‘WANDERERS CAN ROCK ON AT WEMBLEY’

WYCOMBE

Wycombe win 2-1 on aggregate

HEAVY metal guru Gareth Ainsworth cannot wait to feel the noise at Wembley after Wycombe scrambled into the League One play-off final.

Outplayed for long periods in a pulsating Buckinghamshire derby, Chairboys messiah Ainsworth plays guitar in a band called the Cold Blooded Hearts.

Wobbling Wanderers (celebrating, above) had to take the riff with the smooth to deny

MK Dons and book a Wembley date with Sunderland or Sheffield Wednesday.

Neither the Mackems nor Owls noise pollution society will come quietly a week on Saturday, but boss Ainsworth grinned: “I’m a total extrovert and will enjoy the racket of all the fans being there.

“I was gutted when MK Dons didn’t give us a whole end here and they admitted that they wanted to gain a sporting advantage.

“I can’t stand here and say we were the better team tonight – they had more shots, corners and chances. But we had the most blocks, the most saves and our absolute resilience around the box was incredible.

“We were written off before a ball was kicked in the play-offs, but this is ‘little’ Wycombe’s third play-off final in nine years and I could not be prouder of my players.” Wycombe, with a two-goal cushion from the first leg, were on the ropes from the first minute when Harry Darling’s header clipped the bar.

And the Dons fancied their chances when Troy Parrott’s 10th goal of the season, a looping header from Hiram Boateng’s cross, cut their deficit in half.

But Chairboys keeper David Stockdale had better luck with Scott Twine’s rasping free-kick, turning it acrobatically over the bar, and his flying save to deny Theo Corbeanu after the break was top class.

It is a nonsense that a play-off semi-final, with a place at Wembley on the line, should be played in a half-empty, 30,000 capacity stadium with Wycombe restricted to a puny 1,900 tickets.

If this vibrant young Dons team is prone to ‘freezing’ in front of large away contingents, how would they cope with 40,000 Sunderland or Sheffield Wednesday fans at Wembley?

Liam Manning’s progressive brand of football deserves a bigger audience and he is catching the eye of Championship clubs, with QPR keen on him.

The Dons chief said: “My short-term future is going to be a beer as I need one after that. But when the frustration, disappointment and emotion settles down, I’m sure the players will be proud of how we went about it.”