Wycombe could have done better but it is a point towards objective – Sam Grace

Jan 25, 2025 2 min read
Wycombe were held at home by Northampton (Rhianna Chadwick/PA)
Wycombe were held at home by Northampton (Rhianna Chadwick/PA)

Wycombe interim manager Sam Grace took positives from his side’s goalless draw at home to struggling Northampton even though he conceded they “could have done better”.

The clash was anything but a classic as both sides had limited chances at goal.

Things picked up in the second period with Cobblers keeper Nik Tzanev making a handful of big saves as the Chairboys battled to find that elusive winner.

The results meant Wycombe missed the chance to replace Birmingham at the top of the table, but Grace was far from despondent.

He said: “We could have done better – it is frustrating as we did have more chances.

“The game took about 20/25 mins to settle as they tried getting the ball to (Tom) Eaves as that is something we had planned for, and I thought the centre-back partnership of Joe Low and Sonny Bradley stood up to that.

“They were committed to the cause, but we knew that this was what we were going to get from a Kevin Nolan team as they are fiery and put you under pressure.

“Tzanev has come out and made several good saves as he was the man of the match – he made those two great saves to deny Joe and Fred (Onyedinma).

“Any draw from home (could be looked at as two points dropped), as we can feel we can win any game.

“But it’s another point which goes to our objective and their keeper being named man of the match shows that we created several big changes.”

It is only the third time in the league that Wanderers have failed to score in the league this season – each occasion has been at Adams Park.

Northampton boss Nolan was pleased with his side’s showing, as the Cobblers are now six points clear of the League One drop zone.

The former Bolton, Newcastle and West Ham man has only won one of his six games in charge so far but has picked up six points in that time.

He said: “I think our performances have gone up a notch, both out of possession and in possession and I thought we were very good today.

“There were lots of positives to take away.

“We saw in the week that they had scored 52 goals in the league this season, so we did everything we can to stem our flow, and I have got a lot of confidence in these boys and these performances are something that I expect.

“But we’re not going to rest on our laurels, as we have got a big game on Tuesday night at Bolton, and if we can go there and give a good account of ourselves like we did at Wycombe.”

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