WANDERERS' promotion hopes received a dent as relegation-haunted Torquay stole the points with a smash-and-grab raid.

Tony Bedeau's 57th minute breakaway goal boosted the Gulls' League Two survival hopes and made a mockery of the 29 points that separated the sides at the start of play.

His cool finish lifted the Gulls out of the relegation zone and made it a happy return to the Causeway Stadium for Gulls chief John Cornforth who spent three years at Wycombe as a player.

Cornforth's players carried out his game-plan to the letter to make it seven points out of the last nine for a resurgent United and hammered a dent into his old club's promotion ambitions.

The Gulls soaked up plenty of pressure from the hosts in the first half before coming into the game in the second half and snatching a vital win.

Blues boss John Gorman said: "We tried everything but we didn't have enough in the locker to open them up.

"It's been a bad day. It all went wrong. Thery scored with their only shot on target and won the game.

"They made life difficult for us. They came with a game-plan to defend and defended well.

"We had a couple of good chances but not as many as we would have liked.

"The goal came at a terible time. It gave them something to hold onto and they deserved the win."

Wycombe let more than 1,000 schoolchildren in for free in a bid to improve the atmosphere at the Causeway Stadium after manager John Gorman criticised his team's fans for being too quiet but the 7,000 plus crowd were stunned into silence by United's victory.

Torquay staged a brilliant first half rearguard action to keep Wycombe at bay as the hosts kept them pinned in their own half with 40-year-old former England veteran Rob Lee and ex-Premiership man Stefan Oakes pulling the strings.

United keeper Andy Marriott produced a point-blank save to deny Jermaine Easter and then watched with relief as Dean Bowditch's 25-yard effort flew over his crossbar.

Lee Andrews then cleared the danger after James Sharp had lost the ball to Easter and the debutant was to the fore again denying dangerman Tommy Mooney a good angle to shoot as Marriott completed the save.

Wycombe made a change at half time with Charlie Griffin coming on for Easter as the hosts tried something different to unlock the miserly United defence.

Gorman said: "I took him off because I felt he wasn't producing. He was quiet. He hasn't got his confidence yet but there is plenty of time for Jermaine. He's got plenty of time here. Rome wasn't built in a day.

"If he had scored with the one the keeper saved the floodgates might open for him, things soon change in football."

But it was Torquay who started the second period the brighter and they might have nicked the opener within 60 seconds of the restart. Martin Phillips robbed Roger Johnson on the edge of the Wycombe area only for former Plainmoor trainee Mike Williamson to get back and clear the danger.

United were growing in confidence against an increasingly frustrated home side and they stunned their hosts with a breakaway goal from Bedeau on 57 minutes.

Philips robbed Clint Easton in his own half and led a four on two charge downfield before slipping the ball right to Bedeau who steered his shot across Frank Talia and into the net for a priceless goal.

And United should have doubled their lead on 68 minutes.

Kevin Hill accepted a gift from the Wycombe defence and fed Bedeau again. The United striker was clean through on goal but, just as he was about to pull the trigger, Oakes appeared from nowhere to nick the ball off him.

United defended manfully but The Chairboys almost fluked an equaliser on 74 minutes when Marriott tipped substitute Russell Martin's mishit cross over his bar.

Wanderers finished the match with four up front in an all-out attack.

But Torquay survived the onslaught with the help of the crossbar and an amazing double save with just eight minutes remaining.

Marriott pushed Oakes' fierce free kick against the bar, Charlie Griffin's follow-up was cleared off the line by Andrews and then Marriott somehow kept out Johnson's effort on the goalline to give United three valuable points.

Gorman said: "That free kick proved that it wasn't meant to be."

The defeat, coupled with leaders Carlisle's 5-0 win at Darlington and Grimsby's 2-1 win over Bury, pushed Wanderers down to third but defeats for Northampton and Orient meant that it was not as bad a day as it could have been.

Wycombe: Talia, Senda, Oakes, Johnson, Easton (Stonebridge 62), Williamson, Lee, Bloomfield, Bowditch (Martin 62), Easter (Griffin 45), Mooney. Subs Not Used: Williams, Antwi.

Booked: Lee.

Torquay: Marriott, Andrews, Reed, Sharp, Woods, Garner, Hollands, Phillips (Taylor 87), Bedeau (Sako 90), Robinson (Hockley 89), Hill.

Subs Not Used: Kuffour, Lloyd.

Booked: Sharp.

Goal: Bedeau 57.

Attendance: 7,134.

Referee: D Deadman (Cambridgeshire).