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Ex-Crystal Palace and Luton Town striker Calvin Andrew believes Wanderers might have scored “four or five” in a one-sided win at Fleetwood.
Ian Evatt’s side left it late at Highbury, Conor Bradley equalising in the 85th minute before Dapo Afolayan found the winner deep into injury time.
But Andrew, who was co-commentating on the match for BBC Radio Manchester, felt three points were well deserved in the end.
“They pounded away on that Fleetwood goal, kept doing what was bringing them joy, which I like, they didn’t try to change it up and do something different,” he said. “They knew they were missing the finishing touch, the decisive run into the box but they got there. They might have made hard work of it – but they got there.
“To play such football and roll passes across the box only for nobody to get there, they had done that three times before somebody scored.
“It took Conor Bradley to come right the way in from that wing-back position to tap in at close range for the first, then Afolayan for the second one. “The football they played – they could have won it four or five. But the football they played was commendable.”
Wanderers went behind after 17 minutes when Carlos Mendes Gomes tucked a shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
Andrew was impressed, however, with the way Evatt’s side continued to build attacks to the bitter end.
“They went a goal down and it was a cheap goal,” he said. “They were disappointed and you could tell Ian Evatt was disappointed because they were playing such good football up to that point. To give away a goal to a non-negotiable – a striker turning on the edge of the box – there just has to be someone in his face, and that goes all the way through the Football League and down the pyramid, they all know you have to be tighter than that on the edge of the area.
“To then keep doing what they were doing to get back into the game, they could easily have been disappointed after missing three or four chances – Dion Charles had a couple from close range that he swung and missed. It would have been easy to chalk up to not being good in front of goal and lose the game. But they dug deep and from a mental perspective, how strong they are, you have to give them great credit. It is what great Championship teams are made of.”
Andrew also commented on the performance of Wanderers striker Dion Charles, who has struggled for goals of late, scoring just once in his last nine games.
“You can tell he is lacking confidence. He didn’t get into those areas and when he did get chances, he missed them,” he said on BBC Manchester's The Verdict.
“But that happens in football and I am sure he will come back. A tap-in, or one will bounce off him and then all of a sudden he will start scoring goals again.”
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