Ian Evatt was delighted to see his side rediscover their scoring touch and guarantee progress in the Papa Johns Trophy.
Wanderers ended a three-game winless run without a goal with an impressive 3-0 win over Leeds United’s U21s.
The victory ensures Evatt’s men top Group B and therefore earn a home tie in the last 32 as the competitions enters the knock-out phase.
And Evatt was happy with his side’s night’s work as goals from Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and substitutes Amadou Bakayoko and Kieran Sadlier handed a slick young Leeds side their first defeat of the season.
“Cup competitions are always about progressing through to the next round,” said the Wanderers’ boss.
“We’re delighted to do that. Credit to them, they gave us a good game. Everything I saw from them pre-match was very, very good.
“I think they’re having a good season so far and scored five at Tranmere.
“They’re really good in transition with a fast counter-attack and in the first half they caused us a few issues with that.
“In the second we managed those scenarios a lot better and some of our play in the second half was really good.
“You need to apply yourselves in these games correctly or otherwise you lose.
“We paid them a lot of respect and delighted to get the job done and be in the next round.”
Leeds – whose youngsters are top of Premier League 2’s second tier – could still finish second in the group and go through thanks to their victory at Tranmere in their opening game.
But they ultimately couldn’t withstand the growing pressure from the Whites, who gave the scoreline a more realistic feel through Bakayoko and Sadlier in the final quarter of an hour.
Wanderers – showing eight changes to the side that drew with Barnsley last weekend – also extended their unbeaten home run in all competitions to five games as they restored momentum ahead of Saturday’s League One trip to Accrington Stanley.
“There hasn’t been lots wrong. We’ve been doing lots of things right,” added Evatt, whose side is only outside the top six on goals scored.
“We scored three tonight and probably should have scored more but it’s great to see the ball hit the back of the net again.
“It was great to give most minutes and see some really good performances out there, giving me lots to think about for Saturday.
“I genuinely think we’re in a good place. We’ve developed and improved as a team and we’re progressing all the time.
“Obviously we’re frustrated with the last three results and a week or 10 days in football can feel like a long time sometimes.
“But I think we’ve done a lot right in those games – especially the second half at Forest Green and I thought we were excellent on Saturday for long periods, apart from the finish.
“We’ll keep working keep progressing and we’re delighted to get through to the next round.”