Gareth Ainsworth urges Wycombe to start winning run

Posted Sunday, January 13, 2019 by PA

Gareth Ainsworth hopes Wycombe’s stunning 3-2 victory over Doncaster can kick-start a winning run in Sky Bet League One.

John Marquis and Tommy Rowe had put play-off chasers Doncaster 2-0 up and on course for the three points at Adams Park.

However, Paris Cowan-Hall pulled one back after 77 minutes before Curtis Thompson curled in a 90th-minute equaliser and Cowan-Hall looped home a header in added time for Wanderers.

The victory was all the more remarkable as the Chairboys had lost four on the spin heading into the clash and boss Ainsworth was emotional at the way his troops turned things round.

“Our character here is unbelievable and we’ve shown that on many different occasions,” he said. “I could’ve broken down at the final whistle, that’s how much that win means to me.

“With 20 minutes left I was fearing the worst. Four defeats on the spin and 2-0 down, you think it’s going to be five in a row.

“We’re delighted to stop that poor run of form and hopefully it’s the start of a run the other way.

“We gifted them some chances in 10 minutes of chaos really and they punished us with those two goals.

“It’s not good enough to switch off for 10 minutes in a game against any side, let alone a team like Doncaster. But the spirit in this team is special.

“The scenes at the end were really special. Paris [Cowan-Hall] was absolutely exceptional and Curtis [Thompson] has kicked on as well, so it’s a really pleasing win for us.”

Defeat sees Donny slip to seventh in the table, although it looked so different when Marquis slotted home a first-time finish on the hour and Rowe tapped in from close range with 20 minutes left.

And manager Grant McCann blamed the “arrogance” of his side in thinking the game was won at 2-0.

“We’re gutted to lose in that manner,” he said. “It’s frustrating any time you lose, but to lose like that obviously hurts more.

“But we have to get up and go again. It’s all about how we react now. We’ve lost a game here but we have to be ready to go again next week [at home to Burton].

“We need to be confident without being arrogant – I think when we were 2-0 up we were arrogant and that’s what’s cost us.

“We lacked energy in the first half, but we were much better after the break. We did better in the second half but when we went 2-0 up we did some silly things, we were naive really.

“You’ve got to give Wycombe credit, of course you do, but I think we contributed to our own downfall.”