Wycombe Wanderers 2-0 Northampton Town: FLW reports as Michael Duff era begins with victory | OneFootball

FLW reports from Michael Duff's first game in charge of Wycombe Wanderers, as they hosted in-form Northampton Town.

Michael Duff's tenure as Wycombe Wanderers head coach got off to a flying start, with a well-executed performance to beat Northampton Town 2-0.

Wycombe started well, and after a flurry of chances found the opener inside 20 minutes.

Luke Leahy lofted a stunning ball into an unmarked Daniel Harvie, who slotted past Lee Burge with conviction to mark the first goal of the Duff era.

The Blues held the lead through half-time and into the second period, riding out a storm of Northampton pressure, before Leahy again pulled the strings, allowing George Abbott to take the ball down, go past four defenders, and slot home what would be the deciding goal.

The Michael Duff era almost got off to an electric start after just two minutes when Ewan Henderson headed the ball into the path of Cauley Woodrow, who drilled his effort wide from close range.

Then, a flurry of early chances by Jamie Mullins, Henderson, Taylor Allen, and Fred Onyedinma all had Lee Burge worried, but Northampton were able to resist the early pressure from the Chairboys.

Mullins then beat his man after linking up nicely with Onyedinma, drilling a low cross into the area which was met by a pink shirt and put out for a throw in.

The early pressure paid off as Wanderers would start their new era with a bang just 17 minutes in, with an excellently crafted goal. A nice interchange in the middle of the park between Henderson and Leahy was played out to Onyedinma before coming back inside to Leahy.

The number ten chipped an exquisite ball over the top of the defence to an unmarked Harvie, who'd bombed forward from left-back, and his neat effort was tucked in at the near post for his first goal in almost a calendar year.

There was some worry for Wycombe stopper Mikki Van Sas just after the goal, having collided midair with a Northampton player from a cross. Sub keeper Will Norris went down the tunnel to grab his gloves, but the Dutchman was ok to continue.

Not a lot else happened in the first half, with Duff's side soaking up any pressure Kevin Nolan's team applied, and seeing out the rest of the half with relative ease to preserve their advantage into the break.

The second half got underway as dark clouds began to cover the afternoon sky at Adams Park.

The Cobblers started the second-half brightly, and had their first real sniff of goal after Ethan Wheatley was sent through one-on-one against Van Sas. Fortunately for Wycombe, he lashed the effort well wide of the near post.

Sam Hoskins was lucky to get away without a booking when he hauled down Woodrow, who was bearing down on goal. The resultant free-kick was blasted into the home terrace by Leahy.

Northampton had started the second half much better, playing with much more tempo, and certainly gave Wycombe plenty to think about at the back.

Hearts were in mouths just after the hour mark when a routine cross was fumbled by Van Sas and was prodded towards goal by Max Dyche. Wanderers fans could only watch as the ball trickled past the post.

The Chairboys' best chance of the half came with 20 minutes left when Henderson's driven cross evaded everyone except Woodrow at the back post. The on-loan striker struck it well, but it sailed well wide.

Just as Duff's side began to mount the pressure again, they found the net. Leahy with another inch-perfect ball onto the chest of substitute Abbott, who took it down, wriggled past four men and stroked the ball past Burge to double Wycombe's lead.

After the second, the hosts pushed on for a third, and had two big chances via substitute striker Bradley Fink, before Jack Grimmer forced Burge into a save from a corner.

There were some handbags between Allen and Leahy in stoppage time, after a shot from distance that didn't trouble Van Sas. The midfielder was clearly unhappy with his centre-back.

It wouldn't matter though, as after six minutes of stoppage time, the job was done. A strong, well-executed performance for Wanderers saw them get Duff's tenure as head coach off to the best possible start - a much-needed lift after a chaotic 48 hours in HP12.

As for the visitors, it was the end of their three-game winning streak, as they ended the contest firmly second best.

Wycombe Wanderers player ratings

M. van Sas - 6

J. Grimmer - 7

C. Taylor - 7

T. Allen - 7

D. Harvie - 8

J. Mullins - 7 (G. Abbott 60'(7))

E. Henderson - 7 (C. Boyd-Munce 70'(6))

L. Leahy - 9

F. Onyedinma - 7 (F. Back 85'(6))

S. Bell - 6 (B. Fink 70'(6))

C. Woodrow - 7 (D. McNeilly 85'(6))

Unused substitutes:

Northampton Town player ratings

L. Burge - 6

C. McCarthy - 6 (J. Burroughs 69'(6))

M. Dyche - 7 (M. Forbes 75'(6))

J. Perkins - 6

D. Campbell - 6

S. Hoskins - 6

J. Thorniley - 6

T. Taylor - 6 (E. List 69'(6))

C. McGeehan - 6

T. Fornah - 7 (K. Swyer 76'(6))

E. Wheatley - 6 (J. Vale 76'(6))

Unused substitutes:

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Match attendance

Credit: Benji Walker (@benjiwalkerphoto)

There were 5197 fans present to watch Michael Duff's first game in charge of Wycombe, including 671 from Northampton.

Speaking to the press after his new Wycombe side secured victory over Northampton, Duff said: "I thought it was a good performance.

"I thought it was scrappy in areas and bits like that. I think we could've been one or two up in the first 15 minutes. We scored the [first] goal, and there was a little bit of anxiety around the place, a little bit of nervousness which was understandable.

"[There's] loads of things we can improve. Getting the second goal, you could feel the relief in the stadium, but we hit the crossbar, they've made three or four really good blocks. I don't really remember them hurting us in any way.

"[There were] lots of pleasing parts. The most important thing is the three points with the clean sheet. That's a nice little cherry on top."

Kevin Nolan reacts as Northampton's winning streak ends at Wycombe

Speaking to the press after the game, Northampton manager Nolan said: "It was disappointing, because that has not been us for a long time.

"Competing wise, there were too many spaces, and we sat off them a bit, and our decision-making wasn't great in the moments we had time to get the ball down and play, and that has been spot on for the past three or four games.

"It is disappointing, but I can't take away from what the lads have been doing, and what we have to do now is put this to bed and look forward to Tuesday now, and put down the wrongs from today right then.