Wycombe Wanderers 1, Newport County 2.

Fred Onyedinma’s equaliser wasn’t enough to get Wanderers’ season back on track, as a Yan Klukowski double condemned them to a second successive defeat.

The midfielder netted either side of the break as Blues’ remarkable sequence of never having lost on a Saturday this season finally came to an end.

His first deservedly put the Welsh side in front at half time, as Wanderers failed to properly get going and reproduced the stodgy performance that ended in defeat against Plymouth in midweek.

But they were a side transformed in the second half, pinning the Exiles back with some incisive, pleasing on the eye football and Onyedinma’s fourth goal of his loan spell was no less than they deserved.

There only ever looked to be one winner based on the balance of play in the second half, but Klukowski took advantage of some slack defending to end Newport’s winless run of five matches and give Wanderers that losing feeling for the second time this week.

It was the substandard performance in the first half that proved to be Wycombe’s undoing, as they were faced with the uphill task of getting themselves back into the game.

Little of note happened in the opening period until Joe Jacobson’s free kick was thumped into the wall but the full back hoisted the rebound back into the danger area, only to see Onyedinma miscue an effort wide of the post.

A minute later the visitors suddenly had the lead as Miles Storey managed to escape down the right and pull the ball back across the area, where the unattended Klukowski was left all alone to stroke an accurate first time effort into the bottom corner.

Striker Matt McClure, recalled to the starting line-up as Gareth Ainsworth made three changes from Tuesday night, looked confident as he flicked the ball past a defender looking to conjure up a response, but his volley was blazed wildly high and wide of the goal.

County did the bulk of their attacking on the counter as Wanderers’ forays forward consistently broke down in the final third, and from one incisive breakaway Marcus Bean made a fine sliding tackle to block a Storey shot after the winger had cut inside off the flank.

Blues were doing more of the attacking without managing to penetrate the visiting defence, with Craig flashing a first time shot over the bar as he latched onto a carelessly misdirected header from Jones – who came close to making amends as he escaped his marker at a corner before burying his header just the wrong side of the post.

Newport grew in confidence going forward the longer the game went on, with Mark Byrne showing some delightful footwork to trick his way past several attempts at tackling him on the edge of the area. He evaded them all and it was left to Matt Ingram to save the day as he rushed off his line to block.

The visitors handed Blues a golden chance to level things up as a shocking backpass from debutant David Tutonda put McClure clean through on goal, but his attempt at taking the ball around goalkeeper Joe Day were unsuccessful as he stuck out a hand to divert it out.

Day was in the right place at the start of the second half to keep out a McClure shot following Sido Jombati’s dink over the top of the defence, and Craig had a goal ruled out after Aaron Pierre was penalised for a foul committed in flicking the ball on to the Scotsman.

And Wanderers were rewarded for their bright start to the second half as Wood let fly from distance, Day was unable to hold onto it and pushed the ball back into play and Onyedinma was on hand to gleefully lash home the rebound for the equaliser.

It gave the crowd a lift and suddenly Wanderers looked a team transformed, with the twinkletoed Onyedinma keeping the visiting defence on their collective toes. From one such burrowing run forward he bought himself a free kick, and Alfie Mawson’s bullet header from Jacobson’s delivery was superbly turned around the post by Day.

Sensing Newport were there for the taking, top scorer Paul Hayes was sent on from the bench in place of McClure, who moments before had produced an airshot that trickled almost apologetically over the byline after Peter Murphy had done brilliantly to rob possession off Ryan Jackson and lay the ball into the striker’s path.

It was a move that almost provided instant reward, as Hayes’ first touch of the ball was a fierce shot that was kept out by Day’s foot.

Just as they were building up a head of steam, Wanderers were hit by a sucker punch ten minutes from time as Newport retook the lead against the run of play. It was of Blues’ doing however as Mawson left a free kick, satisfied it was drifting harmlessly out of play and having not realised Aaron O’Connor was loitering with intent behind him.

The striker had all the time in the world to head the ball back into the danger zone, where Klukowski had alarmingly been left unmarked once more and he fired low into the net from 12 yards to restore the Welsh side’s advantage.

Ingram kept Blues’ hopes alive with a stoppage time stop from substitute Shaun Jeffers but aside from an Aaron Holloway header that Day made of meal of saving, Wanderers ran out of ideas.

Wanderers: Ingram, Jombati, Pierre, Mawson, Jacobson, Onyedinma, Bean, Murphy, Wood, Craig (sub Holloway), McClure (sub Hayes). Substitutes not used: Richardson, Fletcher, Rowe, Bloomfield, Ephraim.

Attendance: 3,196 (225 from Newport)