Luke O'Nien scores winner as Wycombe Wanderers beat Yeovil Town 1-0 in League Two

The midfielder had seen a strong penalty shout turned down early in the game as he was brought down by Town keeper Chris Weale.

The result sees Wanderers head into Saturday’s game with Portsmouth at Adams Park  with a win under their belt.

Inside the opening two minutes Darren Ward lost flight of a long punt forward and with Garry Thompson ready to race in behind the Yeovil defence handled.

Ward was fortunate to escape further punishment as he appeared to deliberately move his arm towards the ball.

It was the perfect precursor to what proved to be a messy start with neither side managing to control possession.

O’Nien had the first shot in anger in the twelfth minute as some decent hold up play released Michael Harriman whose cross fell to the midfielder who fired over.

After 17 minutes Thompson had a gilt edge chance as a spinning pass from Harriman was miscued from the repeatedly clumsy Ward to allow him a free run on goal.

The 35-year-old went for a side-footed finish but was stopped by a sprawling Chris Weale.

From the resulting corner Thompson had a headed effort cleared off the line by Harry Cornick after he had risen well to win the ball ahead of a clutch of defenders.

The game which had been in a state of hibernation had suddenly burst into life and O’Nien was convinced he should have had a penalty.

He had rounded the goalie well and with the ball running away from him went down under a challenge.

The referee turned down his appeal and a melee ensued as Yeovil players surrounded O’Nien. While the 21-year-old had gone down in stages there did appear to be contact and a penalty would surely have resulted in a red card as well.

Town had done little to threaten the Chairboys’ goal, but what danger they were producing was coming trough forward Francois Zoko who drew Matt Ingram into routine action at his near post.

The forward was more productive in the 36th minute as he shrugged off the challenge of Aaron Pierre and picked out Ryan Bird at the far post.

Bird hung in the air superbly to connect with a powerful volley and Ingram got across his line well to punch the ball over the bar.

In the closing stages of the half an incisive counter resulted in Thompson again coming close to breaking the deadlock.

First Harriman beat his man and released Sam Wood whose delicate flick found Thompson in acres of space.

Just like earlier in the half Weale was in great form as he rushed out and blocked the veteran striker’s effort.

The Glovers started the second period well and Cornick cut in from the left and hit a powerful drive from distance but could only direct his shot straight at Ingram.

Yeovil were showing the same sort of defensive effort that had seen them get their first clean sheet since October against Newport on Saturday and were frustrating the Blues.

The visitors created little of note in the opening 12 minutes of the second half until Matt Bloomfield sent in a dangerous cross that eluded everyone.

Wycombe were beginning to have a period of concerted pressure as Wood hit a speculative effort from over 30 yards.

The shot swerved and dipped and Weale was almost embarrassed but managed to get his body behind the ball and block it.

In a match that had become tighter in the second half long shots became the order of the day as Ben Tozer sent in a tame effort that was easily held by Ingram.

O’Nien showed far greater quality in the 70th minute as he broke the deadlock with a brilliant curling effort.

He took the ball in his stride from Aaron Amadi-Holloway’s pass just outside the area and sent a side footed strike across the keeper into the top corner for his third goal this term.

It was a rare moment of class in a closely contested match and represented another skill to add form the young midfielder’s growing portfolio.

In a game of fine margins the goal was a fitting way to seal a valuable victory for Wanderers that extends their unbeaten run to five games.

Ingram showcased why he is regarded as the best keeper in the league as he stopped Wesley Fogden’s drive at his near post with a strong hand.

Pierre made a outstanding goal line clearance to secure the win as Ingram lost a high ball and a shot flew into towards the vacant net.

Wycombe Wanderers: Ingram; McCarthy, Stewart, Pierre, Jombati, Harriman, Bloomfield, O’Nien, Wood, Thompson (59 Amadi-Holloway), Hayes (72 Kretzschmar) Subs not used: Richardson; Banton, Sellers, Rowe

Yeovil Town: Weale; Roberts, Ward, Lacey, Smith ©, Fogden, Tozer, Dolan (59 Dickson), Cornick, Zoko (74 Thomas), Bird (77 Jeffers) Subs not used: Krysiak, Sokolik, Beck, Sheehan

Bookings: Pierre (49 foul on Zoko), Smith (63 pulling back Hayes),

Referee: Darren Deadman

Attendance: 2,963 (Away 154)