Proud Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth hailed his side’s strong statement of intent in their narrow Carabao Cup defeat at Brentford.
He watched his newly-promoted outfit take last season’s play-off finalists to penalties after a 1-1 draw, only to lose 4-2 in the shoot-out despite playing most of the second half with 10 men after Dominic Gape’s sending off.
But he said: “I’m unbelievably proud to take a fantastic club like Brentford all the way and deservedly so. There was some great endeavour, hard work and individual brilliance, especially when we were down to 10.
“I was disappointed with their goal because I don’t think it was a free kick. The sending off was harsh because Dominic went in for the ball, but overall I want to concentrate on a fabulous performance from a solid Wycombe outfit.
“We might look out of place, but we will give everything. We don’t want to be forgotten. We may be different in some aspects, but we will never ever stop trying and working hard for each other.”
Daryl Horgan summed up the Chairboys’ fighting spirit, cancelling out Ethan Pinnock’s opener, the first competitive goal at the Bees’ new stadium.
Ainsworth said: “Even with 10 we kept pushing and could have won it. That’s great because all I want from us is to be a team you don’t automatically think you’ll take three points from.
“We have some players still to come back into the team and I know Brentford do too. They are waiting on nine internationals… we don’t have any yet.”
Bees head coach Thomas Frank said it was “an overall pleasing performance” and insisted his side will be “bang on it” for the start of the Championship season.
“There won’t be any allowances made for a new ground or crowd because this stadium has the same pitch measurement as other pitches,” he said.
“Today was like moving house when you have friends over for a barbecue and start making memories. Our first barbecue went well and hopefully one day, we will have a nice big party with our fans.”
The Dane also hailed Championship newcomers, adding: “They are going to create trouble for clubs in our division. It’s impressive what Gareth has created and they are not easy to handle because the culture and work ethic he has created is amazing and the foundation of all good football teams.
“They changed their formation and pressed us high which we weren’t expecting, but their best moments came from our mistakes and we controlled the game for 75 minutes and got the job done.”
