Wycombe and Charlton bosses praise opponents after play-off stalemate

Both Wycombe head coach Mike Dodds and Charlton manager Nathan Jones were complimentary of each other’s side following a goalless draw in the first leg of their League One play-off semi-final.

In a game of few chances at Adams Park, Dan Udoh went the closest for the Chairboys after just five minutes, when his low fizzing shot was awkwardly saved by Will Mannion.

For the visitors, Matty Godden forced Will Norris into two brilliant saves, while the Wanderers goalkeeper expertly clawed away Greg Docherty’s close-range shot in the dying moments to keep the scores level.

The goalless draw was a huge improvement on Wycombe’s 4-0 drubbing from the same opponents just 20 days ago, whilst the south-east London side looked frustrated as they failed to break down a stubborn Chairboys backline.

Speaking at full-time, Dodds said: “They were so aggressive in the first phase that we didn’t want to give them momentum. This is why we decided to not pass it in front of them.

“Everyone contributed to what they needed to do today and even though it was messy at times, I felt we landed on the second ball better.

“This was something we didn’t do in the first game (on April 21) and we spoke about this at length.

“When we looked at Charlton, we really looked at the nuts and bolts of what we needed to do and we managed to nullify their threats.

“Both teams cancelled each other out, but when that happens, you need a moment.

“We had that huge chance with Dan Udoh early on, which was big and they had a big chance, but Will (Norris) saved it at the end.

“So as I had imagined, the game went as I had planned, as Nathan Jones’ teams are always well organised.”

It was only the third time in 15 matches that the two sides have drawn, with it being Charlton’s fifth 0-0 draw of the season.

Jones was very pleased with his team’s display, but believed the Addicks could have done more to win the tie and take something back to the Valley.

He said: “We come away from the tie evenly poised.

“I’m not saying we would have taken it as we always want more, but to come away from here with another clean sheet is not a bad place to be.

“It was always going to be a different game from last time (we played them three weeks ago) as there are different pressures when you are involved in these sorts of games.

“I am proud of my team because we showed resilience against one of the highest goal scorers in the league, but I would have liked us to have played and created a bit more.

“Wycombe are a very good side as they did well to keep a striker like Matty Godden off the scoresheet, but you need to win your home game to get to Wembley.”

The second leg will take place on Thursday, May 15 at 8pm.