Wycombe comfortably beat Shrewsbury 4-1 to continue their unbeaten run in the league and maintain top spot in the league. Pre game the noise was focused around the Chairboys facing ex boss Gareth Ainsworth and weither he could spoil Matt Bloomfield’s unbeaten run. And the early signs to the game indicated that the Chairboy’s were going to find the exchanges tense. Shrewsbury pressured the Wycombe backline and gained back to back corners which put pressure on goalkeeper Franco Ravizzoli. But the Chairboys held firm and soon gained a foot into the game before breaking the deadlock against the run of play. Fred Onyedinema and Jasper Pattendon were tenacious on the right hand side before Cameron Humphrey’s combined with Onyedinema, who crossed into the back post for a pouncing Bez Lubala to head Wycombe into the lead.
Two minutes later, Wycombe almost doubled their lead as Richard Kone held onto the ball down the left before releasing Dan Harvie, who crossed into the Shrewsbury box before ex Chairboy Aaron Pierre cleared his lines for Shrewsbury. Shrewsbury regained composure of the game but Wycombe persevered before we saw potentially the most controversial point of the game for both sides. Firstly, Wycombe were awarded a free kick on the 30th minute mark and Luke Leahy pinged the ball into the Shrewsbury box. With Richard Kone controlling this on the edge of the six yard box, Shrews keeper Toby Savin brought the Ivorian striker down. But to the dismay of the Chairboys, referee Martin Coy didn’t blow for a penalty. And two minutes later, it was the Shrewsbury’s fanbase who were left dismayed by Coy’s decision making. Dan Harvie was obstructing Shrews forward Tom Bloxham and in the process used his arm. With Bloxham on the floor and Shrewsbury players and management baying for a red card, Coy consulted his forth official before issuing Harvie with a yellow card. Boo’s rang the New Meadow for their new panto villain.
Despite the dramatic few minutes, the game got into a bit of head tennis as both teams tried to gain a foot hold. And Wycombe eventually gained some momentum before the turn of the half. First Fred Onyedinma got control of a loose ball 30 yards from goal and almost weaved into the box before Aaron Pierre cleared his lines. But the ball ended at the feet of Aaron Morley who delivered a promising cross into the Shrewsbury box. With a lack of willing runners however, the ball trickled out for a goal kick. Onyedinma once again countered for the Blues as he ran the almost the length of the pitch before finding Richard Kone in the box, but Kone struggled to control his through ball. But Wycombe eventually doubled their lead on the stroke of half time. After industrious work by both Morley and Humphreys saw a cross cleared by Morgan Feeney for a corner, Leahy floated a cross directly into the six yard box. With Shrewsbury’s defence largely more interested in containing the lurking Joe Low, the ball landed at the feet of Caleb Taylor who with ease controlled and slammed home his first ever goal for the Chairboys.
Gareth Ainsworth’s emotions were there for all to see as his head ended in his hands as the half was brought to an end. And Ainsworth would have hoped for a more spirited second half. And ten minutes into the second half, it looked like that never die spirit almost worked an opportunity for Shrewsbury. Joe Low poorly dispatched a clearance which was charged down by striker John Marquis. With ball bouncing favourably for Marquis, he ran into Franco Ravizzoli’s box and only required a finish. But he somehow aimed tamely at Ravizzoli’s legs, giving Wycombe a lifeline. With Wycombe bringing on Gareth McCleary and Dan Udoh to regain pressure, both would have a say in the latter stages of the second half. First Udoh combined well from a Wycombe corner before crossing into the Shrewsbury box. Fortunately for the Shrews defence who scrambled to clear the ball away, there were no lurking Chairboy players. But moments later, Wycombe went on to make it 3-0. This time Gareth McCleary channeled his ever youthful trickery before sliding Leahy for a cross that laid the ball on a plate for Fred Onyedinma to head home.
To Shrewsbury’s credit, they immediately responded by gaining a free kick 25 yards away from the Chairboys half and Jordan Shipley curled an effort past the Wycombe defensive wall and a despairing Ravizzoli. The New Meadow sensed a potential fightback but Wycombe had other ideas. With the Shrews now chasing another goal, McCleary combined with fellow sub Udoh to kill the game off and score a forth goal. McCleary controlled the ball before passing the ball into Udoh, who turned his marker before unleashing an unstoppable effort past Toby Savin. Game, set and match as that marked the killer moment for Shrewsbury’s. Wycombe saw out any further Shrewsbury attacks and led jubilant celebrations at full time. With Wrexham drawing against Cambridge and Birmingham beating Bristol Rovers, the top three are now separated by points as Wycombe continue to lead the league table.
