Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth and Wycombe captain Matt Bloomfield have paid an emotional tribute to 13-year-old Oliver Darlington.

Oliver, who was an avid Wycombe supporter, sadly lost his life at the start of January after being diagnosed with sepsis and following his sudden death, Wycombe dedicated their home match against Bristol Rovers to the teenager.

READ MORE: LIVE BLOG: Wycombe 3-1 Bristol Rovers 

More than 350 of Oliver’s friends and family attended the match on Saturday, where members of the teenager’s football team, Downley Dynamos, paraded the Adams Park pitch with two shirts.

One was Oliver's number 11 shirt when he was at Downley, with the other being a Wycombe shirt with the teenager's surname being on the back. 

At full-time, Ainsworth paid his own tribute to the popular youngster by parading the number 11 jersey around the pitch.

Wycombe defeated Bristol Rovers 3-1 thanks to goals from Adebayo Akinfenwa, Darius Charles and Bloomfield.

READ MORE: Matt Bloomfield scores on his birthday as Wycombe beat Bristol Rovers

Speaking after the game, Ainsworth said: “At the end of the day, life is bigger than football.

“To see all the Bristol Rovers fans, all the Wycombe fans, the players and the referee clapping for Oliver’s life is just awesome and that makes me very proud, as well as getting the result today.

“So thank you to everyone who participated in that and please remember that football is just a game.

"It can take you over but don’t let it.

“We’ve got so much to live for and I’m proud that we gave Oliver a wonderful tribute today.”

READ MORE: Matt Bloomfield scores on his birthday as Wycombe beat Bristol Rovers

Bloomfield then added: “I’ve got children myself and even though they are not as old as Oliver, to lose a child for his family must have been horrendous.

“We had the incident with Mark Bird where we lost him and then with Oliver’s passing, it’s been a tough month.

“But the boys know all about it and we’ve been touched by the family for making a big effort to come down to the game.

“It was a horrible story to hear about and it’s horrible for his family and for his football club to deal with and Oliver will be in our thoughts all season.

“At the end of the day, it’s just a game of football but hopefully, the win will give them a little crumb of comfort to help with them with what they are dealing with.”

The victory for Wycombe means they stay in the automatic promotion places.