For the first time in their 133-year history, Wycombe Wanderers won promotion to the Championship – a promotion that nobody expected.
Let’s go back to the first day of pre-season where Ainsworth had no more than NINE players turn up for training.
So to see what Ainsworth has managed to do this season seeing as they were tipped for relegation is nothing short of remarkable.
Onto the match and Wycombe took an early lead when left back Joe Jacobson put a cross in the box and Anthony Stewart headed home after nine minutes.
Sykes provided the equaliser for Oxford United in stunning fashion after 57 minutes. Whether it was a cross or a shot only he would know as the ball looped over Ryan Allsop, who couldn’t do anything about it.
Eastwood then had a moment to forget. A complete miscommunication between himself and Elliott Moore at the back allowed Fred Onyedinma in and the Oxford goalkeeper raced to the edge of his box and took him out -Penalty Wycombe.
From there, Jacobson stepped up to send Eastwood the wrong way, and send Wycombe into the Championship.
Jacobson has been Wycombe’s standout performer this season scoring 12 times from left back – he also has a record of managing to score from corners as well.
This was a massive moment for Wycombe and one they really deserve. It’s a win for football and a win for a passionate manager in Gareth Ainsworth.
Wycombe’s victory capped off an incredible season. A club who almost dropped out of the Football League back in 2014. But when the final league standings were determined on an unweighted points-per-game basis due to the coronavirus, Gareth Ainsworth’s side leapt up to third place to have a shot at promotion.
One highlight was Adebayo Akinfenwa’s post match interview on Sky, which was one of the best post match interviews you will ever see.
Speaking to Sky, the forward said:
“I hope my story shows that the only opinion that matters is the opinion you have about yourself.
“I was lucky and blessed to find a manager and players who believed in me, so we are here today, and I’ll say it for the people in the back: Wycombe’s in the Championship.
“Wait, wait, I’ll say it one more time: Wycombe is in the Champio- Wait! The people in the back didn’t hear me! Wycombe is in the Championship!
“Let me tell you something, the only person that can hit me up on WhatsApp this time is Klopp, so we can celebrate together. You get me? Oi!”
And Klopp did respond with a video message you can see right here:
Are u crazyyyyyyy the man, the myth, the legend sent me a Watsapp. Today can’t get any better. Thank you Klopp #YNWA #Beast20 #BeastMode we did it #champHereWeCome 💪🏿🙏🏿💙 pic.twitter.com/9RgiKZkYt2
— daRealAAkinfenwa (@daRealAkinfenwa) July 13, 2020
Wycombe’s Gareth Ainsworth, speaking to Sky Sports after the match said: “That was just amazing. We can’t afford the best footballing players but we’ve got players with heart and determination and that was a Wycombe performance. I’m so, so proud of the boys. They just ground it out and I still just can’t believe that we’re a Championship club.
“I think Accrington and maybe Rochdale were down there with us as favourites to go down but we were right down there budget-wise. We had nine players turn up on that first day of pre-season and two of them were trialists. [The owners] Rob and Peter Couhig have come in and they’ve just enabled me to fill the slots that I had.
“That is for all the fans who are watching at home. I know they were there and we said before the game that we could feel them out on that pitch. That’s a good team Karl Robinson has got and now we’ve beaten both Fleetwood and Oxford, so I think people might start respecting us a little bit more now.
“That win means this club is safe for a few years at least and I feel for so many clubs because COVID-19 has really hurt clubs and I know it’s going to be tough for some clubs. But we weren’t going to look this opportunity in the mouth, we were going to take it. All my staff have got everyone spot-on for the performances.”
Wycombe fans, let us know your thoughts on the club’s promotion below.
