Wycombe Wanderers boss Gareth Ainsworth has admitted that extra motivation was added ahead of the club’s clash against Ipswich Town on December 17.
In what was the Chairboys’ highest-attended home game of the season so far with 7,602 people in attendance at Adams Park, with 2,612 fans being in the away, the Tractor Boys were given additional tickets for the fixture back in November.
The decision was met with a mixed reception, as the move allowed the spectators from Suffolk to not only sit in the away end but also in the Franks Adams and PreSounus stands.
Ipswich Town join Manchester City as winners of a senior European trophy, who have subsequently lost to Wycombe Wanderers in a League match.
— Chairboys on the Net - Paul Lewis (@GasmanCOTN) December 17, 2022
READ MORE: 'We don’t sign d-heads' - Gareth Ainsworth on Wycombe's attitude after Ipswich win
The move made it one of the largest away days for Adams Park since its opening in 1990, and Ainsworth has since revealed that the former Premier League side made their presence known in Buckinghamshire.
Speaking after the win, he said: “There was a bit before the game when the Ipswich players were spilling out of the dressing room, as they brought more equipment here than I have ever seen another team bring.
“They were stretching in the corridors and my boys were stepping over them.
“My boys took that as a little bit of a whack as they thought ‘this is our place, this is our home so don’t take over.’
READ MORE: Wycombe Wanderers beat league leaders Ipswich Town at Adams Park
FT: Wycombe Wanderers 1-0 Ipswich Town.
— James Richings (@James_BFP) December 17, 2022
The Chairboys have defeated the league leaders for the first in their history - a major scalp! A brilliant performance as Wanderers earn their fourth clean sheet in five games! What a win! #Chairboys
“I know we sold a lot of tickets as their fans travel incredibly well and that helps us financially.
“If this fixture was five years ago, there would be 9,000 people here for a third round FA Cup tie.
“Now, we’re in the same league we are on the same playing field.
“This is Wycombe Wanderers and in a way, we’re still looked like as this club that people should be beating, but, sometimes they go away from here thinking, ‘how did we not beat them?’
“And that’s because my boys are a special group of players and lots of people have said that the ‘Wycombe bubble has burst’ after the sticky period we had at the start of the season…no chance.
READ MORE: As it happened - Wycombe Wanderers 1-0 Ipswich Town
“We’re bulletproof and as long as I’m in charge, these boys will give it their absolute all in every single game.
⏱ Town fall to defeat.#itfc
— Ipswich Town FC (@IpswichTown) December 17, 2022
“But Ipswich are a huge and brilliant club and they deserve to be respected.”
The result was only Ipswich’s seventh league loss in 2022 and the first time they had not scored in a league fixture since the start of the season.
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