5 days ago
'Mad decisions' - Schumacher keen to address Wednesday issues before Barnsley
STEVEN Schumacher won't be letting Wanderers' cup exit against Sheffield Wednesday pass without comment.
While all eyes turn to Saturday's game at Barnsley with three points at stake, the Bolton boss will review some of the poor decisions which contributed to a disappointing night, and an opportunity missed to host Premier League Leeds United in the next round.
Even after going down to 10 men, Wanderers pulled themselves on three separate occasions – and though Schumacher applauded the spirit shown to do so, he did question some of the game management to keep the scorelines level.
'We were stretched at times, we made some mad decisions,' he told The Bolton News. 'We didn't let the game settle down once we equalised, twice, and then conceded pretty quickly.
'When it is so early into the season and people are still getting up to speed, that decision-making can sometimes be a little bit off, and it was, but it's not the end of the world.
'It is something that we can learn from and deal with pretty simply, and as everyone's seen so far this season, we've been really well organised, so it's no big drama if there's a couple of mistakes here and there.
'Every game is important and we didn't want to be out of the cup – we won't brush it under the carpet just because it isn't a league game.
'We will go back, talk about it, and see what we could have done better.'
Much was made of the youthfulness of the Wednesday line-up – and though keeper Pierce Charles and captain Ike Ugbo had a reasonable amount of first team experience, there were several players used by Henrik Pedersen on the night who had never started a game for the Owls.
Schumacher had warned his players about the potential for a difficult night but felt his players were suitably prepared, and not 'caught cold'.
'Not really,' he said. 'We showed the lads that these are young players who've got loads of energy, and in the pre-season games that we managed to watch, some of their rotation and their movement is really good.
'A lot of the younger players have played in the friendlies because the seniors have been not available, so we knew it was going to be difficult to figure out, and if you're not exactly spot on when you press, especially with their goalkeeper, they can pick you off.
'I just felt the game was a bit scrappy for 10 minutes, which can happen, but they capitalised on a moment when we made a mistake and the lad whacked it in from 30-odd yards into the top corner, so then we are on the back foot, but we responded well.'
Sam Inwood was handed a straight red card by referee Oliver Langford for a professional foul on Charlie McNeil, and Schumacher admitted the young defender was upset after the game.
'He is gutted,' said the Whites boss. 'But it's one of them, there's not too much he could have done about it, I don't think.
'Maybe just drop a little bit quicker, so he doesn't allow the pass to go in behind him, but that is something he'll learn from.
'I'll watch it back, probably and go through it with him. He is gutted to have been out and left us short, but again, it's part of the game.'
