Crewe 4 Wycombe 2

Last updated : 04 March 2003 By Footymad Previewer

Crewe returned to winning ways as Dean Ashton hit a double in a comfortable 4-2 victory over Wycombe.

Dario Gradi's side had lost the previous two home outings against Wigan and Peterborough, but Wanderers posed a few problems once the second placed side in the second division had got into their stride.

They had an early scare when Kenny Lunt was forced to clear Dannie Bulman's snapshot off the goal-line with Crewe keeper Clayton Ince grounded.

But the Cheshire side struck first in the eighth minute when Ashton ran on to Neil Sorvel's pass and slotted the ball past Frank Talia from inside the box.

Wycombe hit back within a minute when Danny Senda was allowed to move up and hit a crossfield pass, which dropped into Johnny Dixon's path and the centre forward prodded past Ince from close range.

But Crewe were quickly back pressing and had most of the play from then on, although defensively they still looked unsure. Rodney Jack was in terrific form playing in a deep role behind Ashton and leading scorer Rob Hulse.

Veteran defender Keith Ryan was given a torrid time by Jack and he wrestled him down to concede the 24th minute penalty from which Lunt sent Talia the wrong way to restore Crewe's lead.

They were nearly caught out when Michael Simpson's long pass released Sanda in behind the defence and Ince had to come out to the edge of the box to make a vital save.

Crewe extended their lead 14 minutes after the break with a delightful crafted combination. Ashton and David Vaughan linked up and the left-back cut the ball across the six-yard box where Sorvel appeared to have scored, only to see the ball cleared off the line by a defender.

But Hulse showed no mercy when he fired in the rebound.

The contest was virtually over three minutes later when Lunt found Ashton in front of goal and other centre-forward made no mistake from close range for his second.

Bulman's speculatively 30-yard shot caught a deflection before it flew past Ince to ensure the home side were not completely home and dry in the final 20 minutes.