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Wycombe reached the Championship for the first time in their 133-year history after beating Oxford 2-1 at Wembley.
Anthony Stewart had given Wanderers an early lead in the League One play-off final on Monday night, only for Mark Sykes to level after the break for Oxford.
Joe Jacobson then stepped up to score a penalty on 79 minutes to fire Gareth Ainsworth’s side to promotion, capping a remarkable campaign for a club with one of the lowest budgets in League One.
Oxford, meanwhile, will remain in the third tier as their 21-year wait for a return to the second tier continues.
Wycombe end 133-year wait for Championship football
Set-pieces had been so important to Wycombe all season, with Jacobson’s left-footed delivery proving pivotal to their success, so there was no surprise to see them take the lead in exactly that fashion after just nine minutes.
The left-back whipped a beauty up to the back stick, where Stewart rose to nod home – although there shades of an own goal about it as it took a big touch off goalkeeper Simon Eastwood on the way through.
Oxford were the possession kings of League One, and unsurprisingly dominated throughout the rest of the first half, but rarely caused any problems to the Wycombe defence.
0:30 The closest they came was on 36 minutes when Sykes raced into the box and squared it across the six-yard box, but Stewart got back to fire it clear, denying Matty Taylor a tap-in into an open goal.
Sykes would, however, provide the equaliser in stunning fashion after 57 minutes. Whether he meant it or not is another question, as he broke down the right channel and then looped a ball over the helpless Ryan Allsop. It looked like a cross, it may have been a shot, but either way, the Wycombe goalkeeper was caught out completely.
If Allsop had a disappointing moment at one end, then Eastwood had a nightmare at the other to allow Wycombe to get back in front. A complete miscommunication between himself and Elliott Moore at the back allowed Fred Onyedinma in behind, and the Oxford goalkeeper raced to the edge of his box and took him out – leaving the referee with no choice but to point to the spot.
From there, Jacobson stepped up to send Eastwood the wrong way, and send Wycombe into the Championship.
Man of the Match – Anthony Stewart
Two vital moments in the first half. The first – whether it was his strike or an own goal – provided when he rose to head in the opener, the second a vital intervention near his own goal line to keep his side in front. If Oxford had looker to look for a winner, Wycombe may have crumbled under the pressure. Stewart was brilliant for his side.
What’s next?
Wycombe will begin the 2020/21 campaign in the Championship, while Oxford will remain in League Two.
