Gareth Ainsworth challenges high-flying Wycombe to maintain their winning form

Posted Sunday, September 29, 2019 by PA

Gareth Ainsworth praised his sharp-shooting Wycombe side after they beat Rochdale 3-0 at the Crown Oil Arena.

Two goals from Fred Onyedinma either side of a Adebayo Akinfenwa header saw the Chairboys earn a comfortable victory and move up to second in the Sky Bet League One table.

It meant Dale were brought down to earth quickly after earning a 1-1 draw in the Carabao Cup against Manchester United at Old Trafford three days earlier.

“It was a very satisfying result because this is a difficult place to come and they have just had a fantastic result against Man United at Old Trafford,” said Ainsworth.

“So we knew we had to come here and be at our best because they are on a high, they play some very good football.

“But it’s goals that count and we have scored three good goals and put in a good performance. I don’t have to beat opponents on possession count, I have to beat them on goals scored and that’s what we did.

“In front of goal we were the better team and I’m really pleased with where we are after 11 games of the season.

“We’re up to second and whether or not we can stay there will be answered by the players. Recruitment went very well in the summer, we’re still very small in terms of resources, but we have potential investment on the horizon which could boost us further.”

Onyedinma fired the visitors ahead in the 14th minute after being picked out by Alex Pattison’s header and Akinfenwa doubled the lead in the 25th minute when he sent a looping header over Robert Sanchez in the Rochdale goal.

Dale hit the woodwork when Jim McNulty met Jimmy Ryan’s corner with an angled header, but the home side rarely troubled Ryan Allsop’s goal.

Onyedinma wrapped up the points with 13 minutes left, pouncing on the loose ball after Josh Parker had struck the post.

Dale boss Brian Barry-Murphy refused to criticise his players after putting so much into the game at Old Trafford in midweek.

“The result didn’t go our way today but we must be very understanding of the fact that the players have put absolutely everything into the week for the club.

“It was a very difficult game for us against a team in Wycombe who have been doing what they did to us today all season, and for a lot of last season.

“We weren’t able to cause them enough problems to sustain pressure and on the flip side of that we conceded some really poor goals from our point of view. We met the wrong team at the wrong time today.

“They are working towards a very strong system and if they get a goal in front they are very difficult to beat. We had moments when we looked like we might get in but we never had a sustained period of pressure.”