LAST LAUGH EARNED BY ACE CHAPLIN
WYCOMBE Wanderers boss Gareth Ainsworth was left “gutted” after his side lost to a late header from 5ft 6in Conor Chaplin.
The Coventry man’s header eight minutes from time secured back-to-back league victories for Mark Robins’ Sky Blues.
Ainsworth has built a strong defensive unit at Wanderers and letting one of the shortest players on the pitch get a free header at goal incensed the visitors’ boss on a blustery afternoon at the Ricoh Arena.
Chaplin headed Dujon Sterling’s cross home to hand the Sky Blues back-to-back league wins for the first time this season.
“It’s tough to take,” admitted Ainsworth. “We are absolutely gutted. My dressing room is absolutely devastated.
“I’m just frustrated with the goal we conceded to be honest.
“I thought a nil-nil would have been a fair result, I really do. They’re a good side.
“There was one moment and it was a moment where probably the smallest player on the pitch scores a header.
“It’s a real kick in the teeth. We’ve got to defend better as a team, we limited them to shots from distance. We can’t let that happen with that goal, it’s really disappointing.
“When you’re not great, try and get a point – we almost did.”
Both keepers stood out with the game seemingly heading towards a goalless draw. Jordy Hiwula dazzled his way into the box, with Ryan Allsop superbly tipping his effort past a post early on. And Allsop was at it again before the break with a low stop denying Chaplin.
Sky Blues’ stopper Lee Burge twice denied Craig MackailSmith in six minutes before the interval. Burge completed a hat-trick of stops against the frustrated frontman after the restart. Adebayo Akinfenwa missed the chance to extend his scoring streak to four games in a row when he headed wide.
City upped the ante late on with Jonson Clarke-Harris lashing wide from 30 yards out, before Hiwula was again thwarted by Allsop.
And chuffed Sky Blues’ boss Mark Robins praised the contributions of Hiwula and match-winner Chaplin. Robins beamed: “It’s a great win, a really good win. There were difficult conditions, it was tough. “I thought there were some good performances. “Jordy was instrumental in the good things that we did and Conor kept plugging away. He was busy and got a great goal at the end. He got in the box and he showed you don’t have to be sixfoot-three to score a header. “He got his just rewards because he was busy, he was working and it just didn’t fall to him just right until he scored.”