League One (England)

The Chairboys boss had been unwell this week, but recovered sufficiently enough to see them claim their first League One success on the road since October 7.

Jack Grimmer and Garath McCleary both scored and Curtis Davies put through his own net before Matty Taylor pulled one back for well-beaten Cheltenham.

“I had a flu-like bug that had me in bed for 36 hours,” Bloomfield said. “It’s been a long week, but I’m really proud of the players.

“I might need a day or two now to recover properly and then I’ll come back fighting.

“I’ve been proud of the players on plenty of occasions this season, but I’m especially proud today.

“The way the boys went about their tasks today made me really pleased. Their application was brilliant.”

Wycombe went into the game with one win in 17, but they were good value for their fist league victory since New Year’s Day.

“The players have had a lot of knocks to overcome recently,” Bloomfield said.

“It was great to go in front, but I wanted to get a second and third to kill the game off. We could have had another one or two as well.

“We knew Cheltenham were playing well and we’d have to stand up to them. Sometimes the conditions dictate the way you play, but every man was in there scrapping for each other.

“It’s been a good week. We’ve got four points in the league, made it to the semi-finals of the EFL Trophy and got the signings through the door that we wanted.”

Cheltenham are seven points from safety with 18 games remaining and boss Darrell Clarke admitted his team were second best after bright performances in narrow defeats at promotion-chasing Bolton and Derby.

“We were miles off it today and I have to sort that out and pick the bones out of that defensively,” he said.

“We huffed and we puffed, but it was a million miles away from the last two performances.

“We are in a situation in the season where we can’t chuck games away like we did today.

“It’s 22 points from 18 games since I’ve been here, but with the start we’ve had we can’t afford performances like this.

“We have to learn very quickly and as I said to my players in there, there are a few mindsets that are a little bit fragile.”

Jones, sacked by Southampton on February 12 last year after just 95 days in charge, saw his side fortunate to still be level at the break at the SCL Stadium.

The Addicks were indebted to goalkeeper Harry Isted for making fine saves to deny Lewis Wing and Sam Smith twice, but Reading finally broke the deadlock in the second half, with Femi Azeez hitting a double in 10 minutes to ensure that Jones endured an unhappy return.

Jones took over a faltering Charlton side that had not won in 12 league games but, in contrast, Reading had lost only twice in 14 outings.

The visitors started the better but Reading created the first opening when Isted did well to tip over a fierce angled drive from Wing.

Isted also kept out a precise volley from Smith and then another goalbound Smith effort after the striker had cut in from the left flank.

Charlton showed more adventure in the second half but, after Lloyd Jones and Tyreeq Bakinson had missed half-chances, Azeez hooked in his first goal in the 66th minute.

The Addicks then failed to clear an Amadou Mbengue long throw 10 minutes later and Azeez thundered home a volley to secure the victory.

The head coach saw his team struggle before two moments of quality from Max Bird and James Collins rescued Derby.

Cheltenham unsettled County and thoroughly deserved to take the lead five minutes into the second half through Liam Sercombe, whose deflected shot bobbled into the bottom right corner.

The goal was greeted with boos from the home fans, but they were cheering 10 minutes later when Bird curled a free-kick over the wall and into the top corner.

Cheltenham thought they should have had a penalty when George Lloyd went down under Louie Sibley’s challenge, but Derby won it in the 80th minute when Collins acrobatically volleyed Nathaniel Mendez-Laing’s cross past Luke Southwood.

Warne said: “I don’t think we deserved a win.

“Cheltenham played the pitch better than we did, it was definitely a game for winter football. They stretched us first half, they ran in behind, didn’t give us any time on the ball and we didn’t show any character on the ball.

“We played safe, we didn’t have any aggression in our game, so we get booed off at half-time which is understandable.

“But fair play to the lads, you can crumble and feel sorry for yourself, but we kept going and two amazing bits of class got us back in it.

“We definitely gave away a penalty and we definitely got away with one.

“Cheltenham were more than value for one point and played the game possibly better than us. We haven’t played great, but we’ve won which is a good sign.”

Cheltenham manager Darrell Clarke said: “Frustration again, there was a blatant penalty and I was very frustrated how we defended the set-piece.

“The game plan was working well, we were frustrating the crowd, we got the lead and so it’s disappointing to come away with nothing.

“We’ve played Portsmouth, Bolton, Derby and I thought to get three points, we warranted more, the performances warranted more, but we haven’t got more so we can’t be victims, we can’t let that affect us.

“We haven’t got what we deserved, but that’s football so we have to get back on the training pitch and get better at the things we aren’t doing so well.

“The lads are fighting, the application is good, but the game’s about inches and I’ve got some players who can kick their careers on if they narrow down those inches.

“A good honest group, but can they raise those quality levels, can we manage situations better? Individually and collectively as a team we have to be better at that.”

If events last September had gone differently, Bonner would have called Rotherham’s New York Stadium home but after he turned down their approach, the 37-year-old embarked on the latest dramatic chapter in his story with boyhood club Cambridge.

Seven points from safety ahead of an April Fools’ Day trip to Port Vale, no one was laughing but the U’s won five of their last nine League One matches to pull off a great escape despite having one of the lowest budgets in the division.

So, ahead of his fifth season in charge of Cambridge, would League One’s longest-serving head coach accept a drama-free upcoming campaign?

Bonner told the PA news agency: “We don’t want it to be dull! We want drama because that is what it is all about. We want our support base to keep growing and people to keep engaging with the club. We’ve done a great job with that over the last three-and-a-half years.

“We have created some unbelievable moments and we want to try create that again this season. We certainly want a smooth and successful season, but I don’t want it to be a dull one, that’s for sure.”

Whether it is Bonner or the Cambridge way, they don’t do straightforward.

Bonner first coached at the club in 2002 and 18 years later – after nine seasons in non-league – he took over the first-team on an interim basis with relegation out of the English Football League a possibility.

Four straight wins allayed those fears and he was handed the job permanently in March 2020, but within a week the coronavirus outbreak had turned into a pandemic and he waited six months to take charge of his first official match.

What followed was drama of the best kind with promotion secured on the final day after a 3-0 win over Grimsby with supporters gathered outside the Abbey Stadium to celebrate due to it being the behind-closed-doors era.

More than 6,000 turned up to watch Cambridge host rivals Oxford in their first match back in the third tier since 2002 and the U’s finished in 14th along with producing an FA Cup giant-killing with a 1-0 win at Eddie Howe’s Newcastle.

Last season produced more challenges and despite good performances, a run of one win in 15 league matches saw Bonner’s men destined for relegation.

Cambridge bucked the trend to keep faith with their manager, who responded with 13 points from 24 before a final-day victory over Forest Green, coupled with Morecambe and MK Dons’ failure to win, secured survival in the most dramatic of circumstances.

“If you could write how you stay up, if that is what you’re fighting for, you would do it like that,” Bonner reflected.

“The game itself was fairly comfortable. Atmosphere first half was amazing, all four sides of the stadium full of Cambridge fans, unbelievable support. But second half no one is singing or watching our game, they are watching their phones seeing what is happening elsewhere. That includes the whole of our dugout.

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“It is completely out of your hands and a horrible situation to be in. Our game finished and there was a long time left in one of the other games, but once that finished and it went for us, it was a nice moment of relief.

“It was the end of a cycle because a lot of our players moved on, but the majority of them played their part in an incredible era in our club’s history and I think their story deserved to end like that.”

Bonner’s own journey with Cambridge shows no sign of stopping soon.

The former U’s season-ticket holder admitted doubts crept in last season, but he retained belief in the squad and repaid the backing of owner Paul Barry and sporting director Ben Strang.

And the trio alongside other key local figures involved at Cambridge are keen to build a lasting legacy, with the Abbey Stadium bought back while work has started on a new training base alongside desires to become a top-half team.

“No one is human if they say they have no doubts because that’s a natural thing when it is going against you, but we had good players and brilliant togetherness and spirit within the team,” Bonner insisted.

“So, that (belief) was shook but never broken. The wheels would have fallen off quite a few other clubs in the sense of not being able to recover from those results or just huge change, managerial changes, staff changes, you see all that every season at clubs.

“But the stability we’ve built and togetherness we’ve built just shone through in that period.

“I would like to hope we get some respect for setting a bit of a different precedent and if more clubs were like that, maybe the ability to build something over time would become more common.

“There is a perception in football that one person is responsible for everything, one person builds a team, but we’re a bit different.

“Three seasons at this level for the first time in decades, most successful team we’ve had for decades, that is not a fluke firstly but it is also not down to one person, it is down to a whole host of people. We have a lot of Cambridge people driving the club and hopefully that pays off for us.

“It has certainly been really unique and a big contributor to us in the last three years, but we want it to be that way for another three years. We know how tough that is but that’s the motivation we have all got.”

The game of the day in League One pitted third against second and Greg Leigh’s birthday brace ensured the points returned with the Us, who came from behind following Jamie Reid’s opener.

Oxford skipper Elliott Moore sealed the points late on to take Oxford three points clear of their opponents with a game in hand but Manning will not be resting on his laurels at this early stage.

“We’ve achieved nothing yet,” he said. “We’ve got off to a good start, but there’s still a long way to go.

“There’s no feeling like we’ve cracked anything. We’ve got to stay together, stick together. I’m pleased with the players, I keep saying it but they’re the ones who go out and do the job.

“It’s a big win. It’s a really tough place to come with their style and their relentless nature.

“They build up a lot of momentum with their directness and we really stood up to that.

“The big thing was we showed some real bravery. The lads are terrific, I can’t speak highly enough of them.

“It was another experience we’ve ticked off with going behind in a game to then respond and bounce back.

“Greg was excellent. We know what we’ve got with Greg. He gives us that physicality and gives us a threat going forward.

“He took his goals really well. I’m really pleased for him.”

Boro flew out of the traps and saw Carl Piergianni’s header cleared off the line before Reid’s seventh of the season gave them a 15th-minute lead.

But Leigh equalised just eight minutes later and blasted the visitors in front early in the second half, with Moore sealing the outcome late on.

Stevenage boss Steve Evans said: “It was a good start, we were the dominant side and got the goal.

“In the second half, those back boys who have been real leaders for us were poor. We were poor defensively and that gave them a little bit of a lifeline to go 2-1 in front.

“I think there’s only Luther Wildin who can go home happy that he did his job tonight. The other four have not.

“They’ve not done their jobs and two or three of them had bad games individually and were as poor as I’ve seen them.

“But they’re good players, they’re good men. They’ll take that criticism where it’s meant.

“We’re only 10 games in and I see guys next to me celebrating like they’re 35 games in. When they’ve won a promotion they can come and talk to me and I’ll respect them more.”

Top scorer Charlie Wyke – looking well offside – hit a post in the opening exchanges after being played in by Thelo Aasgaard.

Wyke was then denied by a good save from Will Mannion with his foot, with the goalkeeper then helping the ball over the top after it looped back goalwards via an unfortunate deflection off a defender.

At the other end, a rare break from Cambridge saw Sullay Kaikai’s 30-yard shot tipped around a post by Sam Tickle.

Cambridge skipper Michael Morrison nodded inches beyond the far post just before half-time, and Wigan then took full control.

Stephen Humphrys cut in off the right onto his left foot and curled a superb effort into the far corner of the net 12 minutes after the restart.

It was 2-0 five minutes later when Martial Godo teed-up Aasgaard, who slammed the ball home off the underside of the crossbar.

Cambridge pulled one back 14 minutes from time when Callum McManaman felled James Brophy in the box and Fejiri Okenabirhie sent Tickle the wrong way from 12 yards.

The home side went ahead inside four minutes when Tom Pearce supplied Jordan Jones, who cut in from the flank and fired the ball past Jay Lynch.

It was 2-0 to Wigan just past the half-hour mark when Stephen Humphrys worked a short corner well and crossed for Sean Clare to bundle the ball home off goalkeeper Lynch.

Only brilliant goalkeeping from Lynch prevented Jones scoring his second goal after an incisive Wigan move.

But the game was effectively over as a contest in first-half stoppage time when Fleetwood’s Joshua Earl picked up a second booking for simulation in the box, leaving his side down to 10 men.

Wigan added the third goal their dominance warranted just after the hour, Pearce curling a lovely free-kick into the roof of the net after on-loan Fulham forward Martial Godo had been fouled on the edge of the box.

The visitors had been on the back foot for the entire game after seeing former Wigan centre-back Chey Dunkley – facing his old club for the first time since leaving in the summer of 2020 – sent off inside four minutes for hauling down Thelo Aasgaard on the edge of the box.

After that, it was only ever a question of when and not if Wigan would break through.

It was Humphrys who opened the scoring after 35 minutes when he was given too much time and space 20 yards from goal.

After Shrews defender Mal Branning hit his own post, Humphrys inexplicably headed wide just after the hour mark from a yard out, before Jordan Jones cut inside and smacked a shot against the Shrewsbury crossbar.

But the respite was only temporary as Lang nodded home fellow substitute Callum McManaman’s cross in the 66th minute – less than 60 seconds after both men had entered the fray.

It is now five-straight defeats for Exeter, who made a slow start to the game and paid the price for that as the Latics opened the scoring after eight minutes.

Pierce Sweeney came out second best in an aerial duel and the ball fell kindly for Stephen Humphreys, who advanced down the left and picked out Martial Godo. He side-footed the ball past Vili Sinisalo and into the net from 10 yards.

The home side regrouped and had plenty of possession, but they rarely looked like scoring.

Wigan were happy to sit in and soak up the pressure and look to hit Exeteroin the counter attack and rarely looked like scoring themselves.

The hosts had more urgency after the break and the closest they came to an equaliser was in stoppage time when substitute Yanic Wildschut struck the base of the post from a narrow angle.

Wigan then wrapped things up right at the death when Jordan Jones advanced from deep and beat two men before his shot unfortunately deflected off Will Aimson and squeezed in at the near post.

The Latics were handed the initial deduction last week in response to two late payments in March and May, with a further four points suspended. An independent disciplinary commission required funds equal to 125 per cent of the club’s forecast monthly wage bill to be paid into a nominated account by Wednesday, but that has not been done.

As a result, the additional sanction has been enforced.

A statement from Wigan held open the possibility of taking the matter to the courts, having taken issue with the ruling.

“We are extremely disappointed with this latest decision. The Football Club has been very transparent with the EFL who have had clear visibility of the eight-figure sum to finance the remainder of this season and the whole of next season,” the Wigan statement read.

“The club will now consider all options open, including legal action in response to this, and will make no further comment at this time.”

The EFL had earlier confirmed that discussions with Wigan – who finished bottom of the Sky Bet Championship this season – had been ongoing since Wednesday, without resolution.

The governing body said: “The EFL has spent the past 48 hours in dialogue with the club in an attempt to find a positive outcome to the issue but as of 9am Friday morning the required funds have not been deposited.”

Latics chair Abdulrahman Al-Jasmi posted a lengthy statement on the club’s website shortly before the most recent points deduction was announced, addressing the problems with meeting the payroll on time.

“I want to confirm that an eight-figure sum is currently being processed and is due to land in the club account imminently. This funding will also ensure financial stability for June and the 2023/24 season,” he wrote.

“It is important to address the numerous late wage payments. As I have previously stated, I recognise this is totally unacceptable. Since Phoenix 2021 acquired Wigan Athletic in 2021, the ownership group will have invested over £30m into the club to date.

“The inflated wage bill resulted in cash flow issues which meant we could not adhere to the Agreed Decision with the EFL in January. However, everything possible was done to ensure wages were paid. Delays are a common occurrence with overseas transactions, but that is not and cannot be an excuse for late payments.”

Danson, who owns a 25 percent stake in rugby league club Wigan Warriors, assumes control from Abdulrahman Al Jasmi and Talal Al Hammad, whose two-year reign was beset with problems and as a result Wigan will begin next season on minus eight points.

Clearance has been obtained from the EFL and, while a new board and chief executive are yet to be announced, manager Shaun Maloney retains his position.

Earlier this week Latics were served a winding-up petition by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs over unpaid tax bills but, as a result of the takeover, all players and staff will be paid immediately, along with other creditors.

“I am delighted to become involved in Wigan Athletic Football Club. I was born in Wigan, I grew up locally and the community of the town is close to my heart,” said Danson.

“I want to recognise that the club has a hugely-important part to play in the local community, not just for players, but for fans, employees and all its suppliers, business partners and numerous community groups.

“We have worked hard to provide the EFL with a realistic financial plan to stabilise operations.

“We look forward to a fresh start for the club and planning for the upcoming season.”

A Sky Bet League One match that largely lacked quality came to life in the closing stages but neither side could find a winning goal despite several chances being created at both ends.

Ryan Bennett came close to giving Cambridge the lead in the 37th minute when his towering header from Danny Andrew’s free-kick hit the underside of the bar and base of the post.

Wycombe had a big chance to break the deadlock when Killian Phillips played in Garath McCleary, whose shot was turned behind by Cambridge goalkeeper Jack Stevens.

The visitors nearly snatched all three points when the ball broke for substitute Jack Lankester, whose shot was brilliantly tipped over by Wycombe goalkeeper Max Stryjek.

However, Cambridge’s Liam Bennett will have been relieved when his extraordinary slice 35 yards from his own goal in the 89th minute soared over Stevens, only to clear the goal.

Dale Taylor put the hosts ahead in the 29th minute but Ethan Erhahon rifled home an equaliser in the eighth minute of stoppage time to rescue a point.

Bloomfield’s side conceded a 90th-minute equaliser against Port Vale just before Christmas and the 39-year-old vowed to look into the issue.

“The amount of times that we’ve been in a really good position to take points and how that affects where we are in the league table is really frustrating,” he said.

“Yet again, another late goal. We’ve had it a number of times this year and we have to go into depth about why that is happening and try and stop it.

“It’s another game like Port Vale here a couple of weeks ago that we should be walking away with a home win.

“But I guess if you are only at 1-0 and you don’t put your chances away, you run the risk of a late goal going in and we’re kind of just getting punished for both at the minute.”

Taylor opened the scoring after Sam Vokes headed Jack Grimmer’s cross into his path. The Northern Irish striker then headed home as Adam Jackson scrambled to keep the ball out to no avail.

Looking to add to his tally, Taylor’s low strike went just wide before Lincoln almost equalised when Dylan Duffy hit a post.

Joe Taylor, on his debut for Lincoln, saw a goal disallowed for offside in the second half before substitutes Reeco Hackett and Jack Moylan forced Max Stryjek into good saves.

The Wycombe goalkeeper could do nothing about Erhahon’s lofted finish as Lincoln ended a run of four straight defeats.

Imps manager Michael Skubala said: “I thought second half we did really well. We came out and pushed the game.

“We looked like the aggressor and we weren’t as passive. I said to the lads at half-time we need to have courage, courage to get the ball moved up the pitch but courage to be higher as well in our positioning.

“I thought in the second half we did enough to probably nick it to be honest.

“It’s important to have squad depth, it’s important to have different options off the bench and it’s important to have the quality in the squad size, and I thought you saw the impact of the substitutions today.

“I thought Teddy (Bishop), when he came in, did really well and when Reeco (Hackett) came on we saw a bit of the class that we know Reeco can bring.”

Bloomfield had no complaints with the red card shown to goalkeeper Max Stryjek, which gave his side an even bigger mountain to climb after Carl Piergianni had put Stevenage ahead.

But the Chairboys appeared to have a case for a penalty after Vokes was seemingly wrestled to the ground by Dan Sweeney as the hosts nervously closed out their first win in five games to reignite their play-off push.

Bloomfield said: “I’m told it’s because of his size by the referee, so I’m not sure why he has different rules against him than other players.

“Apparently, he’s big enough to look after himself, but I’m baffled by that if I’m honest.”

He said on Stryjek’s dismissal: “It was just a ball over the top and we’ve got to defend that situation better.

“We’ve got to defend that better with the back four, but also Maxy comes rushing out.

“With 11 men, we’re confident we can go on and win the game, obviously it’s a lot harder with 10, but we still made an absolute fist of it and we could have walked out here with something.

“It’s disappointing because of the way we started the game – I thought for 20 minutes we were excellent, we hit the bar and had numerous opportunities.”

It was Richard Kone who struck the bar with a mishit shot for Wycombe, who rued that miss when Piergianni found the bottom corner from Sweeney’s lay-off halfway through the first half.

Stryjek made a good save to deny Jake Forster-Caskey before half-time, but saw red three minutes after the restart for a professional foul on Jordan Roberts outside his area.

His replacement Franco Ravizzoli fumbled Piergianni’s header against the post before Wycombe’s Matt Butcher curled an effort narrowly wide in stoppage time.

Stevenage boss Steve Evans said: “We were so far on top then we missed a couple chances – three chances in fact – to go and wrap it up.

“And then the last few minutes were a little bit nervy, but it’s going to be nervy with them just throwing caution to the wind and putting long balls into the box, and they’ve got some real quality players.

“I’ve said to the players we have to, and we will, play a lot better. But here it was for three weeks in a row where I’ve said we’ve played well and we’d lost.

“So, we’ve won a game and I think if you look at it over the 90 minutes, we deserved to win the game, but we’ll play a lot better.”

The hosts deservedly went ahead in the 37th minute when Archie Collins turned Kane Vincent-Young’s effort past Nicholas Bilokapic and into his own net.

Wycombe captain Jack Grimmer doubled the Chairboys’ lead in the 11th minute of stoppage time at the end of the first half with a low finish from Richard Kone’s cross.

Kieran Sadlier added a third, his fifth career goal against his former club, shortly before the hour mark with a composed finish after intercepting Bilokapic’s attempted clearance.

David Ajiboye pulled a goal back for the visitors and Posh set up a grandstand finale when Ryan Tafazolli’s own goal cut the deficit to one.

But Wycombe soon restored their two-goal advantage as substitute Sam Vokes headed home Garath McCleary’s corner in the 73rd minute.

Fellow substitute David Wheeler was gifted the ball in stoppage time after another howler from Bilokapic and he duly added a fifth to compound the visitors’ misery.

The Chairboys have not won in 10 league games and will be kicking themselves for not picking up all three points after controlling proceedings but failing to build on Kieran Sadlier’s opener.

Wycombe began well, with Sadlier volleying Garath McCleary’s driven cross over before the same player forced a save from Connor Ripley from 25 yards.

The dominant home side deservedly took the lead in the 51st minute when McCleary sent in a superb cross that was tucked away by an unmarked Sadlier at the back post.

McCleary almost claimed another assist just after the hour when his pass ran through for Sam Vokes, whose effort was kept out by Ripley.

And the hosts’ failure to kill the game off cost them late on when Wilson was on hand to put away the rebound after Max Stryjek brilliantly saved Ben Garitty’s header.

Wycombe defender Forino, 23, was engaged in a long discussion with both sets of managers and the officials towards the end of the first half after reporting being targeted by a discriminatory remark from the stands.

Forino played the full 90 minutes as Wycombe held out for a clean sheet which dented Blackpool’s League One play-off hopes.

Bloomfield said: “There was something said to Chris, racial abuse from behind the goal. It’s so disappointing because the game is for all, and it’s 2024.

“Fair play to Chris, he’s dealt with it in a mature way by reporting it as he should. He was able to clear his mind and play the rest of the game.

“It’s abhorrent in my mind that we live in a society where people think this behaviour is acceptable.

“I hope the authorities take the relevant action, and I’m sure they will.”

Blackpool boss Neil Critchley echoed those sentiments after his club released a statement communicating their “dismay”, while adding that they will “will work with Wycombe to help identify the individual responsible”.

Critchley said: “It’s unacceptable. It’s not something we want at this football club and in society. It’s a police investigation, and we will support the player and Wycombe to try and identify the person who has made the remark.”

It was a damaging day for the Seasiders on the pitch too, who after failing to score in four of their last five games, have seen their play-off hopes fade.

After dropping to ninth in the League One table and sitting six points adrift of the top six with five games to go, Pool’s fate is now firmly out of their hands.

“It’s frustrating, we didn’t play well enough,” said Critchley.

“Not enough players played to the level they should. It was deja vu, and goalscoring has become a problem for us.

“At one end, we’ve been hard to score against. But we’ve had problems scoring goals.

“We were too tentative and didn’t play on the front foot enough. We didn’t build any momentum until the end.”

Meanwhile, Chairboys boss Bloomfield was proud of the character shown by his injury-hit Wycombe side in their final outing before the EFL Trophy final against Peterborough at Wembley on Sunday.

“There’s a fantastic team spirit among us,” said Bloomfield. “I wanted to freshen up because I wanted to give a few players a chance who deserve it. We’ve had some real good competition for places, and I feel like that’s helped us with our league form.

“We didn’t have any injuries, and I wanted to have headaches going into this week at Wembley and everyone who has played here has given me those headaches.”

Matt Bloomfield’s side had just one win in their last 17 league fixtures but they raced into a 3-0 lead with goals from Jack Grimmer and Garath McCleary along with a Curtis Davies own goal.

Cheltenham pulled one back through debutant Matty Taylor, but the Chairboys had done enough for their first away victory since October 7.

Right-back Grimmer touched in the opener at the far post after Luke Leahy’s 20th-minute corner.

Cheltenham had made the better start, but they found themselves two down in the 29th minute.

A clever touch near the halfway line by Sam Vokes release McCleary on the right and he raced into the box and fired a shot into the bottom left corner.

Davies and Aidan Keena both wasted good opportunities for Cheltenham in the first half.

And the visitors extended their lead four minutes into the second period.

Vokes was tripped in the box by Andy Smith and McCleary’s spot-kick was parried by Luke Southwood, but Freddie Potts delivered a low ball back into the middle and Davies turned it into his own net.

Taylor opened his account 12 minutes after going on as a half-time substitute, firing in from 12 yards after a corner was nodded to him by Jack Shepherd, but it could not spark a Robins fightback.

Fleetwood looked in control thanks to first-half goals from Promise Omochere and Jayden Stockley but they suffered a huge setback on the stroke of half-time when Omochere was sent off.

Wycombe made their numerical advantage count after the break to pull a goal back through Garath McCleary’s penalty before Kone salvaged a point with seven minutes left.

The Cod Army, looking to move off the bottom of League One, took the lead in the 14th minute when Omochere poked home Harry Boyes’ smart low cross.

Stockley nodded home his fifth goal of the season to make it 2-0 after the half-hour but Fleetwood’s hopes of victory were hit just before the break when a reckless lunge on David Wheeler earned Omochere a second yellow card.

Wycombe upped the pressure in the second half and won a penalty in the 53rd minute when a goal-bound strike deflected off an arm, but Luke Leahy was denied fantastically by Jay Lynch from 12 yards.

Another handball gifted the Chairboys a second chance from the spot in the 62nd minute, and this time McCleary confidently dispatched his effort into the roof of the net.

January signing Kone saw a header ruled out for offside as Wycombe pushed for an equaliser, but his smart finish with time running out earned the hosts a point.

There was little to choose between the sides in a drab first half until Jack Aitchison, already on a booking, received a second yellow card for dissent two minutes before the break.

Boro were quick to make their visitors pay as Carl Piergianni headed Dan Sweeney’s cross into the bottom corner in added time at the end of the first period.

Exeter boss Gary Caldwell was booked for his protests but his half-time alteration had the desired effect as the newly introduced Yanic Wildschut converted Dion Rankine’s cross within two minutes of the restart.

It was the Grecians’ first league goal since October and Wildschut twice came close to adding another before Jordan Roberts fired a glorious chance over from close range at the other end.

Elliott List was later denied by Vil Sinisalo as the struggling visitors held firm through nine minutes of added time to earn a valuable point.