Proud Ainsworth hails Wycombe players after second-half fightback
Posted Sunday, October 06, 2019 by PA
Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth says his players no longer feel like they are League One minnows after snatching a last-gasp 3-3 draw against Peterborough at Adams Park.
Wycombe remain second in the table thanks to Adebayo Akinfenwa’s penalty deep into stoppage time, having come from 2-0 down at half-time.
Goals from Mo Eisa and Josh Knight put the visitors ahead but Akinfenwa steered a header home before a Frankie Kent own goal levelled things up just after the hour.
Posh thought they had won it when Ivan Toney finished acrobatically from a corner and Wycombe were reduced to 10 men when Curtis Thompson was sent off, but Akinfenwa’s late penalty ensured a point for proud Ainsworth and his players.
“The players have come in and said ‘gaffer we don’t feel like we’re little Wycombe anymore, we feel like we can compete’ and I agree totally after that second half,” said Ainsworth, whose side have not lost at home in the league since April.
“This is the best team that has come to Adams Park all season. If they’re not in the top four at the end of the year I’d be very surprised.
“I think Darren (Ferguson) is a fantastic manager and they’ve got some brilliant players. But so have we.
“The character of the boys, the nerve of Bayo [Akinfenwa] at the end there – it was just a great game to watch. Not as a manager maybe, but for the fans, it feels like a win but to be fair, against that team it feels like a win.
“You can’t put into words the pride I’ve got for these players. This group is so proud of their home record.
“Sitting second now with an international break, which we don’t usually have, is going to be a nice thing. Hopefully, we can retain that place come Sunderland in two weeks.”
Peterborough boss Ferguson was left to rue his team’s second-half performance as they missed the chance to move to within two points of their opponents.
“First half we had complete control of the game and did what we wanted to do and what we worked on in terms of possession,” he said.
“This is the one team in the league that regardless of what the scoreline is, they’re going to keep going. With Akinfenwa they’re always going to get a chance the way he plays.
“The first goal – really poor, really soft. Second goal – awful. Third goal – awful.
“At the moment we’re conceding really soft goals, that’s the problem and that’s the Achilles heel.
“But as a manager you find out more about your team when things aren’t going as nicely as they were in the first half.
“When it becomes a tougher game, you start finding out if you can cope with that and clearly in the second half, one or two couldn’t.
“At the end of the day, we’ve conceded three goals in a half of football. That’s never going to work. The second half was very disappointing.”
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