Gareth Ainsworth pleased with Wycombe progress after Huddersfield draw

Posted Wednesday, November 25, 2020 by PA

Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth believes his side’s 0-0 draw against Huddersfield once again demonstrated how far they have come during the last month.

The Chairboys had a humbling start to what is their first season at Championship level, losing their opening seven matches, but they have become a tougher prospect since.

They have now lost just one of their last six and this was their second clean sheet in a row, following Saturday’s draw against Brentford, which helped them move to within goal difference of fourth-from-bottom Coventry.

Ainsworth said: “I’d be confident to say if you give us those seven games again, we won’t lose all seven because we’ve learned so much and that’s a real positive on my coaching staff.

“The players themselves are learning as they go, which is a great sign, and I think there are certain teams who have started well who are having a wobble now.

“We’re definitely not wobbling now – we started with a wobble but we’re definitely learning and we’re building.

“If we’re keeping clean sheets every week then, by far, we’ll be in the Championship [next season], so it’s something to be proud of.

“We almost had a bit of magic at the other end – Fred [Onyedinma] has had a chance, Scotty [Kashket] in the first half and Garath [McCleary] and Daryl [Horgan] have both had chances.

“It was just for a want of a flick, or a deflection.”

Huddersfield’s best chance came after 39 minutes when Isaac Mbenza’s cross was met by Naby Sarr, but he could only divert the ball against the post from close range.

Wycombe had openings of their own as the game wore on, with Horgan shooting wide from a Joe Jacobson corner and McCleary being denied by a good save from Ryan Schofield.

Huddersfield boss Carlos Corberan said: “It was a very tough game and one with a lot of interruptions.

“It was a game that was full of free-kicks but for us it was important after our defeat [at Stoke] to keep a clean sheet.

“To not concede any goals feels very strong because their manager was using the strength of his team, but I think we defended very well.

“In the first half, we put in some crosses from the right-hand side with Isaac Mbenza but we couldn’t find anyone to finish the cross.

“We created one clear chance, in the second half we didn’t create many chances and that was because we were very focused to Wycombe’s game.

“They had a lot of set-pieces and it’s very difficult to play against but we continued to defend through it and it was very important for the team to get a point from this game.”