Matchday Essentials 2002-2003 Click here for the latest match previews and reports |
Craig Faulconbridge gave Wycombe the lead on 35 minutes when he turned in a Sean Devine cross from the left before the first red card of the day was shown when Marc Bircham was accused of using an elbow by referee Styles. Despite the one man disadvantage Paul Furlong levelled the scores on the stroke of half-time but Wycombe regained the lead two minutes into the second period when Andy Rammell drifted in to head home Darren Currie's corner. Devine extended Wycombe's lead on 61 minutes when he connected with Michael Simpson's cross from the right but three red cards in as many minutes turned the game into a near farce. Rammell and Rangers substitute Marcus Bean were the first two go in the 77th minute after 'Rambo' caught the Rangers player late and Bean retaliated. Moments late Danny Senda was shown a straight red card for a lunge on Tommy Williams. Wycombe had the last say in the goals though when Michael Simpson fired home after Roberts had drew the ball back from the left wing. Lawrie Sanchez made three change to the side that lost 3-0 at Bristol City the previous Saturday. Roger Johnson came into the centre of defence in favour of Mark Rogers and Danny Bulman returned to midfield in place of Keith Ryan. Andy Rammell came into a three pronged attack with Steve Brown relegated to the bench to make way for a 4-3-3 formation. Frank Talia made his home debut for Wycombe between the sticks as Martin Taylor was given more time to recover from a back problem. Wanderers could have been ahead within the opening two minutes but Rammell failed to get his shot on target after the ball fell kindly to him down the right channell. However, it was the visitors who looked more likely to open the scoring. On 4 minutes Karl Connolly headed wide with the goal at his mercy, while on 13 minutes Chris Vinnicombe's challenge was enough to prevent Furlong connecting with Kevin Gallen's cross from the left. The chances continued with Danny Shittu slashing an shot over on 19 minutes and Furlong seeing his deflected effort scooped away by Talia in the Wycombe goal. Devine's cross from the right on 24 minutes signalled a spell of Wanderers pressure but on this occasion Rammell's head back into the danger zone didn't find another blueshirt. Simpson also blasted a shot wide as Wycombe continued to be frustrated by an efficient Rangers offside trap. Furlong had the ball in the net for Rangers on 31 minutes but he was penalised for a foul on Johnson. Wanderers took the lead on 35 minutes when Devine got the better of the heavyweight Shittu in the left corner of the pitch. Devine shrugged off the Rangers defender before delivering a ball into the area that Faulconbridge turned neatly in for his third goal of the season. Bircham was the first player down the tunnel on 39 minutes and referee Styles must have been one of the few people in the ground that actually saw the incident. Senda did well to pull away Simpson from the ensuing fracas before Johnson was booked for a lunge on Shittu from the resulting free-kick as the match began to boil up. Furlong equalised shortly before the break from Gallen's through ball but there was mass confusion as Styles failed to indicate the goal with many of the players and crowd thinking an offside had been given. Half-time 1-1 Rammell restored Wycombe's lead shortly after the break but Connolly wasted another opportunity on 50 minutes when he sliced a shot wide following a spell of chaos in the Wycombe defence. However, Wycombe began to expose the visitors own shortcomings in defence and Faulconbridge will be disappointed he didn't add to his tally on 55 minutes after a slinky midfield run from Danny Senda set up the ex-Wrexham player on the right side of goal. 'The Faulcon' tried to be too precise with his shot and on loan Leicester 'keeper Simon Royce was able to save with his legs. Royce was the man between the sticks when Wycombe beat Leciester at Filbert Street in the famous FA Cup tie in 2001 and he saw another goal flash by him in the 61st minute when Senda and Bulman carved out an opportunity down the right before Simpson's delivery was converted by Devine in his typical style. The red card flurry began in the 77th minute and it was no surprise that the closing stages were rather erractic with various substitions made to try and plug the holes left by the departures. It was left for Simpson to complete the scoring with six minutes left on the clock and seal Wycombe's first victory of the season. Both Rammell and Senda will miss three games starting with the Worthington Cup game at Swindon on 11th September. Final Score Wycombe 4 QPR 1
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