Substitute Christian Saydee’s first league goal of the season saw leaders Portsmouth win 2-1 against Oxford at Fratton Park to move a step closer to promotion.

In a fast and furious opening 45 minutes, the sides went in all square.

Pompey took the lead in the second minute when a powerful shot from Callum Lang squirmed under goalkeeper Jamie Cumming.

But Oxford equalised after six minutes when Pompey gave the ball away and Sean Raggett brought down ex-Pompey midfielder Owen Dale for a penalty which was easily converted by Cameron Brannagan.

Mark Harris then hit the Pompey post on 13 minutes.

Oxford had the first chance of the second half but Josh Murphy was also denied by the woodwork.

Pompey regained the lead after 67 minutes when Saydee held off a strong challenge to run clear and place the ball wide of Cumming.

Oxford pushed for an equaliser but to no avail.

Wycombe manager Matt Bloomfield felt his team should have earned more than a goalless draw against play-off contenders Oxford after spurning a number of first-half chances.

This was an afternoon when the Chairboys renamed their stadium Adam’s Park as a tribute to 17-year-old supporter Adam Ankers, who died earlier in the month after suffering a cardiac arrest while playing for the club’s Foundation Under-19 team.

It was dominated for the best part of an hour by the hosts before Oxford improved and came close to making Bloomfield’s players regret their missed opportunities.

Bloomfield said: “We created more than enough chances to win the game, I believe, and it’s slightly disappointing not to come away with more than what we’ve got.

“But at the same time, I think I have to be pleased with the resilience because if you’re not going to score make sure that you don’t concede.

“Oxford had a couple of chances where we’ve made real big blocks, the back four were really brave in how they defended.

“I spoke before the game to the boys about this being one for our supporters.

“It’s something I was disappointed to not get all three points [from] earlier in the season and we really wanted to do that for our supporters today.

“We wanted to make sure we came out with energy and I feel like we did that first half.”

Wycombe’s first big chance came when Beryly Lubala played the ball through for Dale Taylor, whose shot was saved by the foot of Jamie Cumming.

The Oxford goalkeeper then denied Taylor again and the dangerous Kieran Sadlier sent a clear opportunity into the side-netting before his low ball was somehow put wide by Lubala from close range.

The U’s, who are now three points clear of seventh-placed Stevenage, almost snatched victory with 14 minutes left but home keeper Max Stryjek kept out Cameron Brannagan’s effort.

Oxford boss Des Buckingham said: “It’s an extremely hard-earned point against a team that have picked up some really good results of late and play a very difficult way at times.

“We lost Elliott Moore late last night, which was disruptive, but it was our first clean sheet in a while (12 league games), so to come here and match that, we just needed to be calmer on the ball at times.

“We showed that in the second half, we were calmer on the ball and we created a lot more in the second half.

“We should have had a penalty at the end as well to possibly come away with three points.

“It’s a good point away from home but we need to make sure we back it up on Tuesday with three [against Northampton].”

A strong performance from goalkeeper Jamie Cumming helped Oxford consolidate their position in the League One play-off places as they earned a 0-0 draw at Wycombe.

The U’s are now three points clear of seventh-placed Stevenage in the table, although they rode their luck at times against a Chairboys side who missed out on a third league win in four matches.

Wycombe had the game’s first big chance after 12 minutes when Beryly Lubala’s ball over the top put Dale Taylor through but his shot was repelled by the foot of Cumming.

Just before the half-hour, the U’s stopper pushed out Kieran Sadlier’s cross before recovering quickly in keeping out another effort from Taylor.

The chances kept coming for the Chairboys and they should have been ahead in first-half stoppage time when Lubala somehow steered Sadlier’s ball across the six-yard box wide.

Oxford finally improved in the closing stages and came close to snatching a winner when captain Cameron Brannagan had a shot pushed around the post by Wycombe keeper Max Stryjek.