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FA Cup First Round
Wycombe Wanderers 1 Swindon Town 2
0 – 1 Roberts (66)
0 – 2 Paynter (72)
1 – 2 Bloomfield (82)
The FA Cup we are regularly informed has a unique appeal amongst the world of football. No other cup competition is like it; no other cup competition has the mass appeal. That may be true once the Third Round takes place but for some reason, amongst the denizens of the Buckinghamshire town of Wycombe, the reality is somewhat different.
A meagre attendance of 3,322 well below the season’s average turned out this afternoon and I struggle to understand why. With a team on the edges of the play-offs hosting a team a division higher, surely the opportunity of an upset was there. Granted Swindon may have been promoted last season but logic dictates that a scalp is a scalp. Obviously, that is not the case.
The away end was not sold out, hindered by the fact that Wycombe only managed to dispatch the tickets at the start of the week leading up to the game. Even so, the best part of one thousand Wiltshire men and women made the short hop down the M4 and across country to Adams Park.
The first half was full of huff, puff and the odd moment but in keeping with the subdued attendance and atmosphere, there was not a lot of activity to keep Brezovan or Douglas busy in their respective goals. Many stray passes, a lot of fumbling in midfield like youthful lovers but no product.
The second half came to life immediately. Roberts on for the ineffective Comminges for Swindon added more dynamism to their right hand side. Wycombe supporters woke from their slumber in the Hypnos stand yet twenty minutes into the half, Roberts capitalised on a Williams’s error to race clear and slot home between Douglas’ legs.
The goal invigorated the visitors; Billy Paynter doubled their advantage six minutes later. The contest seemed to be over. Matt Bloomfield had other ideas and set the stage for a barnstorming finish with the hosts’ goal seven minutes from time. Like the storm above, it never quite materialised and Wycombe’s Cup run was over before it started.
