Wycombe Wanderers first official game under new ownership got off to the perfect start on Saturday afternoon as they enjoyed a comfortable 3-1 win over Tranmere Rovers at Adams Park. As well as marking an end of nearly eight years of Trust ownership, the result means Wycombe have recorded back to back victories for the first time since November.

On a blustery afternoon in South Buckinghamshire, the struggling visitors came at the home side from the first minute, although to little avail. It wasn’t long before Wycombe started pushing forward, but the wind was a factor with passes often gathering pace, and many of Scott Davies goal kicks swirling around the half way line. It took thirty minutes before the game saw a shot on target as Jason McCarthy’s long-range free-kick was comfortably collected by Davies. Adebayo Akinfenwa then went close with a header before another free-kick from distance resulted in a Wycombe corner. Joe Jacobson swung it over to the far post and Anthony Stewart bundled home a scrappy goal. The defenders appealed for handball yet the officials saw nothing wrong. There is no VAR in the lower leagues, to the detriment of the travelling faithful but the relief of those who still have Christmas shopping to do. Stewart claimed diplomatically afterwards that the ball hit his chest…

Joe Jacobson lines up the corner that lead to the opening goal

Yet if Wycombe were comfortable at half-time, recent history dictates that they needed to be wary. Rovers last visit to Adams Park was in an F.A. Cup replay back in November and on that occasion Wycombe lead 1-0 at half-time courtesy of a goal from Stewart but went on to lose 2-1 after extra time.

Just like in that match, Wycombe went in search of a second goal after the break. Just like in that match Wycombe hit the bar, this time through Akinfenwa. And just like in that match, Tranmere equalised with a rare break forward. Just after the hour, James Vaughan pounced on some hesitant Wycombe defending and slotted past Ryan Allsop. And just like in that match, Davies was a thorn in Wycombe’s side as he produced a brilliant save from a powerful Stewart header as Wycombe looked to regain the lead.

Any hope Tranmere had of repeating those exploits did however evaporate with twenty minutes remaining. Fred Onyedinma showed remarkable skill and composure on the left wing before digging out a pinpoint cross to Akinfenwa who headed into the corner of the net. The big forward who has no discernible skill, is too big to play football and was nothing more than a publicity signing, is now Wycombe’s joint leading football league goalscorer.

The goal extinguished Rovers hope and the game was killed off just as five minutes of injury time commenced. Substitute Alex Samuel was sent through and after rounding Davies, he was brought down for Wycombe’s tenth penalty of the season. Of the previous nine, five of them have been in the final ten minutes of games and only one did not result in a goal. They were all pressure kicks too, with Wycombe searching for either an equaliser or a winner. Yet there was little other than the proverbial icing and a more relaxed final few minutes residing on this one, and Jacobson calmly rolled the ball home to seal a 3-1 win.

Haven’t we seen this one before?

The result lifts Wycombe back up to third in an increasingly congested promotion race, and they sit just a point behind the top two. The next five games see them play Doncaster Rovers and Burton Albion away before a brief return to Wycombe for the visit of Oxford United and then away matches against Coventry City and Shrewsbury Town. They do at least have a squad that is close to full strength and a weekend off at the start of March.

As for Tranmere, they sit eight points adrift of safety and look set to be playing Southend United and Bolton Wanderers in League Two next season. They face Shrewsbury on Tuesday and then host Fleetwood Town next Saturday.

Goalscorer Anthony Stewart speaks to fans afterwards (Photo credit: Rachel Slatter)

WYCOMBE WANDERERS 3 (Stewart 45, Akinfenwa 70, Jacobson 90pen)

TRANMERE ROVERS 1 (Vaughan 63)

ATT: 4,756

words Phil Slatter, D3D4 Wycombe correspondent