Report by Thom Airs

Some free-flowing football on a soft pitch helped Fever see off Wycombe 6-3.

Soundtracked by a roaring M40, the Oxford side’s midfield bossed the opening exchanges to establish a lead they never looked like surrendering, despite a rocky start to the second half.

Rob Muskett bagged a hat-trick, and had a fourth ruled out for offside, while the impressive Joe Bray notched a brace and utility man Pat Wehmeier also found the net.

It was the Anglo-German who opened the scoring with a cool finish. An incisive pass from Aron McIver split the Wycombe defence and Wehmeier went one on one with the keeper before sliding the ball home.

Fever dominated the first half, leaving debutant goalie Paul Baccino with very little to do. Thom Airs went closer and closer with a succession of shots but it was Muskett who doubled the lead after fine work from Pat Wehmeier down the left-hand side. Whether the onrushing Muskett bundled the ball into the net with his arm is unclear, though he sheepishly hid a muddy ballprint on his wrist during a muted celebration.

Fever’s third was much more emphatic. As the Chairboys failed to clear their lines, Muskett was on hand with his feet this time to sweep the ball into the net with a neat Cruyff flick.

Just before halftime it was 4-0 as Bray, who was a constant threat down the left, cut inside and scored a goal that your correspondent failed to see from the sidelines. The goalkeeper’s mid-90s jumper, last seen on a despairing Mark Crossley at Nottingham Forest, suggests he made a hash of any attempted save.

After the break Wycombe came back into the game as their best player, a substitute striker who would later go on to play for Wanderers’ senior side under the pseudonym ‘Gary Doherty’, timed a run into the box and finished smartly beyond Baccino.

Fever faltered for a while after that, conceding another two goals including a fierce top-corner drive from the Doherty-a-like, but eventually got back into their stride.

Straight from a restart, Airs ran down the left and pulled the ball back for Matthews whose shot smashed the crossbar. Muskett repeated the trick from the rebound before eventually sending the ball high into the net.

Bray completed the scoring with a low finish from the edge of the box and Fever’s Oxford fans set off for Adams Park with smiles on their faces. All except for James Longshaw, who despite putting in a gritty display on the wing went home to scour lyrics websites for lines that fit Twitter’s character limit and make him look mysterious.

Team: Paul Baccino, Geoff Carter, Paul Lucas, Nick Wehmeier, Nick Holloway, Paul Soper, Damon Farrant, Aron McIver, James Longshaw, Joe Bray, Thom Airs, Simeon Bean, John Matthews, Rob Muskett, Pat Wehmeier