Charlton and Wycombe battle to stalemate in League One play-off semi-final opener
Wycombe and Charlton could not be separated as they played out a goalless draw in the first leg of their League One play-off semi-final at Adams Park.
Despite Mike Dodds' Chairboys being the out-of-form side out of all of the teams involved in the play-offs, they were superb in the opening 45 minutes.
Jack Grimmer and Fred Onyedinma worked brilliantly down the right-hand side to cause the Addicks' back-line numerous problems, and they almost took the lead inside the opening five minutes.
Grimmer's ball found Cameron Humphreys, who brilliantly picked out striker Dan Udoh.
He took a touch and fizzed a shot at goal from the edge of the box but goalkeeper Will Mannion managed to parry the ball to safety. From the resulting corner, Sonny Bradley's header went wide.
It was a tight and cagey affair as Charlton struggled to break down a stubborn defence. Wanderers looked alert, dangerous and a completely different side from the one on the end of a 4-0 thumping by the South East London outfit 20 days earlier.
One bone of contention in the first half was that Addicks boss Nathan Jones and his side believed Wycombe forward Richard Kone should have been shown a straight red card.
The Ivorian was chasing down Kayne Ramsay but slipped, catching the full-back on the calf.
Referee Farai Hallam opted to give Kone a yellow card, but replays suggested the tackle was dangerous and that the 21-year-old was fortunate to stay on the pitch.
Moments later, Kone was involved in a pushing match with Macaulay Gillesphey which led to a small melee between both sets of players.
Following the coming together, Wycombe's Xavier Simons and Charlton captain Greg Docherty were booked for their part. The second half was similar to the first as both sides put bodies on the line.
Onyedinma and Adam Reach went close for Wycombe, while Tyreece Campbell saw a shot blocked by Bradley.
Will Norris was called into action after 69 minutes when he blocked Matty Godden's stinging effort, before he once again denied the ex-Coventry man in the closing stages.
A long ball over the top found Godden, who fired a volley towards goal after brilliantly controlling it on his chest.
Norris pushed it away, and from the resulting corner he was there to claw away Docherty's close-range effort.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Ja Morant Sends 9-Word Message on NBA's Unexpected MVP Decision
Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies were the second seed in the Western Conference on Feb. 27, but they couldn't produce when it counted most. The club slid all the way to the eighth seed by the end of the regular season and fired head coach Taylor Jenkins in the process. It then lost to the Golden State Warriors in the first Play-In game before winning the do-or-die second Play-In match vs. the Dallas Mavericks. Advertisement However, the glory was short lived, as they got swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round. The latter team is now in a second-round bout with the Denver Nuggets, who they'll host for Game 7 on Sunday. The series features the top two MVP candidates in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic. Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15), Nuggets guard Christian Braun (0), and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2).Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images The NBA still hasn't announced the winner yet, and Morant sounded off about the unusual delay on social media. 'They got to see who wins the series first,' the Murray State alum said. He was responding to Minnesota Timberwolves guard Bones Hyland, who asked 'Anybody else wondered why they haven't announced MVP yet?' The NBA taking this long to announce MVP has been an unexpected decision among fans, and clearly players as well. Last season, Jokic was announced as league MVP on May 8, 2024 (via NBA). Advertisement Gilgeous-Alexander won the scoring title this season with 32.7 points per game on 51.9 percent shooting (37.5 percent 3 PT). On the other hand, Jokic was third with 29.6 points, ninth with a 57.6 percent field goal clip, third with 12.7 rebounds, and second with 10.2 assists. The 2014 second-round pick also shot 41.7 percent from deep. Whoever wins Game 7 will have homecourt advantage over the Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals. Related: Scotty Pippen Jr. Facing Backlash for Ja Morant Message After Grizzlies' Loss Related: Grizzlies Announce Ja Morant News Before Lakers Game
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Latest Athletic update means CWCW now playoff to see who starts and who gets sold in problem position
Latest Athletic update means CWCW now playoff to see who starts and who gets sold in problem position The big news of today is that Chelsea's attempted deal to sign Mike Maignan has collapsed. The Blues wanted to pay no more than €15m, AC Milan wanted €20m. So for the sake of 24% of one Omari Kellyman, the sporting directors are willing to let a potentially game changing upgrade walk away. Advertisement But we're not here to gripe about why we think that's a bad decision we're here to think about what's next. Chelsea back to same issue of 4 goalkeepers without one outstanding Filip Jorgensen trains with the goalkeepers in the USA. The briefs that have come out on all sides in the hour since that news broke have made it very clear that Chelsea are happy with the goalkeeper options they already have on the books (this was the same garbage we were fed before they made a very clear attempt to upgrade on those options). Robert Sanchez, Filip Jorgensen and Djordje Petrovic are all now going to compete to be next season's number one, and the Club World Cup will obviously play a huge role in that. Enzo Maresca faced with interesting goalkeeper dilemma So how will Enzo Maresca run that competition? Sanchez has the obvious lead, as he was last season's number one. Does he start all the games and get dropped only when he makes a mistake? Or will he and Petrovic switch back and forth with a couple of games each? Advertisement Jorgensen is a clear third choice as it stands, so we're not worried about him getting first team reps yet. The obvious move is to loan him out and keep the other two, although Simon Johnson's report for the Athletic says that one of them will be sold. That creates a whole new angle on things. Is this now becoming a playoff not only to see who starts, but who is sold too? This CWC just gets more and more interesting.
Forbes
3 hours ago
- Forbes
The World Test Championship Final Isn't As important As It Should Be
LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 08: (EDITORS NOTE: This image has been retouched) Temba Bevuma of South ... More Africa and Pat Cummins of Australia pose for a photo with the ICC World Test Championship Mace at Lord's Cricket Ground on June 08, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Davidson-ICC/ICC via Getty Images) On Wednesday, the third edition of the ICC's World Test Championship final begins at Lord's between current holders Australia and South Africa. The iconic venue, known as the home of cricket, takes over hosting duties after the Rose Bowl in Southampton and the Oval in South London were used for the previous two finals in 2021 and 2023. The English are neutral hosts for the third time. The weather for the match between Pat Cummins and Temba Bavuma's sides is set fair with no interruptions predicted for any of the five days. In 2021, COVID-19 restrictions affected the match between India and New Zealand, and the game was a damp squib due to the weather as the Kiwis won on a reserve day. Two years later, the Australians powered past Rohit Sharma's team with Travis Head and Steve Smith's centuries setting up a big win on the first day. The two best teams in the cycle are meeting for the biggest prize on the Test match table just days after Virat Kohli told aspiring cricketers that the red-ball game is many levels above the T20. 'If you want to earn respect in world cricket all over, take up Test cricket, give your heart and soul to it and earn the respect from legends," said the superstar after winning the IPL with Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The 36-year-old has just retired from the game he rates. What's not to like? There's plenty of negativity around the process and quite possibly a huge disappointment that the masters of the universe in Test cricket revenue and eyeballs, India, are not involved. The naysayers have come from respectable places not dark corners. Cricket's 'bible', Wisden Almanack has been scathing about the World Test Championship final, calling it a 'shambles masquerading as a showpiece.' One of the issues for the WTC has been the qualification steps which are as uneven as the 1998 Sabina Park pitch when the England team physio ran out multiple times to treat the injured. Skipper Nasser Hussain claimed that groundstaff were trying to fill in the holes with 'Polyfilla'. The World Test Championship cycle has done its best to cement the two-year cycle into some kind of structure. It's an imperfect circle. South Africa have only played the Indians out of the Big Three (the others being Australia and England) but have booked their place at the top of the table with wins over the teams that take the last four places at the bottom of the nine-team table- Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Pakistan. Opponents Australia have played 19 Tests in the qualification period with ten of those coming against India and England. The disrespect aimed at the Proteas' achievement has come from some surprising quarters with former England captain Michael Vaughan suggesting they had made it on 'the back of beating pretty much nobody.' A flawed format is hardly something that the South Africans should apologize for. Their Test match health has been reliant on two-match series against the smaller nations as India, Australia and England play the big five-star big series matches on their own playgrounds. It's okay for some and okay for the sums of the BCCI, ECB and ACB. South Africa is not at the same starting gate and they sent a weakened squad to New Zealand at the start of 2024 as their fledgling domestic T20 captured the majority of stars and big money for the country's game. In 2023, Cricket South Africa chief executive Pholetsi Moseki explained the financial issues. "We just hosted the West Indies for Tests; you saw for yourself on TV, the grounds were totally empty, we were not even 10 or 20% full. If you go to England or Australia, Test cricket is still supported, the stadiums are still full.' The complexities of a fair and reasonable world league table are further hampered by India and Pakistan not playing each other because of political tensions since 2007. When former Australian keeper-batter Adam Gilchrist delivered the annual Spirit of Cricket lecture at Lord's in 2009, he was upfront even then about the state of the long format: 'Even its most ardent admirers would have to acknowledge that Test cricket is now redundant as the financial driver of the game.' The Indian Premier League showed players the money and they came out in force. The ICC has established a world title that is behind the eight-ball in modern times. Bottom hardly ever plays top and its two biggest rivals, who sell out a 90,000 crowd at the MCG for a T20 World Cup match , never play each other at all. Yet, there's still something, a zeitgeist that Test match cricket still brings. Nothing was meant to come easy in sport and five days of battles won and lost are a mini-series that carry more depth than a short-term burst of colorful hitting. Witness West Indies winning in Australia for the first time in 27 years. That's when Test cricket makes perfect sense. The public can dig a five star five-hour tennis final match. Five days of a world cricket final feels like a harder sell. If Australia and South Africa put on a good show then so what? India is coming to England for a five-Test series just days after. Even without the Bollywood Kohli, it's a bigger show. The power of the mini-series between the Dallas and the Dynasty Test teams still holds court over the rest.
