Luton Town 2, Wanderers 3,

The Sky cameras were treated to a five-goal thriller as Wanderers marked their 1000th game in the Football League with victory against Luton Town.

Sam Saunders scored his first Wycombe goal with barely two minutes on the clock before Hatters striker Elliot Lee struck back almost immediately.

Penalty supremo Paul Hayes then notched his sixth spot kick of the season after Matt Bloomfield was sent tumbling with Alfie Mawson grabbing the third with a sensational strike.

Lee reduced the arrears with his second before the break but for all their endeavour in the second half they couldn’t breach the Chairboys’ backline as the Blues tightened their grip on third place in League Two.

Gareth Ainsworth named an unchanged starting XI for the third game running as Wanderers sought to extend their unbeaten run on the road to 13 matches. The only change to the squad from last Tuesday’s 2-2 draw against Accrington came in the shape of Hogan Ephraim, who returned to the match day squad after illness in place of Tommy Flectcher.

January departure Paris Cowan-Hall had struck just three minutes into the last encounter between the two sides when they met on Boxing Day, but this time round it took Wanderers just two minutes to open the scoring.

Blues had announced on Monday that Saunders and Nico Yennaris would be staying until the end of the season and the former celebrated in perfect style as he smashed the ball home despite the best efforts of the despairing defenders who tried to stop the shot but could only watch it roll over the line.

Just as the travelling Wycombe fans sang ‘1-0 to the Wanderers’ they were immediately made to swallow their words as after Matt Ingram failed to hold Luke Guttridge’s drive the ball ricocheted into the path of Lee who found the corner of the net with his first touch of the game.

With the game showing no signs of slowing down Joe Jacobson fired a free-kick toward the Luton goal which had Elliot Justham scrambling before he held the ball.

The lively Lee was causing problems for the visitors and when he dropped his shoulder to evade a couple of pursuing defenders he sent a fizzing cross across the face of goal which, fortunately for Blues, none of his team mates had read.

Luton were climbing on top and seemingly comfortable allowing Steve McNulty to repel all of Wanderers’ long balls forward.

As Blues finally got the ball on the deck they reaped their rewards as Saunders threaded a ball through to Bloomfield and as the midfielder turned neatly away from Luke Wilkinson the defender tripped him and referee David Coote pointed to the spot.

Hayes stepped up to send the ball just beyond the grasp of Justham and into the bottom right-hand corner for his 11th of the season – six of which have been from the spot.

Town came into the match having lost their four games previously and their confidence looked to be draining away Wanderers seized the ascendency.

Saunders with one in the bag came close to scoring another as he burst to the edge of the box and curled a right-footed shot over the bar, although the unmarked Bloomfield was screaming for a pass to his right.

The miss didn’t come back to haunt the visitors though as just past the half hour mark they were left chasing after Mawson having seen the defender score a contender for goal of the season.

There looked to be nothing on for the on loan Brentford man as he picked the ball up on the half-way line, but he decided to advance straight towards the Luton goal with no one in any hurry to close him down.

After evading two orange shirts Saunders picked the ball up and passed into Hayes who chipped the ball over the static Luton back four where the onrushing Mawson passed the ball into the net with all the goal scoring prowess of a veteran striker.

It’s a goal that will be replayed over and over in the Mawson household after being captured on the Sky cameras, who were also watching the Hatters struggle to cope with a rampant Blues.

But if one man in orange was doing himself justice it was on loan West Ham striker Lee, who hauled his team back into contention with a predatory finish.

Former Wanderer Rob Lee is the forward’s dad and he will have been delighted to see his son in the right place to volley home Michael Harriman’s knockdown seven minutes before the break.

It came against the run of play but Blues could still be happy with their first 45 minutes worth of work as they headed back to the changing rooms ahead.

The visitors came into the game having lost only once on the road all season and they fired the first shot of the second half when Hayes side footed an effort straight at Justham after a one-two with Fred Onyedinma.

Wilkinson, clearly keen to atone for his earlier error, then sent a header back across his body and flying just a yard wide of the post with Ingram beaten.

Onyedinma was a subdued figure against Accrington and he wasn’t in the game until just before the hour mark as he finally had the ball at his feet and a chance to run at the opposition.

He raced toward the edge of the area before offloading right to Bloomfield who swept a ball across the box to Sam Wood, the midfielder took a touch to set himself before firing a shot narrowly wide.

All of Luton’s best moves were coming through Lee, and the striker came close to netting his hat-trick as he spun away from Mawson and drilled a shot from his weaker left-side just past the post with Ingram worried enough to put in a sprawling dive.

With the ball now coming back quicker and quicker as Luton upped the ante in search of an equaliser, Ainsworth introduced Aaron Holloway in an attempt to stop the waves of home attacks coming at Wycombe’s back four.

The first yellow card of the match finally arrived with 20 minutes left as Saunders, doggedly chasing down Lee, caught the striker with a slide tackle from behind and duly had his name taken.

John Still’s side had forced a number of corners in the second half and Matt Robinson, who was introduced at the interval, flicked the ball inches wide on the turn after Paul Benson had nodded the ball across goal.

Efforts on Luton’s goal were few and far between with Wanderers lack of attacking threat prompting Bloomfield to have a pop from a full 35 yards – a shot which bounced twice before falling into the gloves of Justham.

As the game ticked into the last ten minutes a glorious chance to wrap up the points presented itself to Wood, who lined up a shot from the edge of the box after Wilkinson’s tackle on the winger had sent the ball rolling towards the area.

Wood has a beautiful left-foot but he struck the ball too well and sent it inches over the cross bar with the top corner begging to be found.

That close shave prompted Luton back to life and substitute Natahan Oduwa marched down the right past Jacobson and stung the fingertips with a fierce shot that forced the ‘keeper to flick it over the bar.

Three minutes were added on but the Sky cameras were to see no more drama as Luton ran out of steam and the Blues ran out of the Prostate Cancer UK Stadium with all three points.

Luton Town: Justham, Franks (Robinson), McNulty, Drury, Benson, Howells, Guttridge, Harriman, Wilkinson, Lee (Cullen), McGeehan (Oduwa)
Substitutes not used: Lacey, Lawless, Stockley, King
Goals: Lee 7, 38

Wanderers: Ingram, Jacobson, Pierre, Mawson, Yennaris, Saunders, Bean, Bloomfield, Wood, Hayes (Craig), Onyedinma (Holloway)
Substitutes not used: Lynch, Rowe, Murphy, Ephraim, McClure,
Goals: Saunders 2, Hayes 21, Mawson 30

Attendance: 8,379 (555 Wycombe)