Wycombe Wanderers, who reached the semi-finals of last season's Checkatrade Trophy, started this year's competition in the worst possible fashion, losing 5-1 to League One side Bristol Rovers.

However, the result was a bit unkind to the Blues, who showed some real glimpses of a bright future during a lively encounter at Adams Park.

Wycombe got off to a fantastic start thanks to Dayle Southwell after just four minutes.

Southwell put the Chairboys into the lead, heading home after Marcus Bean had nodded Nick Freeman’s inviting corner back across goal.

However, Bristol Rovers equalised with their first chance four minutes later when Dom Telford bulldozed his way through the Wycombe defence before slotting past Scott Brown.

Completely against the run of play on 42 minutes, Telford grabbed his second, heading home unmarked from Joe Partington's superb delivery.

The visitors started the second half much the stronger and Ryan Broom notched a third on 55 minutes, tapping home Partington's brilliant low cross.

Liam Sercombe slammed home a strike from 30 yards on 63 minutes, which Brown could only get fingertips to.

Broom then rubbed salt into the wounds with a carbon copy of his first goal on 85 minutes, sliding in Telford's cross from close range.

Wanderers started much the brighter thanks to Southwell's early goal and played some free-flowing football.

Some more sublime football from the Chairboys resulted in some intricate passing inside the Rovers box and Luke O’Nien’s deflected pass just evaded the onrushing debutant Josh Umerah.

Bristol Rovers were on the rack and Michael Harriman played in a low, firm cross which Rovers defender Tom Broadbent skewed towards goal but it was hacked away just in time.

On the half hour mark, O’Nien saw his fierce volley blocked by Broadbent which would have had goalkeeper Sam Slocombe in trouble.

Wanderers came so close to retaking the lead on 35 minutes when Dominic Gape was denied by a smart save from Slocombe. The rebound then fell to the lively Umerah who saw his shot deflected inches wide.

From the resulting corner, Umerah’s bullet header was well held by Slocombe.

However, Telford's second goal moments before the break seemed to knock the stuffing out of Wycombe.

Rovers started the second period on the front foot and Rory Gaffney had the first effort in the second half after 51 minutes when his audacious chip from 25 yards went a few yards too high.

The visitors then hit a double whammy, with two goals in eight minutes before Byron Moore scampered down the left a minute later and beat Brown but somehow his shot hit the far post and bobble across the line before being cleared.

Umerah could have had a debut goal his efforts deserved but he saw his effort on 74 minutes disallowed for offside, after converting Anthony Stewart’s knockdown.

The game then fizzled out before Broom's late goal. Plenty for Ainsworth to ponder as his side suffer a heavy defeat in a competition they did so well in last season.

WYCOMBE WANDERERS: Brown, Harriman, Jombati, El-Abd (sub: Stewart, 60), Williams, Gape, O’Nien, Bean, Southwell (sub: Cowan-Hall, 71), Freeman, Umerah. Subs: Richardson, Jacobson, Bloomfield, Akinfenwa, Mackail-Smith.

BRISTOL ROVERS: Slocombe, Burn (sub: Menayese, 79), Sercombe (sub: Hargreaves, 83), Clarke, Broadbent, Broom, Telford, Moore (sub: Russe, 71), Bola, Partington, Gaffney. Subs: Andre, Otudeko, Dunnwald, Spruce.

REFEREE: James Linington