Alexander nets hat-trick in Bees romp
Brentford 5 Wycombe 2
Gary Alexander netted a hat-trick to help Brentford emphatically return to winning ways.
Sam Saunders and Toumani Diagouraga also scored as the Bees ended a run of seven games without a win stretching back to the end of November.
They were in control from the first whistle, passing the ball crisply, but were also made to look good by an abject Wycombe, who were second to every ball and looked leggy on a heavily sanded pitch.
Left-back Jake Bidwell, on loan from Everton, was given the freedom of TW8 to provide crosses for Alexander to first power a header past Nikki Bull and then to stab home, again unmarked, from six yards out.
Alexander’s ninth and tenth goals in 10 games sandwiched a great strike from Saunders.
Jonathan Douglas casually laid the ball off to the playmaker to smash through a throng of bodies into the back of the net to send the home side in at the break 3-0 up.
Wycombe got on the scoresheet a minute after the interval when Ben Strevens rose on the penalty spot to nod home a whipped Grant Basey free-kick.
On FA Cup fourth-round weekend the second half resembled a cup tie, with tasty tackles, space and chances aplenty as Brentford looked to kill the game off and Wycombe committed players forward.
On 75 minutes, Diagouraga made it 4-1 after former QPR man Marcus Bean’s right-wing cross fell to the big Frenchman, who was on hand to apply the finish.
Wycombe responded straightaway and after a neat double save by Richard Lee, from the resulting corner a near-post scramble saw Strevens score his second.
Hero Alexander secured the match ball with a powerful far-post strike – again after being set up by the impressive Bidwell – to leave the delighted Brentford faithful chanting “We want six!”
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