Wycombe and Charlton play out goalless stalemate in play-off first leg

North Wales Chronicle

11-05-2025

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.