Wycombe manager Matt Bloomfield has described the club reaching 50 points for the season as “incredible” following their 2-1 home win against Exeter.
A Luke Leahy free-kick and an injury-time penalty from the departing Aaron Morley gave the Chairboys all three points as the Adams Park team returned top of the League One table.
Tristan Crama put the Grecains level with five minutes left, but Morley’s spot-kick with seconds remaining have put Wanderers on half a century of points.
The penalty was given after Ed Francis was deemed to have handballed it – he had assisted Crama’s goal just moments before.
Bloomfield said: “We needed to bounce back [after the loss at Charlton] with an important result today and we got it.
“I enjoyed our attacking play in the second half as we had a real energy and we were on the front foot.
“But I was very disappointed to concede as there was nothing in the game and out of nowhere [they scored].
“They only had five touches in our box all afternoon, so to us very frustrating but we kept on going to get the goal at the end was special.
“To get 50 points from 23 games this season is an incredible achievement.
“All of the lads have worked so hard since pre-season, and we’re hungry for more but we need to remember where the journey started from last year.
“For us to be above several of the teams around us on New Year’s Day is incredible and we just have to enjoy the moment.”
However, Exeter’s assistant manager Kevin Nicholson blamed referee Scott Simpson for the defeat in South Buckinghamshire.
He believes that certain decisions “went against” the Devon-based team, which includes the penalty at the death.
Manager Gary Caldwell was incensed with the decision and made his feelings known to the fourth official.
However, his protest was deemed to be too aggressive, and he was given a red card for his remonstrations.
The results mean Wycombe have defeated Exeter for the first time in the league since 2016, ending a run of eight straight games without a win.
Nicholson said: “The players have come here during a busy schedule and did everything that was asked.
“But when you come to a place like this you’re going to be under a little bit and I hate excuses, but I believe the referee has made several decisions, one in particular, that went against us and it led to the manager being sent off.
“It was very frustrating because we had done well.”
