MARK O’Haire (@MarkOHaire) previews the League Two play-off semi-final second leg between Wycombe and Plymouth on Thursday night.
Wycombe Wanderers v Plymouth Argyle | Thursday 19.45 | Sky Sports 2
Plymouth boss John Sheridan believes ‘the tide has turned’ in Argyle’s favour ahead of their second leg visit to Wycombe on Thursday. Trailing 3-0, the Pilgrims looked down and out. But a late rally in the final 10 minutes at Home Park kept their Wembley dreams alive.
And Sheridan is confident his team can complete an incredible comeback by repeating their 2-0 success at Adams Park over Wanderers in a League Two fixture from February. Momentum is certainly with the visitors who’ve now scored seven goals in their past three outings and will be confident ahead of their trip to Buckinghamshire.
Gareth Ainsworth will be working overtime to remind his young squad that they still won the game in Devon but the way in which it ended soured their supporters’ celebrations. It puts the Chairboys under pressure on their home park with Wycombe’s less than impressive Adams Park record hovering over the hosts.
It’s just three wins in 10 for Ainsworth’s charges in front of their home fans with Wanderers W3-D4-L4 when welcoming top-half teams. It’s now just three clean sheets in 18 for the hosts and it’s also worth noting that Plymouth have W2-D2-LO in their most recent four visits to the Chairboys’ HQ.
Ainsworth has said Wycombe would be stupid to sit back and defend, championing his brand of enterprising, attacking football. And sure, if it’s not broken then why look to fix it? But Wycs’ Adams Park performances do need tweaking and I’m concerned they won’t have found the answers to those questions in time for Thursday night.
Plymouth’s road record is just as uninspiring but it’s worth noting that 17 of 26 points they picked up on their travels came away at top-half teams (W5-D2-L4) and I’m finding it difficult to walk away from my outright League Two promotion fancy now following their fight back on Saturday.
Ladbrokes have chalked up Argyle as 27/20 shots in the Draw No Bet market and that’s good enough for me. We’ll only lose our stake if Wycombe win on Thursday night, our money back if that match ends in a draw and a winner if the Pilgrims can pick up a victory in 90 minutes.
Best Bets
Wycombe Wanderers v Plymouth Argyle – Plymouth Argyle draw no bet (27/20 Ladbrokes)
