Wigan Athletic boss hails Joe Adams and delighted with different kind of test provided by Tranmere Rovers

Youngster Joe Adams came off the bench to score a 71st-minute equaliser for Latics, after the impressive Harvey Saunders had put Tranmere in front.

The visitors bossed most of the game but found it hard to break down a resolute League Two outfit, but Maloney feels they learned a lot from the exercise.

"It was a good game, and a test we've probably not had in pre-season, where we had that amount of possession," he said.

"I thought we struggled a bit in the first half, we lacked a little bit of patience in certain positions.

"But I thought in the second half it was a lot better, some of the senior players - (Callum) McManaman, (Stephen) Humphrys - found their levels."

Maloney highlighted Adams - who celebrated signing a new deal earlier in the week with his first senior goal - for special praise.

"I thought young Joe came on and made a big impact," the Latics boss said.

"He did very well on the trip to Hungary, and he's got better in each game we've played in pre-season.

"Tranmere made it very difficult for is to break them down in the first half, we had to be far more aggressive running with the ball, and Joe helped us to do that.

"I know he scored, but he made a big difference in the way we played, making space down that left-hand side."

Maloney was also pleased to hand midfielder Liam Shaw and defender Kell Watts - summer signings seven and eight - their first starts in pre-season.

"You could see they were a little bit rusty, but they'll be better for their first 45 minutes," he added.

"Hopefully we can get a full week of training in them, with some conditioning work, and they'll be quickly up to where the others are."

Latics conclude their pre-season programme with a trip to Morecambe on Saturday (July 29) before opening their League One campaign next weekend at Derby County.