Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
IKPEAZU: WE CAN REWRITE OUR SEASON
‘Sherlock’ Wayne’s on the case finding ‘good characters’
Mehmeti 45, Jacobson 63 pen, Knight 87
WYCOMBE striker Uche Ikpeazu is confident the basement boys can spring a great escape after they battled back from being 2-0 down to beat Huddersfield.
Gareth Ainsworth’s rejuvenated side remain 10 points adrift at the foot of the table.
But Ikpeazu (above) said: “I’m excited because we’re going to write a story – that’s what we’re going to do.
“To come from 2-0 down to win 3-2 well, if that’s not a catalyst to turn things around, then I don’t know is. And in the manner in which we did it as well, that’s given us belief. It’s massive.
“I hate losing and so does the team, so just to win again is special. It’s been tough. But this is the most honest group of players I’ve ever played with.”
This win, only their second away from home in the league this season, ended a run of five games without a victory.
Wanderers did it the hard way. An 18th-minute header from Juninho Bacuna and a sweet strike four minutes before halftime from Isaac Mbenza put the Terriers well on top.
Anis Mehmeti provided a lifeline with a fine finish to reduce the arrears.
And the Chairboys were a different side after the break, returning skipper Joe Jacobson levelling with a penalty after Terriers skipper Jonathan Hogg bundled over Ikpeazu.
Town keeper Ryan Schofield made a couple of decent stops, but Leicester loanee Josh Knight won it with his first league goal for a year, firing home Terriers defender Naby Sarr said: “It’s a huge disappointment. We need to get the confidence back.”
HUDDERSFIELD: Schofield 6, Pipa 6, Keogh 5, Sarr 6, O’brien 6, Hogg 5, Mbenza 6 (Thomas 86), Vallejo 5 (Pritchard 68, 5), Holmes 6 (High 80), Bacuna 7, Campbell 7
WYCOMBE: Allsop 7, Grimmer 6, Stewart 6, Tafazolli 6, Jacobson 7, (Obita 73, 5), Mehmeti 7, Knight 8, Wheeler 6, Mccleary 7 (Oneyidma 86), Ikpeazu 7, Horgan 7
MOTM JOSH KNIGHT (WYCOMBE)
WAYNE ROONEY has turned into a super sleuth to help Derby secure their Championship future.
With detective work that would do Sherlock Holmes proud, the Rams boss is piecing together a squad fit for purpose.
The first challenge was to climb out of the bottom three.
And with four wins from the last five games it’s almost case solved for the former Manchester United and England captain.
One of his January transfer window signings – striker Lee Gregory, lured on loan from Stoke, led the way against Middlesbrough with a poacher’s goal and an assist for an absolute cracker from Colin Kazim-richards.
More new faces will arrive in the summer – once investigator Rooney has completed the groundwork.
Rooney said: “The one thing I didn’t want was to bring in players who were going to be bad in the dressing room. I have obviously done background checks on the character of the players before they have come in.
“Players who aren’t good in the dressing room I don’t want in the club. What I feel now is that I have great characters all working for each other, not just the starting eleven.
“Sometimes you can have players who are very talented but not good for the group and that causes problems.
“So I made sure the lads I brought in were happy around their previous training grounds and all the references I got from the people I spoke to were very good.”
It’s unlikely Boro’s recent arrival Nathaniel Mendezlaing would pass the Rooney test after receiving an FA ban for testing positive for cocaine. That led to him leaving Cardiff, where he had played under Boro manager Neil Warnock.
But the veteran boss has a habit of getting the best out of football’s waifs and strays.
Mendez-laing looked lively after making his Boro debut off the bench but couldn’t prevent them slipping to a fourth defeat in five matches.
Warnock said: “He had offers from a few clubs but I think he needs me.
“I brought him from Rochdale to Cardiff and it just shows you the problems these young lads have when they go from earning nothing to being Premier League players.
“He is sorry for what he has done and just has to put it to bed. He knows how I feel. He is living 50 yards from me now. He has to drive past my house in the morning.
“I watch him all the time now... so he is not to going to get away with owt.
“But our fans will enjoy watching him for the remainder of the season.”
They certainly need him as Boro never looked like adding to an opportunist strike from Neeskens Kebano following a header from Gregory and a blistering 25-yard drive from Kazim-richards.
Marshall 6, Byrne 7, Wisdom 7, Clarke 7, Buchanan 7, Waghorn 7, Knight 7, Shinnie 7, Jozwiak 7 (Mengi 86), Gregory 8 (Bird 74, 6), Kazim-richards 7 MIDDLESBROUGH: Bettinelli 6, Fisher 6, Mcnair 7, Dijksteel 6, Bola 6, Morsy 6 (Fletcher 82), Howson 7, Kebano 7 (Johnson 82), Saville 6 (Hall 59, 6), Watmore (Mendez-laing 61, 6), Assombalonga 6 (Akpom 59, 6)
MOTM LEE GREGORY (DERBY)
DERBY:
HEAD BOY Charlie Wyke says his stunning four-goal display was down to his instinctive understanding with Aiden Mcgeady.
Sunderland striker Wyke headed all four against Doncaster – with Mcgeady the provider on each occasion.
That took Wyke’s tally to 21 for the season, and the 6ft 2in centre-forward believes there are more to come as the Black Cats battle to boost their promotion hopes.
Wyke, 28, said: “The balls that have been coming into the box have been absolutely brilliant and long may it continue.
“I’ve got a good relationship with Geads.
“I know what he is going to do and he was absolutely brilliant today.
“Some of the things he was doing were amazing.
“It’s the first time I’ve scored four, so I’m buzzing. I’m just happy to score and if you’d told me I would score four beforehand I would have snapped your hand off.”
Mcgeady believes Wyke is showing he is the man who can spearhead Sunderland’s return to the Championship.
And the experienced winger claims the victory over fellow promotion hopefuls underlines the credentials of Lee Johnson’s side – who were watched by prospective new owner Kyril Louis-dreyfus.
Mcgeady said: “Charlie is on fire. When he first came in, if I put the balls in the box I did today, I’m not sure he would have got on the end of them. Now I’m confident he will.
“He’s proving his doubters from last season wrong.”
And the 34-year-old Ireland international added: “This shows if we are at it, there’s no reason we can’t get out of this league. It’s just about consistency.
“If you can put an unbeaten run together, get some momentum going, that’s what you need.”
Wyke completed a first-half hat-trick before adding the fourth immediately after Rovers replied through keeper Lee Burge’s own goal in the 53rd minute.
But Burge more than made up for that with two penalty saves from Jon Taylor and Jason Lokilo.
Wyke’s blitz was agony for Doncaster boss Darren Moore, a former centre-half.
He said: “They’ve scored four headed goals and they could all have been avoided, so we’ll go back to the drawing board.
“The only way to rectify that is to work on things on the training ground – and that’s what we’ll do.”