Wycombe old boy Stuart Beavon came back to haunt Wanderers as they were edged out 2-1 by Coventry City in their Checkatrade Trophy semi-final clash at the Ricoh Arena.

Beavon opened the scoring in front of a raucous crowd on 11 minutes when he turned from 10 yards out and scored with a shot that was arguably going wide before deflecting in off Will De Havilland.

George Thomas doubled the home side’s advantage eight minutes later when he rifled past Jamal Blackman after a brilliant cross from Kyel Reid.

Gareth Ainsworth sent on Adebayo Akinfenwa on at half-time and the change paid immediate dividends when he slammed the ball home on 55 minutes after City failed to clear their lines.

However, the Sky Blues held firm and booked a trip to Wembley after Wycombe put them under real pressure in the second half with Akinfenwa in particular sending panic through the Coventry rearguard.

Coventry had the first chance within the first 30 seconds but Callum Reilly could only shoot straight at Blackman from the edge of the area.

Wycombe had their first effort on 10 minutes when Joe Jacobson’s free kick wasn’t properly cleared and Myles Weston hit a volley which was comfortably saved by Reice Charles-Cook.

However, a minute later disaster struck for Wanderers when Beavon had a slice of luck and saw his shot creep home.

Wanderers had a superb chance to equalise on 17 minutes when a goalmouth scramble ensued after Charles-Cook dropped a cross. The ball was blasted towards goal by Garry Thompson but Coventry eventually cleared.

Once again, seconds after the Chairboys had a decent chance of their own City delivered a sucker punch when Thomas lashed home.

Coventry had another opportunity on 33 minutes when Andy Rose met Reilly’s free kick but he headed wide of the target.

The Sky Blues were desperate for that third goal and Beavon had another sighter on 36 minutes but his shot was held by Blackman.

Weston then had a golden opportunity to pull one back on 43 minutes but he blazed over from six yards after Sam Saunders broke clear down the left and put in a great ball.

Akinfenwa came on for Wycombe at half-time to provide more oomph in attack and he was in the thick of the action straight away, immediately pinning Coventry back.

Saunders had a fantastic chance to bring Wanderers back into it on 48 minutes when Weston pulled the ball back to him on the edge of the six yard box but he could only hit it straight into the grateful arms of Charles-Cook with the goal gaping.

That man Akinfenwa gave Wanderers hope before O’Nien almost grabbed an equaliser two minutes later when he controlled the loose ball from 20 yards and hit his volley just wide with Charles-Cook scrambling.

The Chairboys were well on top now and Marcus Bean had a strike at goal from 25 yards on 63 minutes but his deflected effort fell safely for Charles-Cook.

Wanderers were going really direct and constant crosses into the Sky Blues area were just about being dealt with as the clock ticked down.

After six minutes of injury time, Coventry held on amid scenes of jubilation around the Ricoh Arena but Ainsworth can be proud of his side’s efforts, especially in the second half, against League One opposition.

WYCOMBE WANDERERS: Blackman, Jombati (sub: Akinfenwa, 46), Stewart, De Havilland, Jacobson, Bean, Harriman, O’Nien, Weston (sub: Wood, 85), Saunders, Thompson (sub: Kashket, 59). Subs: Richardson, Muller, Freeman.

COVENTRY CITY: Charles-Cook, Turnbull, Rose, Reid (sub: Finch, 64), Reilly, Beavon (sub: Jones, 46), Tudgay, Haynes, Thomas, Harries, Kelly-Evans. Subs: Burge, Bigirimana, Lameiras, Gadzhev, Stevenson.

REFEREE: Darren England