Boss Ian Evatt praised penalty king Luke Southwood after his saves helped Wanderers reach round two of the Carabao Cup, writes Pete Oliver.
The summer signing made two excellent stops in the shoot-out which helped the Whites to a 5-4 win on penalties after a 1-1 draw at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.
Southwood’s heroics capped a perfect debut for the former Cheltenham Town man as Wanderers got past League One rivals Mansfield Town to book their place in Wednesday night’s second-round draw.
“I'm delighted for Luke in his first game for us,” said Evatt. “There were a number of debutantes for us tonight and in the first half you could see there wasn't that much fluidity. They're still getting to know each other and relationships are going to build.
“It wasn't great but the second half was much more like it and the last 25 to 30 minutes was good and we should have put the game to bed.
“We missed some critical chances and then penalties are penalties. We managed to score enough to get us through and Luke produced a couple of really good saves. The last one in particular was an excellent save, so positives to take.”
Evatt made nine changes to the side that had started Saturday’s opening league win at Leyton Orient and gave full debuts to five of the Whites’ summer recruits.
Randell Williams made his first start since last season’s play-offs and there was also a first competitive appearance in over 12 months for George Johnston as Wanderers put themselves in the hat along with over half of the Premier League clubs in dramatic fashion after George Thomason’s stunning strike had been cancelled out late on by the Stags.
“It's a cup competition it's unlikely we're going to win but we're going to give it our best shot and give people minutes in games because preparation for the league is crucial,” added Evatt.
“It's an extra game now this month which is probably important, given that we're still going to have players that need game time to get them up to full speed.
“Getting used to the energy and intensity we want to play at is something all the new players are going to take time to get used to. The new ones all did themselves no harm.
“I thought Jay was really good in spells, Jordi showed one against one what he can do, Chris is going to get fitter and stronger for the experience, it was a lot more like it from him for George Johnston, it was good to see Rands back, Macca is going to get up to speed quickly and Scotty is still getting used to what we do.
“The stand-out performances for me were obviously Luke in the penalty shoot-out and I thought Victor led the line superbly, especially in the first half with the way he got hold of the ball and his link play was excellent.
“All we can do in every game is just represent this club and represent the badge the best we can and try and win. Thankfully we've managed to do that tonight and we'll see what the next round brings.”
Watch the manager's full post-match interview and reaction from Luke Southwood on Wanderers TV HERE
Main image: Jake Horrocks