Darren Moore says he got what he wanted out of his side's first pre-season friendly of 2020/21.
Goals from Brad Halliday, Ben Whiteman and Tom Anderson ensured 3-2 victory over local rivals Scunthorpe United, but Moore says his focus was getting minutes into the players and shaking off the rustiness of five months without football.
“Saturday was about producing new habits getting used to the game again, moving the ball and working on team dynamics when we’re going forward,” said Moore
“What I wanted was for everyone to have 45 minutes, for the players to start on the road to match fitness and start blowing off some of the cobwebs. It got the rustiness out of us and will have done us the world of good.
“We scored three lovely goals. Brad Halliday had an excellent, precise finish, Whiteman picked his spot and expertly finished it and then Tom gets his run across the defender and side-foot volleys it in - it was a perfectly timed run meeting the ball into the box.”
Both sides opted to name two different starting XIs in each half which gave a number of the club's promising youngsters – Branden Horton, Ben Blythe and Lirak Hasani – chance to line up alongside the senior team with U18s midfielder Liam Ravenhill also given the nod.
“It was a great opportunity for Liam. I watched him last season with the U23s and he’s got a wonderful appetite for the game, wonderful work rate and he’s improving really well," Moore added.
“Pre-season in with the first team will do him the world of good.
“If he works hard, there’s a wonderful opportunity for him at this football club.”
