Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson was pleased to edge a “real competitive” tie against Wanderers in the Vertu Trophy quarter-final.
Andy Cannon got the decisive goal 20 minutes from time as the Red Dragons secured a home semi-final against Peterborough.
“The early part of the game, we kind of had to work out their 3-4-3 system,” Parkinson " target="_blank" class="link"> told the club channels.
“We didn’t expect them to play that way and it took a bit of time to get to grips with that. But the in-game management, I thought, was great from the lads.
“We shout the messages onto the pitch but they worked it out themselves really. I thought we had some decent spells in the first half and probably went for the killer pass too many times rather than trying to get control.
“But we adapted that really well in the second period and I was really pleased with how we played against a good side. It was a real competitive game, it was hard fought, and we are very pleased to progress.”
Cannon latched onto George Evans’ pass, cut onto his right foot and curled a strike into the bottom corner.
“It was a good goal for us because playing against that system, the space is either side of their two holding midfield players in those pockets,” Parkinson continued.
“George Evans broke the lines with a terrific pass and the rest was down to Andy. It was a really good goal. We knew by half time where can we hurt them, what areas can we exploit?
“That was a great moment for us because it is something we speak about a lot. It was a terrific pass from George, who I thought was really good for us.”
Wrexham brought Ollie Rathbone, Jay Rodriguez, Sam Smith and Ryan Barnett off the bench in the second half.
When asked if the changes highlighted their squad depth, Parkinson replied: “The Port Vale game last week was a good performance but this was a level above.
“The likes of George, Seb (Revan), Mo (Faal) who hadn’t had loads of football, needed tonight in preparation for the last part of the season.
“It was definitely a step up and I am very pleased that those lads have come through the game with good individual performances.
“More importantly, the last time we lost and we have a proud record here. It was important we got back to winning ways on our home turf and it is a good win for us.
“One win off Wembley and we know that, you can never underestimate the chance to go and play at one of the most iconic stadiums in the world. We gave everything tonight to try to get us one step closer.
“Now, we have got players really up to speed for this run of games coming up because we will be utilising the group all the way through until the end of the season.”
