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Wycombe Wanderers 0 Leeds United 2 Friday 13th November 2015 Friendly 
Wanderers went down 2-0 in their friendly with Leeds United at Adams Park - a goal in each half saw the 'Championship' outfit, managed by former Boston United, Crawley and Rotherham boss, Steve Evans, get the better of Gareth Ainsworth's side. A crowd of just over 2,200 (including nearly 800 following Leeds) turned out for the match arranged due to both sides being out of action due to international games affecting their scheduled League fixtures.On a cold evening at Adams Park both sides made changes from their regular starting XI's, with Wycombe bringing in rookie 'keeper Alex Lynch in place of Matt Ingram, and Anthony Stewart returning in defence for his first appearance since injury in August. Elsewhere there were starts for Steven McGinn and Ryan Sellers, with regulars Joe Jacobson, Sido Jombati and Garry Thompson dropped to the bench. Marcus Bean and Paul Hayes were rested completely. Wanderers had the ball in the net as early as the third minute but Max Kretzschmar's shot was ruled out for offside after he turned in a Luke O'Nein effort that had been parried by Leeds 'keeper Marco Silvestri. At the other end Lynch made two class saves - tipping away shots from Jordan Botaka and a Giuseppe Bellusci free-kick. However, United broke the deadlock on 30 minutes when a low cross from the right was slotted into the back of the Valley End net by Lee Erwin. Kretzschmar saw an effort fly wide just after the start of the second period but the visitors doubled their lead on 51 minutes when Sam Byram fired past Lynch from just inside the penalty area from Souleymane Doukara's cutback. Three minutes later Wanderers had 'Man of the Match' Lynch to thank again for pushing a Jordan Botaka over the bar but the pace of the game then slowed. The closest Wanderers came to grabbing a consolation was a shot from substitute Garry Thompson who fired over from Michael Harriman's cross. Full-time - Wycombe 0 Leeds 2
 Speaking after the game, Wanderers Manager Gareth Ainsworth told the press: "I'm pleased with our performance against a Championship side - a club the size of Leeds to come down here and play against us is phenomenal and really pleased with the outcome. Anthony Stewart got 90 minutes and Alex Lynch has performed fantastically well tonight and the centre back pairing has given me a problem for the next team selection which is great. We've kept the match fitness levels high and we've pulled a few fans down on a Friday night, the look of the Club is new from the outside and all these little things are improving Wycombe Wanderers. I was really pleased with some performances and we weren't a million miles away from scoring a goal. Maybe 2-1 would have been a bit fairer but you have little minor mistakes in games against Championship sides and you get punished and I think that showed tonight but I don't think there was the gulf in the teams that people expected before the game."The Wycombe boss also explained the reasoning behind arranging the fixture: "It's a one off and I've never known one in my 24 years of playing. We had the Bristol Rovers game called off and I thought that we had a little dip after that weekend off. It was very late notice for that and we didn't have chance to fill that weekend with a game so I did everything I could to make sure that this one was filled. It wasn't only for the boys but for the finances as well - we're still a club in financial trouble and it helps with the money situation getting the fans through the door so thank you to everyone who came down tonight." |
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