Wycombe Wanderers 0 PNE 1
North End put themselves in the draw for the third round of the FA Cup with Budweiser thanks to a Kevin Davies stunner in the first half at Adams Park
It was shortly after the half hour mark that North End initially took the lead; a brilliant effort from Davies breaking the deadlock from a few yards outside the right hand corner of the home side’s penalty area.
After which Declan Rudd was only needed in the closing stages as a thoroughly professional performance put the Lilywhites through to the next round.
Manager Simon Grayson was left with only 17 fit players to select; Iain Hume and Neil Kilkenny picking up knocks in training on Friday and with Bailey Wright and Paul Gallagher starting suspensions and Jack King out with a foot injury, it meant three changes; Paul Huntington and David Buchanan coming in, joining the returning skipper John Welsh, who had missed the win against Bristol City due to a family bereavement.
The goal was certainly deserved when it came, North End having the better of the possession and the chances in the opening half, Tom Clarke seeing Matt Ingram make a fine diving save to deny him the opener from John Welsh’s cross on 13 minutes.
But the opening goal was one Ingram got nowhere near as Stuart Beavon flicked a ball on that Davies let come over his right shoulder before letting it bounce hooking a half-volley first time over the Chairboys keeper into the top left hand corner from five yards outside the right hand corner of the box.
The second half saw the home side open up more, but this also left more space and Josh Brownhill was denied by a last ditch tackle from Anthony Stewart after a clever through ball from Chris Humphrey found the on-running 17-year-old midfielder.
A good delivery from Scowen just before the hour mark brought the first shot on target by Gareth Ainsworth’s men; Tom Clarke needed at the back post to block Stewart’s snap shot after the ball fell to the centre half in the box.
At the mid-way point in the half Davies almost made it two, but he knew less about this one. He had played a clever one-two with Chris Humphrey to send the Jamaican winger down the right; he reached the byline and crossed into the six yard box, where Stuart Beavon – against his former club – flicked on and that flick hit Kevin Davies on the head and went a yard over the bar - the speed of the ball allowing the PNE No.9 no time to control the header.
Substitute Sam Wood denied Josh Brownhill a goal that would have put the game to bed on 74 minutes; the No.30 put clean through on goal by Kevin Davies, but the centre half making a brilliant recovery block to deny the 17-year-old his second goal for the Club.
From the resulting corner Brownhill was denied again, this time from a header as Welsh’s cross ricocheted about before the midfielder got a header in towards the top left corner, Ingram at full stretch to tip the ball away.
The second half was much more open and Tom Clarke saw a header cleared off the line after Welsh’s brilliant scrambling cross from the right hand side with 12 minutes left on the clock.
Into the final minute and Declan Rudd was needed to make a fine save from Anthony Stewart’s header at the back post after a free kick was heaved into the box from the right hand touchline by Scowen.
Three minutes were added on by David Webb which North End very professionally played out the majority of in the Wycombe left hand corner and put themselves into the third round draw.
: Ingram, McCoy, Dunne (Wood, 14), Stewart, Hause, Scowen, Cowan-Hall, Lewis, Knott (Kretzschmar, 72), McClure, Morgan (Craig, 81). Subs not used: Harrison, Spring, Kuffour, Doherty.Wycombe Wanderers line-up
: Rudd, Humphrey, Clarke, Huntington, Laird, Buchanan, Keane, Brownhill (Byrom, 90), Welsh, K Davies, Beavon. Subs not used: Stuckmann, Monakana, Hayhurst, Croasdale, Nicholson.PNE line-up
: Mr D WebbReferee
: 2,249 (403 away fans)Attendance