Wycombe 1-2 Macclesfield

Sep 11 2010 By Greg Burns at Adams Park

TWO wonder goals ended Wycombe's unbeaten start to the season as Macclesfield secured a shock win.

Colin Daniel and Tyrone Barnett helped the Silkmen race into a two goal lead and capitalise on as poor a display as Wycombe have put in this year let alone this season.

A second-half rally saw Scott Rendell pull a goal back from the spot but in the end Macclesfield were able to comfortably see out the game to record their first league win of the season.

It means Blues are without a league win in five games and are slip down to 12^th in League Two and six points behind the automatic promotion spots.

With a potentially fiery trip to Aldershot next weekend and a visit from current in-form Shrewsbury the week after, this looked like a must-win game for Gary Waddock's side.

But they put in a woeful first-half performance to hand a struggling Town side a lead to hold onto.

Waddock made two team changes from the draw at Accrington last weekend with Reading loanee Scott Davies handed a start after rejoining the club on Thursday.

Defensive midfielder Lewis Montrose made way for the 22-year-old former Wycombe youth product with club skipper Gareth Ainsworth also dropped to the bench.

The 37-year-old's place was taken by Kieran Murtagh who was handed his first league start for Wycombe since joining the club in the summer.

Striker Jon-Paul Pittman went down injured in the pre-match warm up and was stretchered off the pitch with ten minutes to go before kick-off with Matt McClure replacing him on the bench.

The home side were handed an early warning sign within the first minute when Murtagh gave away a sloppy pass in midfield which allowed Daniel to race into the box and cross for Emile Sinclair.

But the Macclesfield striker, who missed a penalty last weekend, sliced his shot over the bar when he should have put his side ahead after just 30 seconds.

Three minutes later and the Silkmen should have been two ahead.

Barnett superbly turned Dave Winfield in the box but, when presented with a sight of goal, he dragged a tame effort into the side netting from a tight angle.

The slack Wycombe play had set the tone for a poor performance which lacked energy and creativity but also an alarming lack of cohesion at the back.

Blues striker Scott Rendell has had a tough time in front of goal since his £125,000 move from Peterborough in the summer with one penalty on the opening day of the season to his name.

And he was left to curse Town goalkeeper Jose Veiga on eight minutes when the stopper superbly saved his curling volley which was heading into the bottom corner.

But it was Macclesfield who took a deserved 10^th minute lead when Daniel picked up the ball 25-yards out and lashed in an unstoppable effort into the bottom corner.

It was 2-0 three minutes later as the Silkmen stunned the home fans when Barnett curled a first time effort into the top corner and left Wanderers with a mountain to climb to earn a point let alone the win they would have been expecting coming into the game.

Waddock's side tried in vain to push on for a goal but it was Macclesfield who continued to carry a very real goal threat.

They nearly made it three when Sinclair waltzed into the box only to curl his effort over the bar and struck the crossbar on 43 minutes when Hamza Bencherif used all his strength to hold off Murtagh and Leon Johnson but saw his effort clip the bar and go over.

It had been a shambolic display from Wycombe in the first-half with the players set for the half-time hair-dryer from Waddock and assistant boss Martin Kuhl.

And the Blues management pair wasted no time in making changes with Ainsworth and Montrose coming on for Matt Bloomfield and Murtagh at half-time.

Wanderers gathered in a pre-match huddle as they waited for Macclesfield to re-appear with Kuhl issuing one final rallying cry.

And, as expected, they penned Macclesfield into their own half early-on with Ainsworth looking to take on left-back Carl Tremarco and put balls into the box with Ben Strevens heading wide on 50 minutes.

Minutes later and Betsy raced through midfield and slipped a superb ball through to Rendell but his misery in front of goal continued when he fired his shot straight against Veiga.

Time was not on Wycombe's side and it was the type of chance that needed to be taken if Wanderers wanted to give themselves any chance of snatching a result.

It was desperate times and they nearly pulled themselves back into it with a scrappy effort on 56 minutes.

Strevens competed with Veiga in the box with the ball coming out quickly to right-back Danny Foster who could not control his effort and it flew wide of the post.

It looked like it would not be Wycombe's day when Ainsworth dinked a cross into the box on the hour mark which left-back Andy Sandell screamed to Strevens to leave before heading it against the striker's back and out for a goal kick from 10 yards out before Ainsworth became the latest player to miss a glorious chance when he skied the ball over the Dreams Stand when teed up by Strevens.

They finally got one back on 65 minutes when Betsy was brought down in the box by Silkmen defender Paul Morgan with Rendell slotting the spot-kick into the bottom corner to hand his side a lifeline.

It was the striker's first goal since the first game of the season when he scored a penalty at the same end.

With 25 minutes left on the clock, Waddock's side had plenty of time to claw back an equaliser.

But Macclesfield were allowed to take the sting out of the game with some silly fouls around the Wycombe box.

And it allowed the visitors to see the game out and snatch an unlikely victory with Nikki Bull forced to save at the legs of Daniel in stoppage time to prevent further humiliation.

WYCOMBE: Bull, Sandell, Winfield, Johnson, Foster, Betsy, Murtagh (Ainsworth 46), Davies, Bloomfield (Montrose 46), Strevens (Beavon 80), Rendell.

Subs (not used): Arnold, Bennett, McClure, Westwood.

Booked: Winfield (47 mins),

MACCLESFIELD: Veiga, Reid, Tremarco, Brown, Morgan, Bencherif, Draper (Chalmers 70), Bolland, Daniel, Barnett, Sinclair (Wedgbury 78).

Subs (not used): Cudworth, Beardsley, Brisley, Hamshaw, Mukendi.

Booked: Tremarco (44 mins), Morgan (65 mins),

Att: 3,798

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