Two years ago today
One of the greatest days of my life.
https://twitter.com/wwfcofficial/status/1285309755355992066?s=21&t=NT2uvaXsHLslwd6thfnU7Q
2
One of the greatest days of my life.
https://twitter.com/wwfcofficial/status/1285309755355992066?s=21&t=NT2uvaXsHLslwd6thfnU7Q
Comments
It was the wort of times, it was the best of times.
I wonder if we should christen this "Anthony Stewart Day" in honour of the great man?
Strange that such an historic day that gave me a full range of emotions on the night will never be as high on my list of great days because I wasn't there.
Still amazing to think it happened though.
Probably the best performance I’ve ever seen in a Wycombe shirt.
I must admit I’d sacrifice ever going to Wembley again as long as we win when we’re there.
There was never any chance we were going to be able to go and I had made peace with the reality long before the day of the final.
Our last visit was the most shittiest experience and I hope never to repeat it.
It was undoubtedly the greatest performance of Anthony Stewart’s life but there were so many other fabulous performances that evening, not least Ryan Allsop.
The celebrations afterwards will also live in the memory forever. From an emotional Matt Bloomfield to a euphoric Adebayo Akinfenwa. Iconic.
Agree with all of that, the Southend game was very exciting, pretty much up until the final penalty and a great experience for me never having seen us at Wembley before, and then ultimately horrible, the recent one without the newness, with Sunderland outnumbering us and the game never really getting going wasn't great all round.
The Poxford final, Sat at home, having barely been anywhere for weeks with a wee drinky or two and the place fully decked out plus great celebrations that must have confused the neighbours was pretty awesome tbh
Bill Turnbull shouting "Chairboys" over and over was brilliant,he's a club legend.
Interesting debate Southend v Sunderland as worse experience.
Having possession of the ball in the 120th minute, conceding, and losing on pens surely takes a heck of a lot of beating?
Especially as that season was really something special after the near relegation the year before, with no guarantee we'd be anywhere near the next season.
While Sunderland was a game we never got going in and felt like it was only going one way, plus those appalling queues after, you feel more confident we'll at least compete for the play offs again next year?
I have never been so sure in advance of the outcome of a sporting event as the Oxford final. It was as close to "knowing" something was going to happen as you could get. I actually feel more nervous watching replays then I did during the actual match, as I was just sure we would find a way to win. It shows what a powerful belief there was in and around that 19/20 Close Quarters side.
Southend was a crushing disappointment but, perversely, I think I preferred that to the flatness I felt at the Sunderland game.
@bookertease 100% agree
From my memory, the Southend game wasn't particularly entertaining, when we took the lead just into extra time I didn't dare feel too confident, but as the clock ticked on I began to hope. Once we'd conceded the late goal, I was absolutely certain we would lose the shoot-out. Was gutted then, was gutted after Sunderland this time, but never had the feeling we were going to pull it round after their first goal.
I did not expect to beat Sunderland after their first goal but if only Vokesy and Hanlan had buried the only two chances I think we had!😁
When you lose a match, like Sunderland, that you've never really had a sniff of winning it's a different feeling to losing a game, like Southend, that you had every chance of winning.
So Southend was by far the more deflating, Sunderland just left me feeling nothing.
Neither compare to the utter joy, combined with the deep dark disappointment of not actually being there, of the Poxford win. It must rank as one of our greatest ever victories!
If we’d have played Slumberland behind closed doors we’d have had more of a chance. Their crowd really were the 12th man once they got to dominate. If we could have held them till half time they might have got on their players backs playing into our hands but it just wasn’t to be.
I remember Southend as being a fairly dreadful affair, and pitied anyone watching it as a neutral.
For the Sunderland match, it seemed we'd let them make it a home game the week before, and then didn't believe we could do it on the day. As soon as the Sunderland player waltzed through midfield and the ball somehow skidded over Stockdale's arm, you thought 'this wasn't our day'.
I can never work out why people think neutrals are even watching...if they do I don't feel sorry for them as they've obviously got nothing better to do.
The realists amongst us knew Sunderland would be a really tough game, and that we'd be massive underdogs.
Battered at their ground a couple of seasons in a row, and just about scraped a late draw at home.
Southend was at absolute worst a 50-50 game, and if anything maybe we were slight favourites?
Add in the nature of the defeat, being about as soul destroying as it gets, I don't get any sentiments of Sunderland being a worse experience.
Yep, that killed our whole game plan and was just such a killer goal the way it came about.
Literally 3 or 4 players waltzed round, and then the shot straight through our keeper. Nightmare.
The three play off finals are IMO the three best matches in the domestic football calendar. Completely unpredictable, evenly matched and huge prizes for the winner. I watch them every year if I possibly can - I might be weird though!
Though a win against Southend would have capped a great second season for GA as manager...history has shown it was probably the right result for us...we may well have gone under as as business as well as come straight back down. I would rather be where we are now than where the Shrimpers are! Sunderland was always going to be tight (at best) with the chance of a smash and grab or embarrassing at worst. It sort of fell somewhere in the middle for me.
Then I got to the station...
The decision to allow Sunderland more tickets above the Wycombe crowd got the atmosphere totally over to Sunderland. I wonder if this impacted to match too.
Losing play off finals is horrible.
We usually play much better as underdogs. Fighting up against something, and allowing our slightly edgier tactics. Yet somehow the final this year we didn't manage it, and didn't look at all like the fighters we can be.
@Last_Quarter no Sky so I could not watch them, except the highlights, and indeed joined Coin Murray on Quest to do just that. As a neutral though, if a game was dire...I may not carry on watching, but would doubt fans of the teams involved were fretting about the poor quality footy on offer boring the neutrals! If we had snatched a goal or two against the Mackems against the run of play and then won on penalties, I would not have regretted not supplying a footballing feast for the casual viewer! 🙂 (though I am sure the rest of the league would have signed in relief at not having to watch that every week!)