While no fans were there to celebrate the triumph with the Chairboys due to COVID restrictions at the time, thousands watched from home, and the 13th of July, 2020, will be a date which will be remembered for many more years to come.
The start of the decade was an interesting one, to say the least, with the entire country plunged into lockdown restrictions, the cities were empty, quiet, and life under these new laws took some getting used to and of course, there was no football. With League One clubs voting to formally end the 19-20 season after 34-36 games played.
The league table was decided on points per game (ppg), with Coventry City and Rotherham United taking automatic promotion, leaving Wycombe, Oxford, Portsmouth and Fleetwood to battle it out in the play-offs.
Four months after the season was originally suspended, the play-offs began, with Wycombe starting away from home against Fleetwood. Seeing play-off football played with the stands empty is certainly a weird sight to see looking back on it now.
Wycombe won their semi-final, the aggregate score across two legs ending 6-3.
The Play-Off final took place at an empty Wembley exactly five years ago today, with the blues taking the lead early once again through Anthony Stewart, Joe Jacobson’s left-footed delivery setting up the chance. While the ball took a touch off Oxford’s goalkeeper, it was awarded to Stewart.
Oxford dominated throughout the rest of the first half in terms of possesion stats, but rarely caused any problems for Wycombe’s defence, their biggest chance coming just after the 35 minute mark, Stewart denying Matty Taylor a tap into what was an open goal.
However, Sykes would provide the equaliser for Oxford, catching Ryan Allsop off-guard. This wouldn’t be the first goalkeeper mistake of the game, with Oxford’s keeper clearly miscommunicating with his defence, eventually taking out Fred Onyedinma which resulted in a penalty.
Jacobson stepped up to the spot with the weight of the world on his shoulders, knowing that if he scored, Wycombe would be just a ten minute wait away from Championship football- And he converted cooly, sending the keeper the wrong way.
Wycombe’s wait for Championship football had finished, the game ending 2-1 and the celebrations well underway. While COVID restrictions hadn’t been lifted just yet, many fans celebrated from home.
After the game, Ainsworth spoke about the “heart and determination” that his Wycombe team had, and was “so, so proud of the boys.”
While Wycombe’s one and only season in the second tier of English football (so far) was overshadowed by COVID restrictions, it is certainly one to remember for Chairboys fans, as well as the journey that got them there in the first place.
