Wycombe Wanderers fell to a very disappointing 1-0 defeat at Kingsmeadow this afternoon against AFC Wimbledon.
Gareth Ainsworth chose to revert to the same starting eleven that defeated Morecambe on the opening day despite an excellent performance in midweek against Leicester City.
Optimism about the season`s prospects have been slowly growing over the past couple of weeks, and the performances against Morecambe and Leicester proved there may be some weight to these claims. However a lot of heads will come back down to earth after a poor performance and result, coupled with the sending-off of skipper Stuart Lewis for a high boot after thirty minutes.
The Wombles immediately asserted their aerial dominance, with Andy Frampton mopping up every header at the back, and Harry Pell dominating the midfield winning headers and turning in a powerful, energetic Man of the Match performance.
The visitors simply did not get started in the first half an hour and they were indebted to Leon Johnson for two crucial interceptions that prevented Dons openings. Matt Ingram also made a comfortable save from George Porter but the Chairboys were otherwise untroubled with Charles Dunne staying strong against the tricky aforementioned winger. Finally, Morgan fired a shot in anger after peeling away from Alan Bennett, but his shot was too high.
Soon after, the poor start was compounded as a high challenge from Lewis was harshly penalised by fussy referee Ward, who then mind bogglingly elected to show the red card to the Wanderers captain. It looked little more than a foul, but the decision seemed to be in keeping with the referee`s performance, seeking the limelight and nitpicking at times, yet missing blatant fouls at others.
The bad news kept on coming as the Dons took the lead just three minutes later, Luke Moore neatly heading home a left wing cross to give Ingram little chance. There was just one more chance to report in an otherwise insipid half, as Pittman turned on a sixpence and fired a powerful effort straight at Ross Worner from a tight angle.
Gareth Ainsworth shuffled his deck at half time, sacrificing Sam Wood to bring some composure into central midfield in the shape of Matt Spring. Wanderers desperately required some impetus but Morgan`s shot lacked power and some better possession yielded little in terms of goalmouth action. Pittman did well to let the ball run across his body but badly skewed his shot wide.
The last realistic hope of a point evaporated as Morgan was substituted alongside Pittman for Kuffour and Craig. The new front pair struggled to hold the ball up, and the only shout in anguish from the travelling supporters came when Kuffour`s cross appeared to be handled by a Dons defender, but referee Ward waved away the strangled appeals.
The hosts had two chances to wrap up the game, when Michael Smith was given two bites at the cherry but was denied by superb blocks from McCoy and Johnson, before substitute Chris Arthur punted a superb effort on to Ingram`s crossbar, and shortly afterwards the final whistle signalled the Chairboys’ first defeat of the League campaign.
On reflection, the substitution of Morgan really ended Wanderers competitiveness in this game, with the impact substitutions having no effect. Perhaps Jon-Paul Pittman would be better in this role, and he did not look particularly sharp from the start today, dragging one fine chance wide and applying little pressure on two suspect-looking centre backs.
Defensively, we still look sound, with both the full backs playing well and Leon Johnson making some crucial interceptions. The red card undoubtedly affected the game, but the visitors had generally been outplayed to that point by a physical outfit that had already wrested control of the match.
All in all, a disappointing performance and result, and one that needs to improve when Mansfield visit Adams Park in seven days time.
Ratings: Ingram 6, McCoy 7, Stewart 6, Johnson 7*, Dunne 7*, Lewis 4, Scowen 6, Wood 5 (Spring 6), Cowan-Hall 5, Morgan 6 (Kuffour 4), Pittman 5 (Craig 4)
Attendance: 4,235 (612 Wycombe)
