Ainsworth considering changes as Wycombe chase first league win of season

Posted Sunday, August 19, 2018 by PA

Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth could be set to make major changes after a 2-1 defeat to Bristol Rovers extended their winless start to the league season.

James Clarke and Tony Craig put Rovers 2-0 up before half-time and Scott Kashket’s goal – the Wanderers’ first of the campaign – proved nothing but a consolation.

And Ainsworth wants big improvements quickly from his struggling side and admitted he gave his charges a dressing down at half-time.

“We’re going to have to make some decisions for Tuesday night,” he said. “It’s coming thick and fast and hopefully we can get something down at Plymouth which again is going to be a big game.

“We weren’t good enough by any means in the first half. It took a talk at half-time and a couple of chances to get some energy back into the team.

“We conceded two very cheap goals in 15 minutes. You can’t do that at this level because you get punished and you’re going to have an uphill battle.

“We almost nicked a point and that probably would have been harsh on Bristol Rovers. They had quite a few attempts on our goal in the first half.

“I asked the boys to win the second half, they did that but it was too little too late. We can’t expect to play like that and pick points up.”

The points were Bristol Rovers’ first of the new season and any early nerves were settled after just four minutes when Clarke drilled the ball home.

Craig then nodded home a Sam Matthews’ corner to double the visitors’ advantage in the 20th minute, with Kashket dribbling beyond Adam Smith for a late consolation.

And Rovers boss Darrell Clarke was delighted with his side’s work-rate as they followed up their 2-1 midweek win over Crawley in the Carabao Cup with a first league victory.

“We’re really pleased to kickstart our season,” he said.

“I was pleased with the team’s grittiness, we defended well, and we scored two goals from set-pieces which is nice, it’s served us well so far this season.

“Defensively we were superb, we could be a bit more clinical with our counter-attacks late in the game, but we created a lot of opportunities.

“I thought the work-rate and the desire from the lads was great. I said to the players before the game ‘Can we back Tuesday night’s cup win up in the league?’ and we’ve done that.

“We keep going, we keep working hard. We’re going to lose games throughout the course of the season and we’re going to win games.

“It’s about trying to keep that middle ground at times, which is difficult at this club.”