Wycombe Wanderers 4, Leyton Orient 2.

SUDDENLY all is right with Wanderers’ season again and the Great Escape is back on.

Their maddening inconsistency continued but this time Blues fans were left in dreamland as they brushed aside a woeful Orient team on their way to a confidence-boosting and much-needed win.

True, the Londoners were absolutely shocking, but let’s give Wanderers credit as they tore their visitors apart in the first half.

Stuart Beavon, Paul Hayes, Matt Bloomfield and substitute Ben Strevens all netted before the break as they came off to a well deserved ovation.

But after taking their collective feet off the pedal they allowed the O’s back into the game with two goals that left a few nerves jangling.

The result was all-important though and the win leaves Blues three points adrift of safety and makes Saturday’s visit from old rivals Colchester all the more mouthwatering from a Wycombe perspective.

Wanderers have shown in their last two home games what they are capable of, which makes their current league position even more frustrating.

Saturday’s miserable 4-1 defeat in the six-pointer against Scunthorpe was a case in point and Blues made four changes in personal and altered the formation from that game.

Manager Gary Waddock rung the changes after saying in his programme notes that “bitterly disappointed doesn’t even come close” to describing his feelings after the pummelling at Glanford Park.

Out went Grant Basey – hurt in a car accident earlier in the week – Louis Laing, Anthony McNamee and the injured Chris Hackett and in came Dave Winfield, Danny Foster, Bloomfield and top scorer Beavon as Wanderers went with three up front.

And they were grateful to the returning striker when he put Wanderers in front after just six minutes. In truth the goal had a touch of fortune about as his header lacked power as it looped out of the reach of Orient’s debut-making goalkeeper Paul Rachubka, but it came after an absolute peach of a cross from left by the recalled Foster.

Rachubka redeemed himself with a fine diving save to beat away Beavon’s next effort on goal but Wanderers were dealt a blow when youngster Matt McClure – looking to carry on where he left off against Scunthorpe after scoring his first Blues goal – came off with a hamstring strain. Strevens took his place.

It didn’t unduly affect Wycombe going forward as they doubled their lead. Craig Eastmond made a determined break from the centre circle and parted the retreating O’s defence, which stood off him all the way to the penalty area.

The ball broke to Hayes – who looked to be marginally offside – and the striker notched his third goal in two games at Adams Park as he fired home from six yards to double Wanderers’ advantage.

And it wasn’t long until that was added to. Bloomfield picked up the ball just outside the visitors’ penalty area, swerved and shimmied his way past a couple of defenders before tucking the ball home at the near post.

It was the long-serving midfielder’s first goal since his strike in the 4-3 win at Rotherham in October 2010 and he probably hasn’t scored a better one.

Incredibly Blues weren’t done there. More shambolic defending from Orient meant they failed to get the ball clear as it pinged around their penalty area and they seemed content to let a cross float out of play.

They reckoned without the work-rate of Bloomfield though who bust a gut to get to the byline before pulling it back for the newly-arrived Strevens to poke home a fourth.

It prompted a torrent of abuse from the Orient fans who, through some inventive chanting, announced they wanted their money back.

Their side had been truly abysmal and the fans who hadn’t headed for the exits before the interval turned on their team when they managed to string together a few passes and register an attempt at goal, but Nikki Bull could hardly said to have been tested as he easily gathered a weak header from Calvin Andrew.

They even booed their team as they emerged from the tunnel for the start of the second half, but they were cheering less than a minute later as captain Matt Spring blasted into the top corner from 20 yards.

To their credit Orient at least tried to make a game of it in the second half and Ben Chorley headed over from Andrew’s flick-on and Bull had to make a timely punch clear with Jimmy Smith looking odds-on to score.

The second half struggled to match the heights of the first as the O’s showed some vague semblance of competence at the back, snuffing out the threat that Wanderers could rustle up.

Bull had to be at his best to keep out a shot from Syam Ben Youssef but he could do nothing to keep out a header from Marc Laird as Wanderers couldn’t get the ball clear and Orient started to threaten a comeback.

Although two ahead Blues knew they could do with another to settle the nerves that were starting to show around Adams Park, and Hayes lobbed the ball just over after another wobbly piece of goalkeeping from Rachubka failed to get the ball away under pressure from Eastmond.

Play swung back down the other end and Bull had to smother a close-range effort from Kevin Lisbie as Orient applied late pressure.

But it was Beavon who almost had the final say on things as he had an injury time shot deflected behind, before robbing Rachubka but misplacing his pass to Gareth Ainsworth when he should have gone for goal himself.

Wanderers: Bull, McCoy, Doherty, Winfield, Foster, Lewis, Eastmond (sub Laing), Bloomfield, Hayes (sub Ainsworth), McClure (sub Strevens), Beavon. Substitutes not used: Johnson, McNamee.

Attendance: 3,564