Cambridge United came from behind to deny Wycombe three points following a sending off decision by referee Martin Woods.
Pre match, the hype was around Richard Kone missing the game through injury alongside Jack Grimmer, Dan Harvie and Joe Low. Caleb Taylor returned into the first 11 having re-joined the club from West Bromwich Albion whilst fellow new signing Alex Lowry joined the bench alongside Sam Vokes, Anders Hagelskjaer and Magnus Westergaard. And the first half saw few highlights as both teams struggled to get into any rhythm. Cambridge defender Jubril Okedina almost sliced into his own net after a Luke Leahy’s free-kick was flicked into danger. And Dom Ballard had the best chance for Cambridge when an instinctive reactionary half turned volley saw his effort strike the outside of Franco Ravizzoli’s crossbar. But the breakthrough came in the 35th minute when a Bez Lubala shot was fumbled by Cambridge goalkeeper Jack Stevens into the path of Cameron Humphreys who dispatched and put the Chairboys ahead.
Humphreys could have extended the score line when he combined with Udoh only to see his effort go wide of the post. And then moments later a Lubala run into the box drew a foul and from the subsequent free kick, Luke Leahy saw his effort go agonisingly close and wide of a slightly relieved Jack Stevens. Wycombe looked comfortable in possession and were barely threatened by their hosts. In the second half, they continued in the same vein with Declan Skura finding himself in the box to meet a Leahy cross and coming close to scoring, only for Stevens to deny the Wycombe man superbly. But the controversial point of the game came in the 64th minute when Cambridge won a corner. From the resultant corner, Michael Morrison was adjudged to have been elbowed by Sonny Bradley for a tussle in the box. Referee Martin Woods pointed to the spot and sent off Bradley. This moment of shock however turned to joy as Josh Stokes penalty was saved by Franco Ravizzoli. With Cambridge now looking to crank up the intensity and take advantage of the sending off, Sam Grace immediately brought on Anders Hagelskjaer in place of Cameron Humphreys to reinforce the back line.
The Chairboys fought hard and tried to manage the minutes in the face of the increasing attacking intensity from Cambridge which also saw Garath McCleary introduced and making his 200th Wanderers appearance in the process. Unfortunately though, Cambridge got themselves back into the game with some fashion. A half cleared corner routine saw Josh Stokes get the better of Josh Scowen before unleashing a curled effort to give Cambridge an equaliser. With seven minutes of normal time left, Bez Lubala’s tenacious running drew a foul to give Leahy a further chance from a free kick. But Leahy’s effort hit the other side of Jack Stevens goal. Cambridge persevered with their intense pressure and with six minutes of added time, James Brophy looked to grab a winner when he curled effort from the right, but Franco Ravizzoli superbly pushed his effort wide. As full time was blown, there were a mixture of emotions on the pitch but it’s another point gained as the Chairboys continue to hunt promotion.