Fleetwood Town fell to defeat on Tuesday evening as Wycombe Wanderers came away 2-0 winners in freezing conditions at Adams Park.
Even though the Cods created plenty of chances in the second half of the game, they were unable to put the ball in the back of the net, meaning that a goal on either side of the break for the hosts – scored by Chris Forino and Sam Vokes respectively – would be the difference on the night.
It certainly wasn’t the start Scott Brown’s side were wanting from the game as the home side found themselves in the lead in the fifth minute, as Jay Lynch punched a corner clear but a follow-up cross from Jack Grimmer soon found the Forino who nodded home from inside the six-yard box.
After a few half-chances, the home side came close to finding the back of the net for the second time in the 13th minute as a corner was played in from the right by Joe Jacobson, which was met at the front post by David Wheeler, but his header went just over the crossbar.
Town sparked into life just after the 20-minute mark and almost found themselves back on level terms as Jack Marriott pounced on a defensive error before passing back to Phoenix Patterson, whose strike was a dangerous one and had to be dealt with by a diving Max Stryjek.
Soon after Brendan Wiredu almost nodded in a Patterson corner, the home side had another spell on the half-hour mark as Vokes had two chances on goal, nodding over from close range first, and forcing a save from Lynch by striking the ball wide just a minute later.
The Cods seemed to have picked up some form before the break as Patterson, who has been at the heart of all the attacks so far, played a dangerous cross into the Wycombe box, which had to be headed away by Grimmer – Marriott and Carlos Mendes Gomes also had efforts blocked.
A better start to the second half than the first was needed by Fleetwood and that’s what happened as a chance not long after the half started came from a Patterson cross, with Mendes Gomes getting on the end of inside the area, but headed his effort, unfortunately, wide of the mark.
10 minutes into the second period, another chance came Town’s way as full-back Danny Andrew drove forwards down the left and won a corner, which was taken by Patterson. He looked for the head of Toto Nsiala, who headed the wrong side of the near post.
Wycombe’s number one was tested twice on the hour mark, the first time by Mendes Gomes who skinned Garath McCleary on the wing before forcing Stryjek into a near post diving save. He was called upon soon after as Marriott turned on a six-pence in the box but was denied at the near post.
Against the run of play, and with their first real chance of the half, McCleary’s low cross was cleared only to Lewis Wing, who played the ball to Vokes on the edge of the Town box who turns his man and fires the ball into the bottom left making the score 2-0 on the night.
With Lynch being forced into a few late saves, and an overhead kick effort from Vokes, under the floodlights in Wycombe, the game seemed to dwindle out as Town would head back up the M40 empty-handed with the full focus now on the game against Port Vale at the weekend.
Chairboys XI: Stryjek (GK), Grimmer, Jacobson (C), Forino, Wheeler, Vokes (De Barr 90+3'), Wing, McCleary (Campbell 72’), Hanlan (Wakely 90'), Freeman, McCarthy.
Unused subs: Cartwright (GK), Young, Pattenden, Ward.
Town XI: Lynch (GK), Andrew (Earl 80’), Wiredu, Mendes Gomes, Vela (C), Marriott, Warrington (Robertson 80’), Nsiala, Patterson (Dolan 80’), Rooney, Macadam (Stockley 70’).
Unused subs: Fôn Williams (GK), Holgate, Batty.