Fans row with Harry as Craig hits treble
THE JOY and misery of football was laid bare at Adams Park, where Craig Mackail-Smith's quickfire hat-trick inspired Wycombe to a thumping victory over a disappointing Crawley.
If Mackail-Smith rolling back the years was the good news story, the other side of the coin was shown when Crawley boss Harry Kewell went over to confront disgruntled away fans after the final whistle.
Stewards intervened before the situation could become too heated, but it made it all too clear that not everyone at the Red Devils is pulling in the same direction.
Kewell said afterwards: “It was a mishap with a young man who, when he probably looks back on it, he’ll think he was out of order, but everybody has an opinion.
“He’s very passionate about his club and we’re all hurting, but it’s times like this when we’ve all got to stick together and fight.
“Everyone understands that this is going to be tough, it’s not going to be a stroll in the park, and we’ve all got to be together as one.”
Thomas Verheydt came close to opening the scoring for Crawley after ten minutes when his header from Enzio Boldewijn’s cross was saved by Scott Brown at his near post.
Wycombe then came within a whisker of the lead as Anthony Stewart headed Joe Jacobson’s free-kick into the ground, with the ball bouncing off the bar.
A moment of individual brilliance led to the Chairboys going ahead, as Eberechi Eze surged into the area, going past three defenders, before finishing calmly.
Their lead was doubled when MackailSmith was found in plenty of space by Adebayo Akinfenwa and he bent a first-time shot right into the top corner.
MackailSmith then struck twice in two minutes to complete his hat-trick, first with a brilliant finish off the underside of the bar from outside the box then after being put in the clear by Akinfenwa again.
Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth said: “It’s taken Craig a few weeks to get his body in shape and to get loose – it does with footballers.
“It doesn’t always fall into place, but Craig’s feeling really good and I have to credit the physios, who have got him in great shape.
“He had a nasty break and he was out for a long time.
“But he seems to be back to his best and that’s a scary thought for the other League Two teams, if we can keep Craig MackailSmith firing.”