Thrilled Wilder lauds Cobblers display after Wycombe win

Wilder’s side had to recover from an early setback as Luke O’Nien headed Wycombe into a second-minute lead, but Marc Richards’ superb free-kick deservedly brought Northampton level as the Cobblers dominated large periods of the first half.

The game’s decisive period came just after the restart when Northampton netted twice in the space of five minutes, first Lawson D’Ath planted a looping header into the far corner before Shaun Brisley did likewise from Joel Byrom’s free-kick.

Wycombe, who came into this game sitting top of League Teo with the best defensive record in the league, set up a nervy finale when Danny Rowe lashed home, but the Cobblers held out for an impressive victory.

“I thought it was a really good game,” Wilder said post-match. “It was an awful start for us, Darnell’s just slipped and sometimes you have to accept that in the game, but I thought the recovery after that was outstanding.

“They missed a couple of chances but we could have had a fair few more by half-time because I thought we edged the first half with the amount of play we had and the the way we played.

“We created chances and we felt we were possibly just one pass off in terms of scoring but we’ve had to defend really well when they stuck the ball in the box.

“We got off to a great start in the second half. It was a great ball in by Nicky (Adams) and a fantastic header by Lawson and then it was a great set-piece by Joel Byrom for Shaun Brisley’s goal.

“I felt we were pretty comfortable from there. They huffed and puffed a little bit but I thought we had more opportunity of hitting them on the break and scoring a fourth.

“Full credit to Wycombe - they showed why they did so well last year and are doing well again this season because they never give up and they really went to end.

“There were a few scary moments at the end but yet again the players have absolutely outstanding and they’ve rewarded a great travelling support with a deserved three points.”

Wilder was particularly impressed by how well his side passed the ball in the final third as Northampton threatened to unlock the Wycombe defence at will with further chances going begging.

He added: “After every game we talk about what we need to do better and what we did well and today we really controlled the game and controlled the football.

“We moved them around and passed our way through them. We always felt they could score because they’ve got a few big boys at the top of the pitch and they ask questions and make you defend but when we turned the ball over, we were composed.

“We’ve talked about working harder off the ball to give the guy on the ball more options and we had loads of options all over the pitch today.

“We had more forward runners, Sam run in behind and Rico was outstanding all game.

“We dominated the ball and that is because we showed a lot of composure. The two central midfielders were outstanding.”