Morecambe 0,

Wycombe 1.

WYCOMBE Wanderers overcame a defensive injury crisis to ensure their best ever start to the season with a goal from centre half Aaron Pierre to make it three wins out of three with no goals conceded.

On a night when Blues were down to their last fit central defender it was fitting that he should come up trumps with the 70th minute winner as Wanderers stayed at the top of the fledgling table.

It summed up everything about the club at the moment – chuck problems at them and they deal with them with the minimum of fuss and still come up smelling of roses.

Manager Gareth Ainsworth had slammed the fixture computer for sending his men on a 460-mile round trip on a Tuesday night and his mood was not have helped by the injury problems he faced for the long trip north.

Wanderers arrived with two of their three centre halves missing. Neither Anthony Stewart nor Danny Rowe were fit enough to be included on the team-sheet which meant Sido Jombati had to come in from the flank to a central berth alongside goalscorer Pierre.

That change meant that Michael Harriman dropped into the right back slot as Blues were forced to change their defence for the fourth match out of four this season.

The injuries across the backline did not stop there. Joe Jacobson was still sporting the head bandage protecting the stitches he required after Saturday’s battle at Barnet. But he typified the effort throughout the team throwing his bandaged head in the way to clear off the line as Wanderers battled stoically to defend the slender lead Pierre had given them.

There were changes elsewhere for Blues with Stephen McGinn recalled to the midfield in place of Luke O’Nien while there was also a return for striker Aaron Amadi-Holloway in an attacking line up which also featured skipper Paul Hayes and Garry Thompson who was returning to his former club Morecambe in fine fettle after his brace in the win at Barnet on Saturday.

But it was his old club who started the brighter with Andrew Fleming shooting a good chance high into the empty stand behind Matt Ingram’s goal inside the first minute before the new-look defence had time to find its feet.

It was a high energy start and Fleming was just a stud away from connecting with a dangerous left wing cross after Morecambe broke swiftly from a goalmouth scramble at the other end where Thompson, Amadi-Holloway and Sam Wood were all denied in quick succession.

It was typical of an unusually open start with both sides committing men forward while the normal midfield battleground was left largely unpopulated in a game of attack versus defence.

Morecambe’s movement was causing Wycombe problems but Jombati excelled in reading the danger and mopped up with the composure of a man who has operated there all his life.

The hosts did have the ball in the net through Kevin Ellison midway through the half but his effort was offside and it was Wycombe who came closest to scoring through legitimate means when Jacobson’s cross was punched into the path of Wood by keeper Barry Roche. With the keeper stranded Wood tried his luck with a lofted effort which Andy Parrish headed out from underneath his own bar as the hosts’ goal survived.

Morecambe were soon back knocking on the door though and Wanderers were forced to defend four successive Lee Molyneux corners as the Shrimps demonstrated what they have been working on in training.

The corner count continued to rise for the hosts as Wanderers struggled to maintain possession but the Chairboys might have taken a 38th minute lead from a swift counter attack. Hayes on the halfway line threaded the ball through to the willing Thompson who carried the ball to the goal line where, at the second attempt, he cut back an intelligent and perfectly weighted pass into the pass of Stephen McGinn whose body shape was all wrong and he side-footed the ball two or three yards wide.

It was another indication though that Wanderers, despite being largely on the back foot, could carry a threat and the passing moves they started the second half with suggested Ainsworth had demanded more from them over the half time cuppa.

And their growing confidence was summed up by an outrageous free kick from fully 30 yards. Hayes scooped the ball up for Jacobson who thudded a volley just wide of the post with keeper Roche struggling to get there.

Had that gone in it would have been one of those nights when the 181 Blues fans would have been able to say in years to come ‘I was there.’

Their team were now carrying the fight though. Even centre back Pierre was getting in on the act gliding past players like they weren’t there with a tremendous run from inside his own half to the Shrimps box.

Hayes then warmed Roche’s gloves with a fierce angled drive as Wanderers continued to ask the questions.

Morecambe rode out that little storm though and on the hour mark Harriman saved Wanderers with a brilliant tackle on the line to deny Kevin Ellison who was sliding in to meet Molyneux’s cross which had completely evaded Ingram.

Chances were coming at both ends. Thompson who had earlier rattled the home bar when he was offside lost his bearings as he chased down a long ball and couldn’t get his shot in while Ellison vented his fury at the linesman when he was lagged off as he bore down on goal.

Both sides looked intent on winning it and Tom Barkhuizen’s first contribution after being introduced from the bench was to extend Ingram who managed to cling onto his shot. Next up it was Roche’s turn to save his side plucking Wood’s effort out of the air after Amadi-Holloway had done the spadework.

The Wycombe goal had a real let off on 70 minutes when Ryan Edwards arriving late onto the edge of the box stabbed Molyneux’s corner a fraction wide.

But a minute later it was Wanderers, the set piece masters, who grabbed the lead through Pierre who rose highest to head Jacobson’s free kick into the back of the net and open his account for the season.

The night’s work wasn’t done there though and Jacobson had to head the ball off his own line as Morecambe hunted a route back as Wanderers put in the graft to protect their proud record of not having conceded a league goal so far this season.

Goalscorer Pierre was instrumental in maintaining that record sticking out a last minute toe to deny Molyneux just as the goal was opening up for him and even though five minutes of injury time were added on Wycombe held on for their second away win in the space of four days.

Bu the game ended on a sour note with players squaring up to each other at the final whistle and having to be separated.