Wycombe Wanderers ended the season strongly as they defeated a less-than-impressive Charlton Athletic side that were unbeaten in 14 games before Saturday in Joe Jacobson’s 400th and final appearance for the Chairboys.
Lineups:
Wycombe Wanderers – Ravizzoli, Grimmer, Forino, Lonwijk, Leahy, Scowen (C), Butcher, McCleary, Sadlier, Taylor, Kone. (Subs: Shepperd, Jacobson, Tafazolli, Wheeler. Vokes, Lubala, Kodua).
Charlton Athletic – Isted, Ramsay, Ness, Hector, Thomas, Small, Anderson, Dobson (C), Bakinson, May, Kanu. (Subs: Ward, Campbell, Aneke, Coventry, Fiorini, Edmonds-Green, LuaLua).
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First Half
Wycombe came out all guns blazing and were quick to launch the first attack of the match as Richard Kone wriggled his way into the box. The young Ivorian striker was tripped by Terell Thomas with referee Elliot Bell pointing to the spot in what is only his second EFL fixture. Wycombe’s top scorer Luke Leahy stepped up and calmly dispatched the penalty to the left of Harry Isted who went the wrong way. This was Leahy’s 12th goal of the campaign and his 11th in League One, an excellent return from the summer signing.
The Addicks seemed to wake up following the goal. Wingback Thierry Small was eager to prove to his manager Nathan Jones that he was worthy of his contract extension clause being exercised and used his pace excellently to draw a succession of corners. The last of these saw a pinpoint delivery by skipper George Dobson meet the head of Thomas who dragged his free header wide of the post, a real let-off for the Chairboys.
Moments later down the other end, Matt Butcher tried his luck from outside the box. However, the midfielder’s left-footed strike went just wide of Isted’s near post. Following the frantic start to the game, everything calmed down in the next twenty minutes and there was little in terms of clear-cut chances for each team.
The next real opportunity fell to Wycombe Wanderers again when veteran winger Garath McCleary picked up a loose pass in the Charlton Athletic half and worked the ball out wide to the out-of-position Josh Scowen. The midfielder’s low-driven cross was an inviting one but Isted came off his line to confidently claim the ball. A couple of half-chances came the visitors’ way moments later as Karoy Anderson’s right-footed shot from outside the box was blocked before Lucas Ness fired a header just wide of Franco Ravizolli’s goal.
The referee produced his first yellow card of the match just before half-time after a heavy challenge from Ramsay on goalscorer Leahy who had really been in the wars in the first half. Ramsay’s booking was the final action before the interval as Bell blew his whistle to bring the first 45 minutes to a close.
Charlton boss Jones was clearly not happy with what he’d seen from his side so far and rushed into the dressing room, while the disgruntled away fans also made their thoughts on the team’s performance evidently clear. Wycombe looked good value for the lead they had as Ravizolli was yet to be called into action.
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Second Half
A stern team-talk at half-time led Jones to make three changes for the second half in what looked like an attempt to change shape and give the hosts something different to think about. Ness, Anderson and surprisingly, the prolific Alfie May were all replaced at half-time, with Tyreece Campbell, Lewis Fiorini and Kazenga LuaLua taking their places.
Moments after the restart, Charlton’s lack of discipline began to show as Dobson hacked down Scowen and received a yellow card for his troubles. Wycombe then had a wonderful opportunity to double their lead as Leahy played a lovely 1-2 with Matt Butcher and unleashed a powerful, low-driven strike towards goal which was parried by Isted straight into the path of the onrushing Chris Forino. Unfortunately, Forino’s shot from inside the six-yard area saw the goalkeeper recover well to make another excellent save.
Jack Grimmer was the next to test the former Luton Town shot-stopper as he played another excellent 1-2 with Nottingham Forest loanee Dale Taylor after Wycombe broke from a Charlton free-kick. The defender darted into the box and forced Isted into another save. Tyreeq Bakinson then had Charlton’s first shot of the half which cleared the entire away stand and ended up in the car park, really summing up Charlton’s afternoon so far.
Wycombe Wanderers then decided to switch things up with a triple substitution of their own as McCleary, Taylor and Kieran Sadlier were withdrawn for Beryly Lubala, David Wheeler and, for the 400th and final time in a Wycombe Wanderers shirt, Joe Jacobson. This change saw Leahy, who started the game at left-back, move into his natural position of central midfield while Jacobson slotted in on the left side of the defence. The visitors also made their fourth substitution of the game as Chuks Aneke replaced Daniel Kanu up front.
Lubala was almost instantly involved when he broke into the Charlton box but, once again, Isted managed to stop his shot from close range. Leahy was booed by his own supporters as he took Wycombe’s first corner of the second period as the crowd made it clear they wanted the man they call ‘the set piece king’ Joe Jacobson to try and bend one in on his last hurrah. Leahy obliged and allowed Jacobson to take the in-swinging corner. It was a deep one towards the back post which was met by the head of Kone but the Ivorian was unable to direct the header towards goal.
Charlton managed to muster their first shot on target with twenty minutes to go when substitute LuaLua twisted his way into the box but goalkeeper Ravizolli had it watched the whole way and it was a comfortable save in the end for the Argentine. The Addicks would then go on to have their best chance of the game as Lubala took out Campbell deep inside Wycombe’s half. Manchester City loanee Fiorini stepped up and his effort crashed off the bar, a nervy moment for Wycombe as Ravizolli could only watch the ball fly towards his net. Fortunately, it was just inches too high.
Tempers started flaring from Charlton and two reckless challenges from Bakinson and Fiorini resulted in a yellow card each for the pair. Visiting boss Jones also picked up a yellow for getting extremely animated with the decisions on the touchline. Forino and Aneke were then involved in an off-the-ball incident which the former was clearly unhappy with as he stood over the striker pointing his finger in the latter’s face. Both players received a talking to from the referee but no cards were shown. That was until, moments after play resumed, a clearly angry Aneke shoved Forino over off the ball and was rightly yellow carded.
Five minutes were added at the end of the 90 and, after Grimmer picked up a head knock, he was replaced by Ryan Tafazolli and Nigel Lonwijk spent his last five minutes as a Wycombe player at right back.
In the last minute of the game, Campbell’s eye lit up as a loose ball fell to him. His first-time strike was excellently charged down by Tafazolli and that was the last action of the campaign for both sides.
Wycombe Wanderers did sensationally to recover in 10th place in League One with 65 points as, at the turn of the year, they found themselves sat 19th with just 25 points. The Chairboys managed to pick up 40 points in 2024 and ended the season closer to the playoffs than relegation.
Meanwhile, Charlton’s 14-game unbeaten run came to an end but Nathan Jones was still satisfied with how the Addicks finished the season as he managed to steady the ship since replacing Michael Appleton, guiding the club to safety in 16th place which certainly isn’t what had been hoped for at the start of the season. Nevertheless, following a disastrous run in the middle of the campaign, he achieved what was expected of him.
Interview With Wycombe Wanderers Boss Matt Bloomfield
Speaking to Jayden Wilkins after the game, here is what Wycombe Wanderers boss Matt Bloomfield had to say about his side’s 1-0 victory:
“I’m really pleased with the performance of the players, I think the way they’ve been picking up results when we haven’t got much to play for is fantastic.
“The level of some of our attacking play has been fantastic and the resilience at the back has been pleasing with the number of goals we’ve conceded recently as the cornerstone of any half-decent team is to be solid at the back”.
