Kevin Nicholson hails ‘effort, endeavour and grit’ as Exeter win at Wycombe

Exeter assistant manager Kevin Nicholson said his team’s 1-0 win over Wycombe was down to “effort, endeavour and grit”.

The Grecians, who had only lost one of their last five league outings against the Chairboys, secured their second win at Adams Park in three seasons after Wanderers captain Jack Grimmer scored an own goal with seven minutes remaining.

After Ethan Brierley’s ball into the box seemed to be going into the hands of goalkeeper Mikki van Sas, Grimmer headed it over Wycombe’s number one to give Exeter the win.

It was their second league victory of the season, while Wanderers remain winless.

Nicholson said: “I would put the win down to effort, determination and grit more than how we drew it up tactically.

“Even though we wanted to be a bit more in control of possession, especially in the last 15 minutes, as they got through us way too easily.

“They had numerous shots which on another day, could have gone against us.

“However, credit to the lads who defended everything and Joe (Exeter’s goalkeeper), who made some good saves.

“We put bodies on the line and yes, there was a lot of last-ditch defending, but we were organised, composed and controlled.

“The goal is unfortunate (for Jack Grimmer), but we did put bodies in the box, we put a lot of pressure on them, and we stressed their defence.

“Fortunately, for us, it finally gave, and we leave here with the win.”

Despite the loss, Wycombe head coach Mike Dodds was “proud” of his team’s performance, and called the defeat a “freak loss”.

The result means Wycombe have had their worst start to a league season since 2020-21, and have now scored just three first-half goals in 25 games under the 39-year-old.

He said: “I feel the weight of the fans as they stuck with us.

“The style we have will make us successful but at the moment, we have to go through this pain to get to the other side.

“Tonight is a freak result as we were so dominant from start to finish.

“I don’t think there’ll be many games where the opposition didn’t register a shot on goal and we come away losing the game.

“I’m proud of the group, as I left on Saturday (at Doncaster) very angry, as I didn’t like what it (the performance) represented.

“But today, I thought we were excellent from start to finish and one moment has decided the game.

“We created loads of chances as we’re getting the ball into the final third.”

Since replacing Matt Bloomfield in February, Dodds has won eight of his 25 games in charge, drawing seven and losing 10 times.