A penalty shoot-out victory over Exeter City on Tuesday night meant Wycombe Wanderers escaped St James' Park with their name in the hat for the next round, but it came at a heavy price.

The full time whistle blew and neither Exeter City or Wycombe Wanderers could be separated, and with the Carabao Cup rules in mind, this meant no extra-time as we moved straight to penalties.

The Chairboys would be up first, but new signing Sam Vokes saw his spot-kick saved. The Grecians would however fail to convert their opening penalty as well, but were able to take a 2-1 lead in the shoot-out.

However, City would fail to score their final two penalties, as James Dodd missed the decisive kick, handing Wycombe a 4-3 win.

The win for Gareth Ainsworth's side came at a heavy cost, however, as the Chairboys would take the full time whistle with just nine men in blue shirts left on the field.

A ball to the back of the head just before half time meant skipper Matt Bloomfield was withdrawn with a concussion, before both half time substitutes Jason McCarthy and Daryl Horgan both exited the game, the former in the 64th minute and the latter in the 88th minute respectively.

In a post-match interview for the Wycombe Wanderers website, Ainsworth reflected on the events of the game, as well as discussing potential transfer plans.

Ainsworth said: "Worry overrides elation at the moment.

"It's up to me now to make sure that A, everyone recovers well and we get these injuries sorted and get some time limits on these, and B, maybe go into the transfer market and see what we need to do to strengthen the squad, or not strengthen it almost patch up the holes that are in this.

"I'm elated, I don't know how we've got through that.

"Leave it to me, I'll pick these bodies up and we'll have a competitive team out on Saturday no problem

Speaking on potential incomings, Ainsworth revealed: "We have irons in the fire.

"To be at Wycombe Wanderers you've got to be a special type of character, and we'll only go after special characters.

"We're going to do some business I'm sure before the end of the window, but give us a little bit of patience."

The Verdict

It was a long, tough night down in Exeter for the Chairboys, and the injuries to key players will certainly mean Gareth Ainsworth has some brainstorming to do.

But the Wycombe boss appears relaxed and confident that he will be able to field a strong team heading into the weekend's game away at Cheltenham Town.

But Ainsworth is correct, Wycombe Wanderers is a team with some special characters, none more so than Ainsworth himself, and a few knocks to players here and there won't alter his ambition nor change his belief that his side can make an instant return to the Sky Bet Championship this season.