GARETH AINSWORTH was full of praise for his Wycombe Wanderers side as they ran out comfortable 2-0 winners against Hartlepool United to seal a fourth successive league win.

The victory, thanks to Scott Kashket’s brace, catapulted the Chairboys into the playoff places and they now sit sixth in League 2.

Kashket’s first was on 23 minutes after some good forward play from Luke O'Nien found the 20 year-old with a searching pass inside the box and Kashket made no mistake with a well placed shot beyond Trevor Carson to make it 1-0. That was a fifth goal in six home appearances for Kashket and a perfect start to the game for the Chairboys.  He made it 2-0 on 80 minutes, finding his way through on goal and slipping it beyond Carson. 

Ainsworth was thrilled with his side’s performance. He said: “It is a great result for us. We pressed well and disrupted high up the pitch.

“With three up top, it caused them problems and the midfield engine room never stopped working.

“Scott Kashket was very lively and he will take all the plaudits but we thoroughly deserved the win and I am very pleased.”

Kashket was laid low with glandular fever when he first arrived at the club and Ainsworth praised his clinical performance and comeback from such a debilitating illness.

He added: “He was a real thorn in the side of Hartlepool today and thanks to Bayo, who was a real focal point for us, it gave Scotty the space to punish Hartlepool and he reaped the rewards of that today.”

With Wycombe now back in the hunt for promotion, albeit still early in the season, hopes are high for a real go at going up to League 1 and Ainsworth still vividly recalls nearly going out of the league three years ago to Torquay.

With that etched on his mind, he commented: “Those scores stay with me and I learn a lot more about losing and being at the wrong end of the table than I do about winning and it spurs me on to try and give us a chance of being promoted and it was nice to send the fans home happy from this game.”

The Chairboys are back in cup action next Saturday at 3pm when they travel to League 1 Chesterfield in the hope of winning and meeting one of the big boys in the FA Cup third round.