Michael Appleton rues ‘little bit harsh‘ scoreline as Wolves hit Shrewsbury Town for six
Michael Appleton felt the scoreline was a “little bit harsh” on Shrewsbury Town after they were thrashed 6-1 by Wolves in the FA Cup.
Salop suffered their heaviest defeat of the season as Premier League Wolves cruised into the fourth round, with Jorgen Strand Larsen scoring a hattrick.
Boss Appleton admitted that the gulf in quality between the two sides told.
He said: “They were always going to have lots of chances. I think it was a little bit harsh, but once the fourth goal went in, there was always the danger that it could happen.
“We had a couple of nice moments at 3-1 that if they went the other way, all of a sudden you are asking more questions of them, but their belief and confidence just got bigger and stronger and you could see that towards the end.
“We’ve caught them in a good moment. When you play against a Premier League team, there are certain things that have to go your way if you are going to get anything from it.
“Moments in the game have to go for you, and clearly those moments today didn’t. The third goal went in and had a huge impact on the game, for confidence and morale.
“We had a couple of moments at 3-1, but then we go and concede the fourth and it’s damaged limitation after that.
“You have to respect the quality they have got as well. There were some wonderful goals.”
Appleton handed Iwan Morgan his debut after he joined on loan from Brentford. Shrewsbury’s task was made even harder after conceding twice inside the opening 11 minutes.
They briefly fought their way back into the tie on 26 minutes when John Marquis converted a penalty.
But a goalkeeping error from Elyh Harrison gifted Strand Larsen his second, and Wolves’ third, shortly before half-time.
Appleton added on the first-half goals: “It was very tough, especially with the manner in which they were, a little bit soft. The third goal was a bit of a killer really.
“Going in two goals behind just made the task that little bit more difficult.”
Appleton made the decision to start Harrison ahead of Will Brook. Harrison had not featured since September, with Brook enjoying a strong run in the side, and is expected to be recalled by parent club Manchester United during the January transfer window.
Explaining his selection call, Appleton said: “It was tough, but at the same time it wasn’t.
“It was, one, an opportunity to use Elyh and his biggest attribute, obviously it has failed him today. I understand that.
“But, secondly, Will has had two or three rough games a little bit, with some decision making, and it is sometimes a good opportunity to take them out and allow them to access things before putting them back in.
“You have to realise he is a 22-year-old who has played 20 games in the Football League, we have been very fortunate to have him and a really strong spell when he came into the team.
“That was flattening out a little bit, so hopefully this does him the world of good to have that breather and get him refreshed for the last league games.”
Almost 3,000 Salop fans made the trip to Molineux as Shrewsbury failed to reach the fourth round for the first time since 2019/20.
