'Completely nullified them' - Ex-Sunderland man's take on first Wycombe Wanderers showing at Preston North End
PNE are into round five of the FA Cup
Wycombe Wanderers boss Mike Dodds was hugely impressed by his team’s performance at Preston North End.
The 38-year-old took charge of his first Chairboys match on Saturday afternoon, as the League One promotion hopefuls took PNE all the way to penalties. It finished goalless after 120 minutes of FA Cup fourth round action at Deepdale.
Paul Heckingbottom’s side triumphed in the shoot-out with goalkeeper Freddie Woodman saving spot kicks from Daniel Udoh and Adam Reach. On target for Preston were Sam Greenwood, Milutin Osmajic, Mads Frokjaer and Ched Evans - the latter of whom struck the winning penalty home.
“I felt we completely limited them to nothing if I’m being brutally honest,” said Dodds post-match. “They are a established Championship side with some real quality, in particular at the top end of the pitch, that can really hurt you.
“I felt that they were trying to search for answers and we just completely nullified them. I am disappointed for the group because they did everything we asked of them. We probably had two or three really good chances and if we take them, we go through to the next round.”
Wycombe were backed by just shy of one thousand away fans in Lancashire and Dodds had plenty of praise for the noise they produced on the day. He feels the Chairboys are strongly poised for their automatic promotion push for the rest of the campaign.
“Let’s be brutally honest...”
“I didn’t know what to expect, with the distance and the travel and whatever else, but I thought they were incredible,” said Dodds. “Let’s be brutally honest, if they weren’t here then it would have been a quiet game.
“I’m looking forward to a home game where I can sample and taste the Wycombe fans but from my point of view, on behalf of the whole team and football club, I really appreciate the fans that travelled all this way to support us. My welcome to the football club has been incredible and if that is anything to go by then we’re going to have a really strong end to the season.”
Wycombe are second in League One after 29 games, four points clear of third placed Wrexham and four adrift of leaders Birmingham City - who have played two games fewer. PNE boss Heckingbottom would not be surprised if North End were playing the Adams Park club in the second tier next season.
“I've seen them, they're up there on merit,” said Heckingbottom. “Awkward to play against, give teams a real hard time... never say die attitude. When they've been second best in games, in League One, they take moments because of how direct they are and the athleticism and power of the front players.
“They keep you honest; they create chances. You're looking at them and might think: ‘Right, what's the style of play?’ Standout things are they're a threat in the box - their goals for, their XG and then the high regains because of how narrow and compact they are. That is their style and it's really effective.”