Wycombe Wanderers did what Manchester United could not as they managed to grab a narrow victory from their visit to the R Costings Abbey Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Hogan Ephraim’s 53rd minute direct free kick proved to be enough for the Chairboys to take all of the spoils in a game that could easily have gone either way.

Cambridge, playing in their first game since bowing out of the FA Cup at Old Trafford during the week, had to play most of the second half with ten men following Cameron McGeehan’s dismissal for what appeared to be a kick against visiting goalkeeper Matt Ingram.

Despite being a man down, the home side appeared to match a Wycombe side that came into the game sitting 3rd in the league, as well as boasting an unbeaten record that stretched back for 11 games.

And in the opening exchanges, it appeared that Wycombe looked set to continue their fine league form, with Wood and Onyedinma firing in testing deliveries early on, a couple of which were fumbled nervously by U’s goalkeeper Chris Dunn – a far cry from his imperious display against the Red Devils a couple of weeks ago.

Wycombe striker Aaron Holloway was unlucky not to open the scoring midway through the first period, when he met one of many superb deliveries from wide-man Sam Wood, but his glancing header just crept wide of the far post.

Cambridge did grow into the game as the first half wore on, and of the two sides, they appeared to just about have the upper hand in the first period. Tom Elliot, keen to make amends for his shameful miss at Old Trafford, was strong in the air, proving to be quite a handful for the Wycombe centre-half pairing of Pierre and Mawson. He and Robbie Simpson both had efforts on target, the latter striking the woodwork with a low shot after 30 minutes.

Neither side had really taken the game by the scruff of the neck by half time, but if the first half was a more lukewarm affair, the second half certainly was not.

The game sprung into life in the 53rd minute when former Queens Park Rangers winger Hogan Ephraim curled home a well-placed cross-cum-shot free kick from the angle. His delivery evaded everybody, including goalkeeper Dunn, to give the visitors the lead.

Then, just minutes after the game resumed, things went from bad to worse for United when at a Cambridge corner, Cameron McGeehan, who has been nothing short of sublime since arriving on loan from Norwich in January, appeared to lose his cool and kick out at Matt Ingram, who quickly hit the deck. Amid the penalty box confusion, referee Andy Davies was in doubt about what he had seen, and quickly brandished the red card, much to the acrimony of the Newmarket Road Terrace.

If the red card was potentially controversial, what followed from the corner itself certainly was. As the ball was whipped in, Michael Nelson, the Cambridge centre-half, looked to have been wrestled to the ground inside the penalty area by Wycombe’s Aaron Holloway. Referee Davies looked on and saw nothing worth giving, much to the fury of the Cambridge contingent.

Despite being a man down Cambridge rallied, buoyed on by a vocal Abbey Stadium who made it clear what they thought of the referee and in particular the Wycombe keeper Ingram, who was subject to a volley of abuse for the remainder of the game from the Amber Army.

Sullay Kaikai came on for Gearoid Morrissey on 67 minutes, and he quickly became Cambridge’s greatest threat going forward. After a matter of moments of the pitch, he created the home side’s best chance of grabbing an equaliser. After some excellent work from the forward on the right hand side, Kaikai managed to fire in a wicked delivery across the face of goal, but Jordan Slew, coming on for his debut in the second half, was unable to get on the end of it when it was really needed. The chance came and went, and with it went the game for Cambridge.

Chances from this point on were few and far between as Wycombe stood off their opponents, looking to preserve their precious one goal advantage. Kaikai fired a 25 yard free kick down the throat of Matt Ingram with ten minutes left on the clock, whilst Ryan Donaldson, who had a rather quiet game, saw a stoppage time header fly harmlessly wide of the post. At the other end, the tricky Onyedinma flashed a shot across the face of Dunn’s goal, but overall, the Cambridge keeper had relatively little to do in the second half.

Cambridge will undoubtedly be disappointed to have nothing to show for their performance in what was, on the whole, a very even game. The U’s will now turn their focus to two back-to-back trips to the south-west to face Exeter and Plymouth; a harsh call by the fixture schedulers. Cambridge will most certainly be looking to prove themselves again against tough opposition, especially if they want to show themselves to be outside challengers for a playoff spot.