Gutsy Blues beat Us on their own patch

Oxford United 0 Wycombe Wanderers 1

At the end of every season, there are certain days that you look back on and smile, and today was one of those.

It started at midnight when manager Gareth Ainsworth and his assistants turned up at Adams Park to see off a group of Blues’ fans who subsequently walked to Oxford during the night and raised in the region of £4,000 for the club.

With spirit like that in the camp, there was a feelgood factor in the air, and a suspicion that Ainsworth and the players would do whatever was necessary to ensure a happy ending.

And so it transpired. On another bobbly pitch, it was never going to be stylish, but grit and determination can take you a long way, and the Blues certainly delivered on that score.

The Us started on the front foot and we won’t be seeing Stuart Lewis for a while after he collected his 10th yellow card of the season for a typically robust challenge as early as the second minute.

It was a sign of things to come from referee Graham Salisbury who awarded the hosts numerous dubious decisions while giving the Chairboys absolutely nothing all afternoon.

The early pressure from Oxford failed to seriously threaten Ingram in the Wycombe goal, with James Constable steering one shot past the post and another into the keepers arms, while Tom Craddock blasted a chance high and wide.

Joe Kuffour had Wycombe’s first attempt on goal after 14 minutes when he spotted Luke McCormick off his line and tried in vain to beat him from 40 yards out.

Kuffour had a tough task today. One minute he’s being asked to challenge for high balls which is hardly his strong suit, and the next he’s chasing long balls down the channels. His effort should be applauded, it’s just a shame that his confidence in front of goal appears to have deserted him.

With only Kuffour at the sharp end, supported at times by a marauding Josh Scowen, it looked likely that someone else would have to emerge from the pack and grab us a goal, and Joel Grant stepped up to the plate after 19 minutes.

Collecting the ball on the edge of the area, Grant shimmied his way past a couple of bamboozled defenders before planting the ball in the corner of the net to ignite the away section of the Kassam Stadium.

It was a memorable moment in a difficult season, but the chance to savour it was almost cut short just seconds later when Craddock rose to meet a Pittman cross and thankfully planted his header over the bar.

Back came the Blues, and McCormick had to be at full stretch to turn a poke from Lewis past the post for a corner.

The tricky Pittman was at it again moments later when he fired an angled shot against the post with Ingram beaten, the ball bouncing out to Michael Duberry who promptly fell over, eliciting a huge roar of approval from a gleeful travelling support just yards away.

When the half-time whistle sounded, the Wycombe contingent cheered their team off the pitch, appreciative of a battling performance so far, but wary of a possible second-half onslaught from their hosts.

It never happened.

The Blues should have put the game to bed straight after the break when Kuffour was put clean through by Scowen but was unable to get the better of McCormick.

It was an opportunity lost, but worse still was Alfie Potter’s miss for the Us a few moments later, the diminutive yellow passing the ball straight into Ingram’s arms from close range when it looked easier to score.

Pittman came close with an overhead kick that cleared the bar, while at the other end Dave Winfield rose to meet a Matt Spring corner but failed to keep his powerful header down.

The Blues had another opportunity to settle things when a misplaced backpass from Oxford’s Damian Batt put Scowen in the clear, but McCormick was again quick to react and the chance was gone.

Wycombe’s teenage keeper Matt Ingram has done exceptionally well to keep two clean sheets in his first three professional appearances, but he frightened the travelling fans to death in stoppage time when he dropped a cross before snatching it back to safety in the nick of time.

That was it, and the final whistle sounded on Wycombe’s 9th away win of the season, a record bettered only by Gillingham, Port Vale and Exeter, and a victory that finally puts to bed any thoughts of relegation.

Line-up & ratings
Ingram (7), Harriman (8), Winfield (8), Doherty (7), Dunne (8), Grant (7), Lewis (7), Spring (7), Scowen (8), Wood (7), Kuffour (7)