Ainsworth hails new boys

Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth reckons his side's 2-0 win at Newport could signal a major change in fortunes for the troubled club.

Two quick-fire goals before half-time were enough for the Chairboys to clinch victory at Rodney Parade. Peter Murphy scored on his debut and Paris Cowan-Hall followed in the space of four minutes. But it took a resolute defensive display to hand debt-ridden Wanderers a perfect start to the new campaign having survived relegation from the Football League last season on goal-difference. Manager Ainsworth said: "It's a perfect start to the season. It looks a great result on paper and it was. I knew we had this performance in us. "We finished 22nd in the league last season and we're a club with debts but this is the start of a big journey. "That result was for those players who have joined us, despite where we finished and the debts we have, and want to be part of something. "But we know we can't get carried away. We won our first game last season and ended where we did, so that's something we have all learned. "We have set the bar for this season and we can't drop below that." The goals came against the run of play as Newport dominated the first-half but failed to make it count. Mark Byrne and Mike Flynn shot straight at Matt Ingram before Chris Zebroski was booked for a foul on Joe Jacobson. Wycombe snatched the lead on 41 minutes when Murphy poked in Max Kretzschmar's corner at the near post. It was the defender's first competitive goal since his summer arrival from Accrington. Cowan-Hall then doubled the lead just three minutes later. The striker was unmarked as he raced onto Sam Wood's pass to side-foot past Lenny Pidgeley. Ainsworth said: "We limited Newport to few chances and we took ours when they came. We were under pressure in the second half but we dug in and defended well." The second-half was a similar story to the first as Newport had most of the possession but failed to break-down a determined Wycombe side, to the frustration of manager Justin Edinburgh. He said: "We're bitterly disappointed with that performance, there's no other reaction. "You can't question the work rate but we lacked composure on the ball and a clinical edge in the final third of the pitch. "We should have played without fear in the first game of the season, especially at home. But we lacked purpose and looked to be playing more in hope than belief. That was the most disappointing part of the defeat. "They were two soft goals to give away, the first from a set-piece and the second from a series of mistakes. So I am expecting a big reaction from the players next time out."