Ian Evatt hailed an important win as his players ‘showed what they’re capable of’ to brush aside Shrewsbury and reach round three of the Carabao Cup, writes Pete Oliver.
Wanderers bounced back from Saturday’s first loss of the season at Charlton to outplay and beat the Shrews 2-0 and go into the third-round draw for the first time in seven years.
The margin of victory could have been more emphatic on a night the Whites found top gear with Evatt delighted to see his side regain their momentum before resuming League One action at home to Exeter City on Saturday.
“That was an enjoyable experience for me as a manager and a coach and for the players and the coaching staff,” said Evatt after second-half goals from Jordi Osei-Tutu and Dion Charles secured an impressive victory.
“Tonight from minute one we looked a very good team. I said to the players that's what we're capable of and that's what we can do when we do things the correct way, are more positive with each other and in our actions and decision-making.
“Other than not scoring more - and I think we had three or four off the line, hit the post and had other good chances - there was a lot to like about that.
“We spoke about it on Monday, about having a really good week and trying to gather and build momentum and that was an important win going into Saturday and we can now look forward to that.”
Wanderers were missing Victor Adeboyejo with a back injury but still looked strong with six changes to their starting line-up.
Each player stepped up and Evatt expects his squad to go from strength to strength with their added game time to build on a win, draw and defeat in the league and back-to-back cup wins.
“The so far isn't unexpected from me,” the Whites’ boss told Wanderers TV. “It's been a little bit clunky, bitty and patchy and I expected that. We’ve had recruits who hadn't had a pre-season at their parents clubs then trying to get up to speed.
“They're going to get better and better and I thought we saw that tonight with Chris Forino, Jay Matete and Jordi all having excellent performances.
“There have also been lads who have missed pre-season because of injuries. Dion is a great example of that - lacking that sharp edge and that will come. That will come with games and we just need to be a little bit patient and not punish ourselves for losing games because that's going to happen.
“It’s how we respond and react and I thought we reacted in a really positive way tonight. I wanted us to use tonight as a platform to get going and now we have to follow on tonight into Saturday and if we do that and play the same we did tonight, which was very enjoyable to watch, we’ll make it very tough for Exeter.”
Watch the manager's post-match interview and a chat with goalscorer Jordi Osei-Tutu on Wanderers TV HERE