Nathan Trott’s Cardiff City earned a hard-fought point at Wycombe Wanderers to kick off 2026, while Nahki Wells and Luton Town saw their winning streak snapped at Exeter.
On a day of contrasting emotions for the promotion hopefuls, the New Year brought a reminder of the relentless nature of the League One calendar.
Cardiff City began the New Year with a display of intent, racing into an early lead against Wycombe Wanderers. Chris Willock, the hero of their late-2025 victory over Stevenage, continued his rich vein of form by finding the net within six minutes.
The winger, drifting dangerously in from the left flank, unleashed a curling effort that took a slight deflection, wrong-footing Will Norris to give the Bluebirds the dream start.
However, Brian Barry-Murphy’s side failed to capitalize on their early dominance. Despite creating several openings to double their advantage, they were pegged back on the half-hour mark in spectacular—if fortuitous—fashion. Caolan Boyd-Munce swung in a corner that defied Nathan Trott and the Cardiff defense, curling directly into the net to restore parity.
Neither side could find a breakthrough in a cagey second half, leaving Cardiff to settle for a point on the road.
For Luton Town, the festive cheer evaporated at St James Park as Exeter City brought the Hatters’ momentum to a grinding halt.
After recording back-to-back home wins over Wycombe and Leyton Orient, Jack Wilshere’s side lacked their usual clinical edge in Devon. The decisive moment arrived five minutes after the restart when Pierce Sweeney curled a sublime effort past the reach of the Luton keeper to hand the Grecians the lead.
Wilshere turned to his bench late on, introducing Nahki Wells to provide a spark. The veteran Bermudian striker nearly found an opening with nine minutes remaining, but was snuffed out by a disciplined Exeter backline before he could pull the trigger.
Luton’s best chance to salvage a point fell to Jordan Clark in the 85th minute, but his low drive rolled agonizingly wide of the far post, condemning the Hatters to a narrow 1-0 defeat.
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