EFL Cup Match Report: Wrexham 0-0 Wigan Athletic (4-2 on penalties)
The Racecourse Ground played host to a goalless draw between Wrexham and Wigan Athletic on Tuesday night. Here's a report, look at the tactical battle & conclusions drawn.
Wrexham 0-0 Wigan
Wrexham's first EFL Cup fixture in over 15 years ended with a penalty shootout victory over Wigan Athletic after the two sides played out a goalless draw.
The score wasn't for the want of trying, an entertaining first half seeing Jake Bickerstaff, Stephen Humphrys and Callum McFadzean go close while Sam Tickle produced a wonderful double stop in the second.
Penalties was the order of the day and four confident Wrexham penalties was enough as Wigan youngsters Charlie Hughes and Thelo Aasgaard blazed over.
Phil Parkinson has a big squad available to him and was able to make eight changes from the 5-3 loss against MK Dons with Ben Tozer, Eoghan O'Connell and James Jones those to remain.
Shaun Maloney referenced taking the game seriously and he made just four changes to the side that beat Derby County 2-1 on Saturday, bringing in academy lads Baba Adeeko and Chris Sze along with recent additions Kelland Watts and James Balazigi.
The game started at a good tempo, Wigan playing a unique style that stretched Wrexham but was also loose at times and the hosts were quick to capitalise.
Callum McManaman delivered the first opportunity, finding Humphrys who couldn't head on target under pressure. A minute later, a Tozer long throw was flicked on and Jake Bickerstaff's overhead kick caused momentary concern. Humphrys was away again before forcing a stop Mark Howard into a one-handed save.
Wrexham reorganised themselves and got on top of things. Jordan Davies' free-kick hit the target, Callum McFadzean crossed for Ollie Palmer then McFadzean himself spooned over the bar, unable to sort his feet out after Tickle parried James Jones' strike into his path. Anthony Forde also found the head of Max Cleworth who headed wide.
Wigan were still a threat, a loose pass giving Humphrys the opportunity to run again before forcing Howard into a low stop.
Referee Sam Allison was called into question before the half was up, Chris Sze sliding into a high challenge but being given the benefit of the doubt.
Despite Wigan starting the second half well, they were proving fallable on the break, Palmer robbing Hughes and curling wide, Jones doing similar from distance then Tickle stepped up to deny Bickerstaff and Davies with a brave double stop. The best the visitors managed was Sze firing over.
The changes started around the hour and the flow of the game changed, both sides looking stronger on paper and more organised in their approach. Wrexham barely mustered another opportunity while Aasgaard, Humphrys and Charlie Wyke tried but failed to hit the target.
And so to penalties. Luke Young, Charlie Wyke, Elliott Lee, Stephen Humphrys and Tom O'Connor made it a perfect five before young Charlie Hughes blazed over. Sam Dalby was composed with his finish before Aasgaard followed his team-mates footsteps and failed to hit the target.
Lineups
Wrexham
Howard
Cleworth Tozer O'Connell
Forde (Barnett) Jones Young Davies (O'Connor) McFadzean (Mendy)
Palmer (Dalby) Bickerstaff (Lee)
Unused: Foster; O'Connor Cannon McAlinden Waters
Wigan
Tickle
Hughes Morrison Watts
Adeeko Balazigi (Aasgaard) Smith Pearce (Brennan)
Humphrys Sze (Wyke) McManaman (Lang)
Unused: Amos; Robinson Smith Adams McHugh
Tactics
Wigan were the fun side from a tactical perspective here.
Nominally, they lined up in a 3-4-3 with Hughes, Liam Morrison and Kelland Watts across the back three, Baba Adeeko and Tom Pearce wide, James Balazigi and Matt Smith gluing together the team behind a front three of Sze and McManaman.
However, they were fluid in possession. When playing out, Adeeko would step into a midfield position with Balazigi stepping out wide. On the other flank, Pearce would switch between sticking to the touchline and drifting inside depending on the nature of their possession. Elsewhere, Humphrys and McManaman would stand out on the touchline with Sze dropping in.
It meant that at any given time, Wigan would be in a 4-1-3-2, 3-4-1-2 or 3-1-3-1-2 shape, the two forwards always out wide to stretch the Wrexham back three.
Wrexham's plan was to remain compact, keep tight through the middle, close the gaps between the lines and shift across as a unit. However, they had early troubles.
The plan for their 3-5-2 shape is often that the deepest midfielder and central centre-back sit tight and others do the stepping up and act as the enforcers. The wing-backs stepping inside and high caused issues for Jones and Davies in the press, the wing-backs stepped up as normal and it meant the wide centre-backs were being tasked with stepping onto the midfielder closest to them. That left big gaps out wide for McManaman and Humphrys.
They changed it up. Davies and Jones now started following the wing-backs inside and backwards with Young sharp on the heels of Smith at the base of midfield. That left Sze free at the top of the midfield. With the wingers high and wide, the wing-backs were more hesitant to step forward and one of the back three was tasked with stepping onto Sze into midfield. They had managed to find a way of matching up to Wigan in midfield and stopping the continuous ball out wide.
The substitutions were like for like. The most telling change was perhaps O'Connor rather than Lee for Davies, such was the role they were being tssked with.
In possession, Wrexham kept things relatively simple. Rather than lump forward, they would look for the wing-back who would often find a pass down the flank to Palmer and Bickerstaff, something that worked well down the left-hand side between Bickerstaff and McFadzean.
When they could find the pass inside, the plan was to get the ball across from one flank to the other quickly and give the wing-back on the other flank an opportunity to deliver to the bodies into the box.
Overall Thoughts
I found this a really enjoyable game to watch because of the tactical implementation of Wigan and how both sides dealt with what followed.
It's clear that Wigan are a well coached side & Maloney deserves credit for producing a unique style with a young group of players trying to regain confidence after a difficult 22-23 campaign. It feels fresh & the likes of Lang and Wyke stepping onto the pitch provided a glimpse of what this could look like with a full starting XI on the field.
I thought Sam Tickle did well for a young lad still early into his senior career, comfortable in most situations and it's easy to see why he has been backed early doors. Stephen Humphrys has something of an X Factor and I'm interested to see how he fares across the campaign.
For Wrexham, it showcased the depth at their disposal. This was them with a second string XI out and they were more than comfortable in what they were doing. They aren't going to reinvent the wheel but that doesn't matter when the most important people at the football club on the same page & there is more to come for sure.
Player wise, I'm interested to see what happens with Max Cleworth and Jake Bickerstaff, two players who did well on the night but are unlikely to get too much opportunity once the bigger names are back in the fold - Will Boyle, Aaron Hayden, Jordan Tunnicliffe, Paul Mullin and whoever the club are trying to sign to improve the attack.