‘Why couldn’t our players show Wycombe’s spirit?’ asks PNE Fans’ Panel member John Smith

There was nothing super,smashing or great about this stale display which led to our 18th league defeat of the season and meant that we have now lost exactly half of this season’s league fixtures.

I was certain this time we had the quality to avenge our January FA Cup drubbing but the only consolation I could take after this loss was that I had not wasted any of my hard-earned money on what would of been a long miserable journey back from Buckinghamshire.

Even though bottom-of-the-table Wycombe had lost their last four league games 
without scoring we spent the entire first half on the backfoot with the home side seemingly having a greater physical presence to boss the game.

The game’s only goal we conceded midway through the half when we failed to defend a corner properly was a shocker when slack defending allowed a free header. At half-time things improved slightly after we made a triple substitution but we still failed to create anything of note in terms of a shot on target until the 71st minute, despite having also introduced Anthony Gordon into the fray on the hour mark.

Wycombe were no Norwich or Watford, and had conceded 58 league goals already this season which made the fact that we did not possess the tactical nous to put them under any serious pressure all the more disappointing.

It was way too pedestrian for my liking and how I wished that on Saturday some of our players could have shown some of the never-say-die spirit that Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth had during his playing days at Deepdale.