Gareth Ainsworth believes Wycombe ‘got what they deserved’ at Barnsley

Posted Sunday, August 21, 2022 by PA

Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth praised his side’s resilience as they cruised to a 3-0 victory at Barnsley.

The Chairboys took the lead in the 37th minute through Anis Mehmeti before skipper Dominic Gape added a second midway through the second half with a 50-yard lob over home goalkeeper Brad Collins.

Nick Freeman marked his return from injury by thumping a powerful effort past Collins from 20 yards with seven minutes remaining.

Ainsworth said: “I’m delighted for the fans, they never stopped singing. After we got the resilience together and then got first goal, Barnsley opened up and we could’ve had a few more goals.

“I’m really pleased for the boys, I think they got what they deserved.

“I want to say thank you to the owners and the chairman for backing me through the three-game losing streak.

“There is a real backing and togetherness, we live off that and I think that’s really important.”

Gape spotted Collins off his line and hit an inch-perfect lob to beat the keeper from just inside the opposition half.

Ainsworth said: “What a finish for somebody who hasn’t scored for a long time.

“When we did get in the Championship, he hardly played any minutes due to injuries, but I’ve always believed in him.

“If we can keep players fit at this club, then we’ve got a chance. We can always outdo expectations.”

Barnsley boss Michael Duff suffered his first home defeat.

He said: “I’m disappointed with the second half. I thought in the first half we were the better team without being brilliant.

“They scored with their only shot on target in the first half after we’d had a few good chances, but in the second half we were nowhere near good enough.

“They scored with three world-class goals. I was disappointed with the reaction when we went behind, we have to learn that football owes you nothing.

“We didn’t do any part of the game well in the second half, I can handle a defeat but the body language and reaction after going one-nil down was frustrating.

“In the tighter games we need to dig in and stick together, they looked like a together team and we looked fractured.

“We need to learn that when we go one-nil down against a tough team, it’s not the end of the road.”