Morecambe boss Derek Adams hailed the strength of his squad after his side booked their place in the third round of the Carabao Cup with a narrow 1-0 victory over Oldham at the Mazuma Stadium.

Adams made seven changes to the side that beat Cheltenham in their Sky Bet League Two opener at the weekend with one of the players promoted to the starting line-up, Aaron Wildig, scoring the only goal to seal a home tie against Premier League Newcastle.

Adams said: “I made seven changes for the game and the performance showed just what a strong squad we have here at the moment.

“We started the game very much on the front foot and played really well.”

Wildig’s winner came after 22 minutes when the midfielder ran on to Liam McAlinden’s neat through ball before he lifted his effort over onrushing goalkeeper Ian Lawlor.

Ryan Cooney came close to doubling Morecambe’s score with a shot that hit the crossbar and Adam Phillips went close in the second period with a low shot that sailed inches wide of the left-hand post as the hosts pressed to increase their advantage.

Adams added: “The way we opened them up in the first half was excellent and we could have had more goals but we didn’t get the second and they threw everything at us late on and we had to defend really well.

“We kept going on though and it was a fantastic win and we can all look forward to a tie against Newcastle next week.

“It’s a massive shame that there won’t be any fans because it would have been a a huge occasion but we are delighted to be there.”

Oldham’s best efforts came in the closing stages and Carl Piergianni came close to taking the game to penalties with an 88th-minute header that flew just over the Morecambe crossbar as the home side held on to earn their place in the next round.

Despite the defeat, Oldham boss Harry Kewell said he was happy with his side’s overall display.

He said: “I thought the performance was excellent but we caused our own problems at times. We made three or four bad decisions that cost us.

“We are getting closer but it’s about having confidence and wanting to get on the ball and when we had that confidence we played well.

“l thought our decision making was excellent but we just missed getting the ball in the net.”