Plymouth Argyle 0, Wycombe Wanderers 1.

PAUL Hayes returned to haunt his former club by scoring the only goal as Wanderers continue to set the early pace in League Two.

He never managed a goal during his spell in Devon but he’s become the talismanic striker Wanderers fans hoped he would be when he was signed in the summer, netting his fourth goal of the season as Blues’ impressive unbeaten away form continued.

It’s now three wins in a row at Home Park as Hayes bundled home to make sure a goalbound header from Aaron Pierre made its way over the line to secure the points.

This wasn’t one for the purist with long balls very much the order of the day, but it was proof that Wanderers are more streetwise and better equipped to see out a tight game than they have been in the past.

The gamesmanship in slowing the game down frustrated the life out of the hosts, but in truth an unimaginative Plymouth caused little in the way of problems for the visitors.

Their defensive unit looked rock solid and it was another goal from a set piece that proved decisive, as Wanderers build on the momentum from their great escape just down the road in Torquay from their last visit to the English Riviera.

Players from both sides had to contend with extended spells of head tennis in a dour opening and Plymouth’s first opportunity came when Kelvin Mellor refused to give up on a lost cause and forced Sam Wood into conceding possession in a dangerous area, but Pierre was in position to block Reuben Reid’s inviting cross.

The crowd were woken from their slumber as ex Blues loanee Reuben Reid robbed the ball off Joe Jacobson and pulled it back into the path of Tyler Harvey, who was foiled by a brilliant sliding block from the increasingly indispensible Alfie Mawson.

Josh Scowen was shown a yellow card after going into a tackle on Anthony O’Connor a little too robustly before the hosts got more joy down the left as Mellor broke clear once more. The finish from Reid, Plymouth’s top scorer last season, was rather lacking however, scuffed limply wide.

That miss rather summed the match up as a whole; neither side showed any invention, any movement was easily second guessed by an opponent and the majority of the successfully completed passes were played back to the goalkeepers.

At last came a shot on target as Reid – an ever-willing runner, if nothing else – forced Ingram to parry away his angled shot before Harvey failed to properly get hold of the rebound and weakly snatched it straight at the visiting keeper.

Matt McClure, restored to the starting line-up in place of Aaron Holloway, then almost caught McCormick out after being fed by Hayes, with the home keeper plunging to his right to tip the striker’s low shot away via the foot of the post.

But there was nothing McCormick could do as Blues snuck in front with what’s fast becoming a trademark – a goal from a corner. Jacobson’s delivery was inch perfect, straight onto Pierre’s head, and although the ball looked like it was on its way into the net Hayes was on hand from a yard out to ensure it did as he nodded in right in front of the keeper.

Argyle showed little urgency in response to falling behind – conceding only the second goal they’ve let in on home soil in the process – and boos from some sections of the frustrated home support greeted the half time whistle.

A distinctly unimpressed Pilgrims boss John Sheridan responded by making a double substitution at the break, hooking the anonymous Deane Smalley and Carl McHugh and bringing on Ben Purrington and Lee Cox.

It made little difference and if anything Reid became even more isolated in attack, looking on as firstly Jason Banton took an age to attempt a weak effort that was calmly dealt with by the impeccable Mawson and then Harvey felt he had little option but to wind one up from 25 yards – a shot that was blocked at source.

Wood blazed off target and McCormick needed two attempts to gather a powerful low drive from Scowen as Wanderers continued to have the better of the limited chances created.

The home fans bayed in vain for a penalty as firstly Reid and then Harvey claimed in quick succession they had been fouled inside the area, but an unmoved Lee Collins waved play on both times.

Reid glanced a header inches over the top before the referee further angered the home fans by pulling play back with the hosts launching a promising attack despite Nelson lying prostrate with a head injury following a clash with Hayes.

It was the striker’s final act of the game as he was replaced by defender Danny Rowe, giving a clear indication that one goal was enough for Wanderers to see out the game.

Mawson had to be on his toes to block a Banton shot for a corner, from which Peter Hartley diverted the ball disappointingly wide as it looked ever more likely the points were coming back to Buckinghamshire.

Wanderers almost managed a second as the game entered six minutes of added time as Scowen nodding Sido Jombati’s cross into the path of Max Kretzschmar, who was denied by a smothering block from McCormick at his feet.

One last chance came the Pilgrims’ way as a Purrington free kick was flicked on into the path of substitute River Allen, who couldn’t make himself a hero as he guided his header straight at Ingram.

Wanderers: Ingram, Jombati, Pierre, Mawson, Jacobson, Kretzschmar (sub Lewis), Scowen, Murphy, Wood, McClure (sub Holloway), Hayes (sub Rowe). Substitutes not used: Richardson, Walker, Bloomfield.

Attendance: 5,657 (143 from Wycombe)