Adkins’ verdict on Wycombe Wanderers reverse

Manager Nigel Adkins delivered his verdict on his side’s 2-1 reverse at Wycombe Wanderers.

Sam Lavelle halved the arrears deep into stoppage time with his maiden goal for the club as the Addicks rallied late on, though Garath McCleary’s brace ultimately meant Charlton’s mountain was too steep to climb. 

“Obviously we’ve changed our shape and personnel to try and combat some of the strengths that a very good Wycombe side have,” Adkins told CharltonTV. “Obviously coming down from the Championship, we knew it would be a challenging game for us. For half an hour we’ve probably done okay and from that point of view I would have liked us to have passed the ball. We knew they’d come and press us, we thought we could maybe just bypass that and get the ball forward. Maybe the quality wasn’t as good as it needed to go and be. 

“Then we’ve ended up dropping back a little bit and we’ve given the ball away,” he continued. “They sustained a bit of pressure and from my point of view it’s too easy for them to come inside and Garath McCleary to get his shot on to go and score bang on half-time. I believe we could have been braver getting on the football to play and build our way up.

“Obviously when you look at the second goal as well that was, from our point of view, disappointing,” added the Addicks boss. “We knew we had to defend the crosses and that makes it even more challenging then.”

Adkins reserved particular praise for substitute Corey Blackett-Taylor, whose electric impact off the bench prompted a late flurry of Charlton openings.

“I thought Corey Blackett-Taylor did ever so well when he came on in the left wing-back position,” explained Adkins. “We could have got him the ball a little bit more. He caused a big threat for us going forward which is good.

“I thought Pape Souaré had done well in his first game. Then obviously we had a bit of a rally towards the end where Sam Lavelle scores his first goal from a corner and there’s a few oohs and aahs and the ball comes close to the post.

“From my point of view I’ll obviously reflect on the game tonight. We’ll be in training tomorrow in preparation for Tuesday’s game.”

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