Reid. It was quick, it was incisive and it was so surprising. Haven't seen him or any of his team-mates do that for ages it seems. More please, because he especially is very good at it and it causes havoc for the opposition.

READ MORE:

Punished for our errors - Alex Revell's reaction to the game with Bolton

Stevenage beaten 4-1 at home to Bolton Wanderers - report

Stevenage 1 Bolton Wanderers 4 - full match recap, as it happened

Subs - Freestone, White, Freeman, Pressley

Can't say they didn't have an impact because Boro scored two minutes after they came on and the shape was changed. There was then a good five minutes where I actually thought a comeback might be on. Should know better at my age but there might be food for thought about switching to three centre-halves and wing-backs.

Bolton's stand-out players

They just ooze quality through the entire squad, even the bench was pretty impressive. Unsurprisingly for those that know me, a big centre-half caught my eye - Ricardo Santos. Took his goal well and defended with relatively few alarms.

Overall

Such a strange game, one of those matches where everyone had a difference of opinion in whether it was good, bad or indifferent.

And to be fair, the vast majority of us probably had all of those feelings inside us at one point during the evening.

The press was excellent, there was more crosses than there's been for a while and chances were created late on.

But on the flip side, Boro conceded four at home. An enigma of a match and performance.

One thing to mention is that Bolton are a very good team and will be once again in the play-off/automatic promotion hunt. Losing to them isn't a disaster.

But I also feel that Stevenage, this Stevenage team, can compete with teams like the Trotters. Still plenty of work to do but much better than of late.