Wycombe Wanderers got back to a winning ways with a terrific 4-0 win against Crawley Town at a dreary Adams Park.

Craig Mackail-Smith was the hero with a magnificent hat-trick in the space of 11 second half minutes.

After a scrappy first half, in which Crawley were content to sit back, four superb second half goals put the visitors to the sword.

Ebere Eze got the ball rolling with a quite exquisite goal on 50 minutes.

Adebayo Akinfenwa held the ball up expertly and after a couple of one-twos, Eze drew keeper Glenn Morris before coolly chipping him from 10 yards.

Mackail-Smith then added a second on 71 minutes with a fantastic strike after being put through by a wonderful pass from Akinfenwa.

On 80 minutes, Mackail-Smith then bettered his first as he leathered a thunderbolt from 20 yards past a despairing Morris after good work by Eze.

Two minutes later, the former Peterborough and Luton man collected the match ball, guiding the ball past Morris, thanks to more brilliant, unselfish work from Akinfenwa.

Crawley had the first half-chance on seven minutes when Josh Payne blasted well over from 20 yards after good work by Thomas Verheydt.

Verheydt then almost gave the visitors the lead two minutes later when he met Enzio Boldewin’s excellent cross with a superb header but Scott Brown made a magnificent save to tip it wide.

Wycombe came so close to breaking the deadlock on 17 minutes when Anthony Stewart headed against the bar after a wonderful Joe Jacobson delivery.

Stewart once again came close after half an hour when he met Jacobson’s delicious corner but was denied from point-blank range by Morris.

A minute later, Morris punched clear but only found the head of Luke O’Nien who guided a header expertly into the net. However, referee Antony Coggins deemed there was an infringement in the build-up and booked Craig Mackail-Smith.

Wanderers were slowly beginning to get on top and another dangerous Jacobson delivery on 36 minutes found Paris Cowan-Hall but he headed straight at Morris.

After a tight first half, Wanderers came out the traps quickly and Eze set them on their way with a goal of the highest quality.

The goal seemed to completely knock the stuffing out of Harry Kewell's side who had to abandon their defensive set-up into something more expansive.

The Chairboys smelt blood and another Jacobson set-piece found O’Nien on the edge of the box but he volleyed high and wide on 56 minutes.

Wanderers had another goal disallowed when Akinfenwa’s looping header went towards goal but Morris was clattered going up for the ball.

Eze nearly doubled the lead on 67 minutes when Cowan-Hall’s cross found him at the back post but the QPR loanee saw his firm strike well saved by Morris.

Moments later, Crawley nearly got an equaliser against the run of play but thankfully Josh Yorwerth’s long-range effort flew just wide.

However, the Chairboys then went berserk, and in particular, Mackail-Smith, who scored that wonderful trio of goals to move Wycombe up to sixth in League Two.

WYCOMBE WANDERERS: Brown, Gape, Stewart, El-Abd, Jacobson, O’Nien (sub: Bean, 73), Bloomfield, Eze, Cowan-Hall (sub: Southwell, 84), Akinfenwa (sub: Saunders, 84), Mackail-Smith. Subs: Ma-Kalambay, Jombati, Freeman, Scarr.

CRAWLEY TOWN: Morris, Payne, McNerney, Connolly, Boldewijn, Roberts (sub: Lewis, 58), Yorwerth, Evina (sub: Randall, 80), Tajbakhsh (sub: Camara, 58), Lelan, Verheydt. Subs: Mersin, Young, Doherty, Bulman.

REFEREE: Antony Coggins