Dynamic Dean has a return to savour

SWEET STRIKE: Filipe Morais unleashes a shot at the Wycombe goal as Athletic pile forward.

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Athletic 2, Wycombe 0

Fit-again skipper leads by example
ATHLETIC'S 21 shots on goal compared to Wycombe's grand total of zero tells you pretty much everything you need to know about this 2-0 victory for the hosts at Boundary Park.

Paul Dickov's side might not have produced the attacking flair associated with many of the victories they have enjoyed during the Scot's tenure, but it was as comfortable an afternoon as you are likely to experience in npower League One.

The manager's only criticism of his side was failing to add more names to the scoresheet - but if you had offered him a routine three points, especially taking into consideration his anger following the 1-0 loss at Tranmere last time out, he would have snapped your hand off.

A moment of magic from Chris Taylor helped break the deadlock after an hour. Perhaps conscious of his defensive duties down the left wing, he wasn't always willing to take on opponents, but on this occasion he left full-back Danny Foster on the seat of his pants before producing a perfect low cross.

Tireless midfield man James Wesolowski got in front of the Chairboys' back line to direct the ball into the back of the net with a neat first-time effort from eight yards – a fine finish for someone more accustomed with the rigours of the engine room, and a stylish way to open his account for the club.

The second goal, which arrived with 10 minutes left, was straight off the training ground and so, so simple.

The lively Robbie Simpson rolled a left-wing corner into the path of skipper Dean Furman – making his first start since returning from knee surgery – and he rifled home from the edge of the penalty area.

It was a slow start to the match and a strange atmosphere inside the ground, almost certainly brought on by the inconsistent nature of Athletic's season to date – the manager and his staff have been tearing their hair out after the one step forward, one step back nature of this campaign.

Early on, one suspected the supporters felt the same, and they were waiting with baited breath to see which team turned up – the one which disposed of high-flying MK Dons and a Scunthorpe team sprinkled with ex-Championship players?

Or the one that could not break through against Brentford and failed to gain any real foothold in the game at Tranmere?

The answer, for large spells of this encounter, was probably somewhere in the middle until the first goal arrived and the match became more stretched.

It soon became clear that Wycombe would be happy with a point for their troubles and so it was down to the home outfit to break down the barriers.

Simpson, who looked comfortable in a supporting role to target man Shefki Kuqi, chested down a pass from the Finn and sent a left-foot effort wide.

Well-travelled winger Gareth Ainsworth looked lively on the right, although rising star David Mellor stood up to the challenge all afternoon.

Ainsworth's cross from a deep position deflected into the path of fellow veteran Martin Rowlands, who screwed his shot wide from 18 yards out.

Furman was the much-needed spark and his all-action display will have come as welcome relief to those who wondered how long it would take the captain to get back into full swing.

He was at the heart of all that was good about his team's approach play and he almost gave them the lead after 26 minutes.

Latching on to Taylor's neat flick, he unleashed a volley from 20 yards which whistled one yard wide of Nikki Bull's left-hand post, with the goalkeeper rooted to the spot.

How Athletic have missed the threat posed by Furman.

The half-hour mark saw referee David Webb feel the full force of the home contingent's displeasure when he refused to give what can only be described as a 'stone wall' penalty.

Left-back Grant Basey wrestled Kuqi to the deck when the powerhouse forward attempted to find a yard of space to pull the trigger, but to almost everyone's amazement Webb was unmoved and play continued – as did Kuqi's protests, with linesman Barry Toner on the receiving end of his vitriol.

Kuqi escaped caution, but Rowlands provoked the first yellow card for a lunge on Wesolowski halfway inside the Wycombe half. Mellor's sweet left foot failed him as he overhit the resultant set-piece for a goal kick.

Athletic had shaken off the cobwebs by this stage and built up some momentum as the first period drew to a close. Simpson held off centre-half Lee Johnson and found Taylor, who cut inside and smacked the ball straight down the throat of Bull from all of 25 yards.

Defender David Winfield joined Rowlands in the book and got an earful from Taylor after a nasty challenge on Simpson.

And the best opportunity of the half went to Kuqi. Mellor's wicked delivery fell kindly to the striker seven yards out, but his prod towards goal was superbly beaten away by Bull with everyone waiting for the net to bulge.

The half-time whistle could not have come at a worse time for the hosts after recovering from a sluggish opening.

But there was more zip after the restart and only one team looked like claiming three points.

Mellor's inswinging corner from the right was headed out by Johnson but only as far as Mvoto, who nodded it back towards goal and was prevented by the fingertips of Bull.

Kuqi would have been celebrating one of the goals of the season had his 30-yard piledriver found the net instead of fizzing inches past an upright.

Alarm bells momentarily rang out when that old bugbear – defending set-plays – reared its ugly head.

Scott Donnelly found the unmarked Johnson, who managed to totally miss the ball when any connection would have given his side the lead.

How costly it proved to be. Two minutes later, Taylor's trickery and Wesolowski's perseverance put Athletic in front.

It meant for the first time Wycombe had to commit players forward, which suited the likes of Taylor, Morais and Furman.

Morais and the impressive Kieran Lee combined own the right before Morais saw his dangerous-looking cross intercepted by Basey.

Taylor smacked a fine effort a matter of millimetres past the post from the left channel and the away side were on the ropes.

Manager Gary Waddock had seen enough and replaced wide men Ainsworth and Donnelly with Kadeem Harris and Joel Grant respectively.

The duo combined well with 18 minutes remaining – Harris twisted and turned down the right before squaring to Grant, who blasted over.

Wycombe's final roll of the dice was Jordan Ibe who, at the tender age of 15, is not only at the start of his professional football education but also in the midst of GCSEs revision.

Harris' lively cameo included a yellow card for a mistimed tackle on Mellor, who had so much energy he looked like he could have played two matches.

For a traditional, no-nonsense centre-half, Nathan Clarke has a good range of passing in his locker and he released Simpson, whose deft lob over Bull was headed off the line courtesy of a desperate lunge by Winfield.

Three minutes later it was as good as over when Furman cracked home Simpson's corner. It was a richly-deserved reward for the midfield maestro, who displayed no signs of fatigue despite his spell on the sidelines.

Matt Smith replaced Morais, who suffered a tight hamstring and limped off, and could have extended the lead almost at once - but he directed a header wide after being picked out by Simpson.

Wycombe's miserable day at the office was compounded by a fourth booking with time running out – Lewis the offender this time for a late tackle on star turn Furman.