Wycombe Wanderers vs Preston North End. Sky Bet Championship.
Adams Park.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Wycombe and Preston at Adams Park as Ryan Tafazolli scored the winner to earn Gareth Ainsworth's Chairboys a rare victory on Saturday afternoon.
Saturday 13 March 2021 18:35, UK
Wycombe secured a vital three points in their bid for Championship survival with a 1-0 win over Preston.
In blustery conditions, Ryan Tafazolli's header proved the difference for a Chairboys side who controlled proceedings to earn their sixth victory of the season, while Preston's poor run now stands at one win in seven.
Both sides made two changes from their last outings, with Wycombe eyeing a second win against Preston in the space of three months after their 4-1 FA Cup victory earlier this year.
The opening exchanges belonged to the hosts and Tafazolli showed a glimpse of what was to come as he rose to meet two Joe Jacobson corners. After planting the first effort wide, his second was on target and needed a hand from Daniel Iversen to touch it over the bar.
Both Anis Mehmeti and Uche Ikpeazu then came close for Wycombe, Ikpeazu latching onto a looping Curtis Thompson header only to see his shot kept out by Iversen.
From the resulting corner, it was third time lucky for Tafazolli as he once again climbed highest to send a firm header across goal and into the net to break the deadlock just before the half-hour mark.
The goal saw Wycombe grow in confidence and Garath McCleary's shot from outside the area was pushed wide by Iversen as they looked to stretch their lead.
At the other end, Preston struggled to carve out any clear-cut chances of their own, with their biggest opportunity coming after David Stockdale flapped at a Preston corner before the ball was cleared.
After a first half in which his side mustered just one shot on target, Preston manager Alex Neil opted for a triple substitution at half-time.
And with the wind behind them in the second half, the changes saw Preston show more attacking intent and Ched Evans curled a shot narrowly over just before the hour mark.
Wycombe continued to create chances of their own and when Dominic Gape found some space down the right, his ball across goal had to be dealt with by Sepp Van Den Berg to avoid a tap-in for Ikpeazu.
Preston were beginning to find their rhythm and came close to an equaliser as two substitutes combined, Brad Potts dragging a shot into the side-netting following a neat one-two with Anthony Gordon.
The closing stages were frenetic and end-to-end, with Wycombe substitute Nnamdi Ofoborh dispossessing Preston captain Alan Browne only to shoot straight at Iversen from the edge of the area.
There was time for another Preston chance but Potts could only blast wide from an Evans header, and the Chairboys held on for a victory which keeps their dreams of a great escape alive.
Wycombe's Gareth Ainsworth: "They all believe we can stay up. We're only nine points off Birmingham but we're not even looking at Birmingham. We're looking to catch Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham and Coventry - those teams we've still got to play.
"There's a genuine belief in there that we can do this and it has come at a perfect time. Whatever happens, we'll be fighting. We'll go down fighting or we'll stay up fighting."
Preston's Alex Neil: "We lost the game in the first half. They were hungrier than us, they moved the ball better, won more duels and tackles. We didn't compete in the first half. We lacked any real fight to get into the game. We knew we would have to be physical and aggressive and we'd need to run. But we lacked all of those ingredients.
"We had two warnings [before the goal] and it's so soft. If I'm being honest, I thought the more worrying signs were the lack of fight and competitiveness by us to try and win the game. I wouldn't even say I'm angry or annoyed at the first half, just disappointed."
