By Matt Cecil

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Wycombe Wanderers sit proudly top of Coca Cola League Two this evening after Chris Zebroski's first goal for the club handed Peter Taylor's side a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Rochdale.

Almost two years to the day that Paul Lambert's Wycombe side hit the summit with a 2-0 win over the Spotland club, the new generation of Wanderers stars repeated the feat with a gritty performance against their fellow promotion hopefuls and stole the points with Zebroski's first half effort.

The former Millwall striker reacted quickest after Mike Williamson's downward header had been saved by the legs of home keeper Sam Russell following Lewwis Spence's corner, and the home side struggled to create any major goalscoring chances as the superb Wycombe defence held out.

This win brings about Wanderers' best ever start to a league campaign and also leaves the Blues as one of only two unbeaten teams left in the division along with Alan Knill's Bury.

Peter Taylor was forced into one change ahead of kick-off with Gary Holt missing out due to an injury picked up in training, allowing Lewwis Spence to return to the midfield after missing last weekend's win at Chesterfield with a calf injury.

And the comparisons between the two victories at Saltergate and Spotland were there for all to be seen as the Blues showed their clinical finishing in front of goal before defending resolutely to ensure the win in both matches, notching up an excellent six points in the process.

Wanderers began the game in bright fashion as they looked for a fourth successive victory at Spotland, winning a number of corners inside the opening stages, and Gavin Grant pounced on a half clearance to shoot a yard wide from outside the box on six minutes.

Both teams were able to pass the ball around smoothly on a surprisingly immaculate pitch given the heavy national rainfall in recent days, and Rochdale began to stamp their authority on the game with wingers Adam Rundle and Will Buckley proving to be a handful for the Wycombe full-backs.

It was from a Rundle corner that the home side almost took the lead on 16 minutes as the diminutive Adam Le Fondre ghosted into the six-yard box and connected with the cross, but the ball bounced downwards rather than goalwards and Wanderers were able to clear.

The same striker was denied four minutes later as he latched on to a through-ball and fired towards the bottom corner of Scott Shearer's goal, but the big Glaswegian got down well to palm the ball to safety as he attempted to preserve a clean sheet record stretching back for more than six hours of football.

Le Fondre's strike partner Chris Dagnall was the next to try to break that record as he collected a forward pass and clipped the ball towards goal as Shearer raced out to narrow the angle, but the ball trickled wide of the far post to the despair of the home support.

One of the few downsides of the afternoon from Wycombe's perspective was the withdrawal of Tommy Doherty on 30 minutes; the midfielder seemed to collect a knock as he challenged for the ball with Dagnall and was taken off as a precaution.

However, Doherty's misfortune provided an opportunity for Matt Harrold to make his debut in the quarters following his move from Southend United on Monday, and the striker's first action was to congratulate Chris Zebroski as he converted the only goal of the game seconds after Harrold's arrival.

Lewwis Spence's inswinging corner was met by the head of last week's goalscorer Mike Williamson and although the defender's header was saved by the legs of home keeper Sam Russell, Zebroski guided home the loose ball to become the Blues' sixth different scorer already this season.

The goal came just as Rochdale were enjoying their best spell in the game but they could have been further behind as Harrold stretched out a boot to meet Gavin Grant's cross, with the ball bouncing a yard or two wide of the post.

Wanderers went in to the break with the one-goal advantage and began the second period solidly, with Scott McGleish winning the ball on the half-way line before being outpaced as he headed for goal.

Rochdale manager Keith Hill then opted to bring on veteran striker Lee Thorpe in place of the impressive Will Buckley but against the colossal Mike Williamson, Thorpe never had a chance. The Blues centre-back simply looked far too good for this level of football and instilled confidence in everyone around him, with Leon Johnson also starring at the back.

At the other end, Scott McGleish attempted an acrobatic bicycle kick from a Gavin Grant to try and extend the lead while Matt Harrold was impressive of his debut, linking up well with McGleish, Zebroski and Grant to try and carve open further opportunities.

Simon Church then came on for the tired McGleish on 73 minutes and showed plenty of energy on his second appearance for the club as Wycombe began to look comfortable in all areas of the field, reducing Rochdale's chances of finding an equaliser.

The home side continued to press forward but there was simply no way through, and the visiting defence was more than equal to every high ball or forward pass from Dale and were able to close out the game much to the delight of the travelling support.

13 points from five games, four successive clean sheets, four straight wins and a best ever start to a league campaign - say what you like about it being a marathon and not a sprint, and no-one within the squad will be getting carried away, but the Peter Taylor generation is showing all the early signs of being a successful one.

Rochdale: Russell, Ramsden, Stanton, McArdle, Kennedy, William Buckley (Thorpe 57), Toner (Lambert 79), Jones, Rundle, Dagnall (Higginbotham 79), Le Fondre.
Subs Not Used: Spencer, Wiseman.

Booked: Stanton.

Wycombe: Shearer, McCracken, Johnson, Williamson, Woodman, Grant, Doherty (Harrold 30), Mousinho, Spence, McGleish (Church 72), Zebroski.Subs Not Used: Young, Ashton, Crooks.

Goals: Zebroski 31.

Att: 2,880

Ref: Jon Moss (W Yorkshire).