Wycombe Wanderers 1-0 Bournemouth: Uche Ikpeazu goal keeps slim survival hopes alive

Wycombe goalscorer Uche Ikpeazu celebrates with his manager Gareth AinsworthImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Wycombe won back-to-back home Championship games for the first time this season, with Uche Ikpeazu scoring in both victories

Bottom side Wycombe Wanderers staved off relegation from the Championship for another game as they beat play-off bound Bournemouth and other results went their way.

Uche Ikpeazu's fine curling strike from nearly 25 yards was enough for Gareth Ainsworth's side to take the points despite Cherries pressure in the second half.

Sheffield Wednesday's failure to beat Nottingham Forest and Derby's defeat at Swansea means Wycombe are three points from safety going into the final round of games next Saturday.

However, the Chairboys' goal difference is significantly worse than their relegation rivals and they would need a very unlikely swing to avoid a return to League One.

Bournemouth drop a place to fifth after a below-par performance, though head coach Jonathan Woodgate made six changes, leaving the likes of Arnaut Danjuma and Philip Billing on the bench.

Victory for Wycombe at Middlesbrough next Saturday would put them on 43 points but they would need a near-impossible sequence of scorelines elsewhere to lift them out of the bottom three.

In an action-packed first half at Adams Park, Ikpeazu bent the ball past Asmir Begovic after beating Chris Mepham, though Bournemouth should have levelled when Sam Surridge fluffed his lines with a clear sight of goal.

Admiral Muskwe had a header cleared off the line for the hosts, but the second half was all about survival.

Mepham and Junior Stanislas missed golden headed chances from close range for the Cherries before David Brooks rounded keeper David Stockdale but saw his shot deflect off Wycombe defender Anthony Stewart and on to the underside of the bar and out.

Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth said:

"This club is at 40 points. There's no 'R' next to our name. It's going to take until the last whistle of the last day for us to be relegated, if that happens. I couldn't be prouder with that stat. It's phenomenal.

"We've upset the odds once again, but the boys deserved the win. The goal was fantastic, the defensive display was brilliant and the work-rate from some of the boys was just brilliant.

"This excites me for next year, never mind next week. Five years ago, we were looking at the trap door in non-league and what an achievement that is.

"I can't wait for the future of this football club. It's really exciting. Wycombe aim to be back in the Championship at the end of next season, that's what I want. That's what I'll be aiming for.

"We're going to end up one or two points away from survival which honestly is beyond our wildest dreams."

Bournemouth manager Jonathan Woodgate said:

"We've still got momentum. Out of nine [league] games, we've won seven. That's fantastic by any stretch of the imagination.

"Fair play to Wycombe, they scored an absolute worldie.

"I couldn't fault the players. I think they've done well on a difficult pitch. We move on to the next game with Stoke."

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