Ainsworth: We deserved to beat Sunderland

Posted Sunday, March 10, 2019 by PA

Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth believes his side have sent a message to the rest of League One that they are here to compete – despite Duncan Watmore’s stoppage-time equaliser for Sunderland denying them victory in a 1-1 draw.

The home side took the lead when Dominic Gape caught Lewis Morgan in possession, and his through-ball enabled Paris Cowan-Hall to square for Alex Samuel to slot home.

But promotion-chasing Sunderland improved in the second half, with Tom Flanagan heading Grant Leadbitter’s free-kick against the crossbar.

And the visitors claimed a dramatic equaliser in the second minute of stoppage time. Ryan Allsop was unable to hold Leadbitter’s long-range shot, and Watmore pounced to slam home the rebound.

A late brawl that involved the two benches resulted in Nathan Tyson and George Honeyman receiving red cards, and Marcus Bean was sent off deep into stoppage time as he received a second yellow card for a foul on Lee Cattermole.

Ainsworth said: “It’s really hard to look beyond the result and what happened at the end of the game, because I really thought we deserved the win today.

“We created the better chances. It’s harsh. It’s a mistake for their goal, but that happens.

“We had awesome players out there – they had hearts that beat like lions and they were magnificent from the first whistle to the last.

“It’s unfortunate we’ve drawn the game. It feels like a loss, but a point against Sunderland, both home and away, is a message that Wycombe are here to compete.

“We’re here to give it everything, and the boys did that today. So that was a great point, but it could have been three. We’re really proud. I couldn’t have asked for any more.

“If they deliver like between now and the end of the season, we’ll be looking to see how far we can go, never mind how many point we need. It’s a really positive day.”

Watmore’s late leveller continued Sunderland’s run of having scored in every League One match this season but the draw leaves them four points behind second-placed Barnsley.

Black Cats manager Jack Ross said: “I try and remain fairly clear-headed through it all, but we didn’t play well today and I don’t want to take away from the fact that we weren’t good, particularly in the first half.

“There was nothing we didn’t expect in terms of how the game was played and what we would face, we just didn’t deal with it as well as we would have liked, and sometimes that happens. Individually, a lot of us were below par, and collectively we were as well.

“We did as much as we could in terms of personnel and shape changes, and I thought in the second half we had a bit more purpose about us, even though we still didn’t play that well.

“It just wasn’t a good day for us. So to then dig something out of the match is testament to the players again.

“There’s a strength of character not to be beat, and they’ve shown that time after time.”