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Friday 9th August 1996 WYCOMBE 5 SWINDON TOWN 1 Wycombe finally burst into life in their final pre-season friendly against a very dissappointing Swindon side. On a very wet night at Adams Park, it was Miguel Desouza who took the honours with two goals in 3 minutes in the first half. The visitors, however, opened the far better side and when Wayne Allison gave then the lead on 10 minutes it looked like the first of many. Two minutes later, however, John Williams celebrated his return from injury when he stroked home a ball from the right to level the scores. The game died for the next few minutes but Wycombe took the lead on 32 minutes when Desouza headed home a left wing cross from Carroll and 3 minutes later he was there again, heading home a similar cross from David Farrell to make the score 3-1. Former Rangers star Mark Walters brought two good saves from Parkin in the second-half, the first on 58 minutes when he sent in a low shot to the left but it was Wycombe who extended their lead on 65 minutes. Farrell sent in a left wing cross that Williams knocked back into the path of Steve Brown, who lashed in the chance from just inside the box. Swindon's best chance of the half fell on 74 minutes when Player/Manager Steve McMahon curled a free-kick over the Wycombe wall and onto the bar. Damien Markman replaced Williams near the end and had a hand in Wycombe's final goal of the night. Running in from the left, he squared the ball to Desouza whose shot could only be pushed into the path of Farrell who was happy to place the ball into the net via his flashy new red boots. The last action of the night saw Desouza go for glory in a one-on-one with the 'keeper when Markman was waiting free but the chance went astray. WYCOMBE TEAM: Parkin, Lawrence, Bell, McCarthy, Evans (sub 66 Rodwell), Patterson, Carroll, Brown (sub Cousins 82), Desouza, Williams (sub 79 Markman), Farrell. subs not used Skiverton, Cheesewright, McGavin.Att:1,200  Tuesday 6th August 1996 WYCOMBE 1 SOUTHAMPTON 0 A headed goal by Terry Evans in the 80th minute was enough to give Wycombe their first victory of the season and the home fans something to cheer about. In an overall dissapointing game, chances were rare - Southampton forcing a point blank save from Parkin on 14 minutes and Desouza bursting through on 31 minutes before being blocked, being the only significant events of the first half. Southampton went close shortly after the break when a glancing header was deflected just wide but it wasn't until the final 25 minutes before there were any further serious efforts on goal from either side. A loud claim for handball against Matt Le Tisier in the Wycombe box on 66 minutes was turned down before Desouza failed to control the rebound while a minute later Damien Markman ran into the Southampton box before being shut-out by Dave Beasant. Then on 71 minutes Le Tissier played a delightful ball into the Wycombe box from the left and brought another good close range save out of "Man of the Match" Brian Parkin. Anthony Clarke was introduced for a rare appearance on 77 minutes and he saw Wycombe claim the winner when a deep free-kick from out on the left wing saw Evans win a 50/50 aerial challenge with Beasant and the looping header ended in the back of the net. Wycombe's final pre-season friendly is this coming Friday when Swindon Town travel to Adams Park for another evening game - kick-off 7.45pm. WYCOMBE TEAM: Parkin, Lawrence, Bell, McCarthy (sub 73 Rodwell), Evans, Brown, Carroll, Patterson, Desouza, Markman (sub 77 Clarke), Farrell. subs not used Cousins, Skiverton, Cheesewright, Crossley. Att: 2,445 Saturday 3rd August 1996 WOKING 0 WYCOMBE 0 Wycombe's first Saturday game of the season ended goalless at a sundrenched Kingfield. As expected, Woking fielded their three ex-Wycombe players in a game that saw neither keeper tested throughout the 90 minutes. Steve Thompson and Terry Howard received a warm welcome from the travelling Wycombe fans and Simon Garner, who was introduced after the break also got the expected hero's acclaim. It was Wycombe, however, who set the early pace forcing two quick corners in front of Woking's impressive new 2,000 seater 'behind the goal' stand. Dave Carroll saw a drive fly over the bar on 33 minutes but the best chance of the half fell to youngster Damien Markman who couldn't quite connect properly with a waist high cross by Desouza from the right. With Garner on for Woking and Evans and trialist Jim Rodwell on for Wycombe, the second half proved to see more chances on goal. On 55 minutes Garner powered through but Thompson was caught off-side as the ball broke free while a minute later at the other end a Carroll corner was headed onto the bar by Evans. Garner was in the thick of it again on 67 minutes but Evans cleared the danger as the ball moved towards the goal line. Wycombe forced the game in the dying minutes when first a diving header by Bell whistled just wide then the best chance of the half saw a quick move, starting with a throw from Parkin, find Desouza who powered through and brought a good save by Batty in the Woking goal and Carroll fired the rebound over. The final chance of the game fell to David Farrell who scrambled in to connect to a deep cross from the left by Matt Lawrence but his effort thumped against the upright and the ball went to safety. WYCOMBE TEAM:Parkin, Lawrence, Bell, Crossley (sub 45 Rodwell), McCarthy (sub 45 Evans), Brown, Carroll, Patterson, Desouza, Markman (sub 72 McGavin), Farrell. subs not used Cousins, Skiverton, Cheesewright. Att: 1,009 Tuesday 30th July 1996 WYCOMBE 1 BIRMINGHAM CITY 2 A late goal condemned Wycombe to their second successive pre-season friendly defeat - this time at the hands of Division One side Birmingham City. Both sides had several chances during the 90 minutes but it was Wycombe who came closest on 21 minutes when Miguel Desouza chipped Ian Bennett in the City goal, only to see his effort rebound off the post and back into the 'keepers arms. Meanwhile at the other end, City 'big' signing Paul Furlong wasted a chance on 28 minutes when he shot wide from only 10 yards. The deadlock was finally broken on 33 minutes when a cross from the left wing by Mickey Bell to the far past was neatly headed back into the net by Dave Carroll to give Wycombe a half-time lead. City took just four minutes of the second half to equalise when Furlong made up for his earlier miss when he latched onto a loose ball in the area after Parkin had parried the original shot. Two minutes later, City's other new signing, Steve Bruce saw a header come off the bar following a cross from the left by Andy Legg. Wycombe's best chance of the half came on 62 minutes when John Williams broke through before laying the ball square in the box to David Farrell whose shot was blocked and Desouza could only place his effort wide. City won a relatively entertaining game in the 86th minute when a corner from the right was struck goalwards from the centre of the box by Paul Tait and Furlong deflected the ball in. WYCOMBE TEAM: Parkin, Lawrence, Bell, Crossley, McCarthy, Brown, Carroll, Patterson, Desouza (sub 78 Markman), Williams (sub 78 McGavin), Farrell. subs not used Cousins, Skiverton, Cheesewright. Att: 1,736 Friday 26th July 1996 WYCOMBE 1 QPR 3 With most of the Wycombe fans admiring the daunting new stand, the first game of the season against a very strong QPR side took second place. It took 45 minutes before either side managed a serious shot on target - Trevor Sinclair dancing into the area after a burst from the right side of midfield before blasting the ball past Wycombe debutant, Brian Parkin. Wycombe fell further behind 3 minutes into the second half when Paul Murray slotted home from inside the box and in the 52nd minute Mark Hateley, who had come on at half-time, powered a header into the top right hand corner of the Wycombe net to take the game well beyond Wycombe's reach. Steve Brown scored the goal of the game on 73 minutes when he combined with Carroll in midfield before firing home from 20 yards. Wycombe were well beaten on the night but the biggest worry for Wycombe fans was an injury to Keith Ryan after just 11 minutes. Ryan left the field on a stretcher and was later seen walking on crutches. WYCOMBE TEAM: Parkin, Lawrence, Bell, Skiverton (sub Crossley 63 mins), McCarthy (sub Evans 63 mins), Ryan (sub Patterson 11 mins), Carroll (sub Carroll 79 mins), Brown, Desouza, Williams, Farrell. Att: 3,337 |
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