Demanding manager Steven Schumacher would have preferred to see more goals at one end and fewer at the other, but he was pleased with another pleasing performance as Wanderers approach full throttle, writes Pete Oliver.
In their penultimate warm-up game, the Whites defeated Shrewsbury Town 5-2, giving them four pre-season wins in a row.
Wanderers had too much for the League Two side and should have won by more after missing some good chances and allowing the Shrews to break their three-game shutout streak with two second-half goals.
“We wanted a clean slate. We said at halftime we should have been 6-0 up,” insisted Schumacher on his return to the stadium where he won his first away game as Wanderers’ manager in February.
“We squandered three major opportunities. We said, ‘Look, let’s be professional, don’t give anything away, and make no mistakes if possible. We then made a minor error by giving them a corner. It was a touch careless to give them a corner in the first place, and then we didn’t quite get the passing correct, resulting in their lad scoring.
“We were disappointed with that, and for the final goal, we just needed to win a tackle in the last minute.” But it’s one of them; you make mistakes, and it’s better to make them in preseason.
“I thought we played quite well. We had a superior game test. It looked like a league game. They shortened and constricted the pitch this year, so we knew it would be competitive.
“Early on, there were some heavy tackles and it was a good game. When we found our rhythm and scored a few goals, the game opened up a little.
“The only disappointment at halftime was that we did not score six, but only three. But it was a good test for us and our goals at this point. We want to continue improving. We’re not the first article, and we still have a lot to work on.”
Shrewsbury may have tightened their pitch in preparation for life in League Two, but they were unable to contain flying winger Thierry Gale, who opened the scoring with his first Wanderers goal.
Fellow wideman Amario Cozier-Duberry opened his account in last Saturday’s win over Hibernian, and Gale’s cracker demonstrated that the two summer signings could add a significant new threat to the Whites’ attacking play when the new season begins.
“The plan was to get him 60 minutes today,” said Schumacher, whose team faces Championship outfit Preston North End this weekend before their League One opening against Stockport County on Sunday.
“We are aware that he is a little behind in his pre-season. We’re gradually developing him, but he showed glimpses of what he’s capable of on Saturday at Hibs, and he showed even more today.
“He took his goal really well. It was a fantastic conclusion. In the second half, he shown the ability to play on the outside as well as his left foot. So having that speed and quality from both feet makes it difficult to mark against. Similar to Amario, he can go both ways, so it was very excellent and encouraging. I’m happy for him, and I’m sure he’ll get stronger as the weeks pass.”
Teenager Daeshon Lawrence also scored his first senior goal for the Wanderers, before Josh Dacres-Cogley, an own-goal, and a fantastic solo effort from Max Conway capped off an encouraging night.
Conway started the game again at left-back, with Schumacher noting afterwards that it is a position Wanderers should consider strengthening, with summer signing Richard Taylor out for three or four weeks due to a groin issue suffered over the weekend.
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