Wanderers bowed out of the Carling Cup at the first stage on Wednesday evening after a stylish display from Championship side Birmingham City saw Peter Taylor's men succumb to a 4-0 defeat at Adams Park.
Wycombe started solidly but fell behind to a Mehdi Nafti strike on 14 minutes, and after enjoying their best spell of pressure at the start of the second half, the home side were undone by goals from Seb Larsson, Cameron Jerome and Quincy Owusu-Abeyie.
There were three changes in the Wanderers' starting eleven from Saturday's 1-1 draw with Morecambe as Jamie Young, Will Antwi and John Mousinho replaced Scott Shearer, Mike Williamson and Gary Holt respectively.
City handed a first start to former England international Kevin Phillips after his debut strike gave the Blues a 1-0 win over Sheffield United at the weekend, while Colin Doyle replaced Maik Taylor in goal with Garry O'Connor taking Marcus Bent's place up front.
A disappointingly small crowd of 2,735 greeted the two teams as they took to the pitch in front of the Sky cameras, with supporters around the world hoping for a repeat of the seven-goal thriller between the two teams in the same competition eight years ago.
The slippery Adams Park pitch provided a fast tempo to begin the game, with the likes of Gavin Grant and Chris Zebroski looking to use their pace as often as possible, while the predictably slick passing of Wycombe's former Premiership opponents made for an exciting opening.
But the first effort of the game came from one of the least likely sources, with Wanderers right-back Leon Crooks lashing a left-footed volley into the Valley Terrace from inside the box after six minutes, while Peter Taylor's men were coping well with the nifty footwork of Phillips and the combination of Gary McSheffrey and David Murphy on City's left-hand side.
However, the sturdy defending didn't last, and it was from a deep Murphy cross that the Midlands side found the opener on 14 minutes. Craig Woodman's sliced clearance fell kindly at the feet of Scotland international Garry O'Connor and his lay-off was met by a sweetly-struck effort from Tunisian Mehdi Nafti, whose low drive from 20 yards found the corner of Jamie Young's goal.
The goal came as a big blow to the home side, who struggled to find their rhythm against an organised City defence, but one promising sight for Wanderers fans was the form of Gavin Grant on the right-hand side, who picked up where he left off after Saturday's impressive debut and delivered an excellent cross on 23 minutes which was just inches too high for Scott McGleish.
Chris Zebroski then headed over from a Will Antwi cross as the Wanderers pressed for an equaliser, and a superb build-up on 28 minutes saw Lewwis Spence send a powerful effort goalwards, although the linesman's flag had already been raised.
The game was beginning to liven up, and after Garry O'Connor had headed wide from Seb Larsson's cross, Craig Woodman drilled high and wide from 20 yards after another smart build-up, and Peter Taylor's side were showing no fear against the team from two higher divisions.
Gary McSheffrey tested his range with a left-footed free-kick which sailed past the post on 34 minutes before a Lewwis Spence cross needed to be cleared for a corner by City defender Liam Ridgewell as the home crowd began to raise the noise level.
Winger McSheffrey pulled the trigger again on 43 minutes but this time it was a cross-shot which looped dangerously towards the back post, prompting Jamie Young to concede a corner before referee Andy D'Urso called time on the half after one minute of added time.
There was a change of system at the interval with Nathan Ashton replacing Leon Crooks, prompting John Mousinho to revert to right-back with Ashton playing on the left of a four-man midfield. Meanwhile, City replaced left-back David Murphy with former Middlesbrough and Fulham man Franck Queudrue in a straight swap at the back.
And the visitors almost started the second half in perfect fashion as Lee Carsley's cross found Garry O'Connor unmarked inside the six-yard box, but the Scotsman's header was well palmed away by Jamie Young and away from danger.
Wanderers' first chance of the half came when Chris Zebroski beat his man to connect with a Gavin Grant cross but the former Torquay man's effort just rose over the crossbar from ten yards out.
The same man almost found the leveller moments later on two separate occasions when he first latched onto a deflected Nathan Ashton cross before volleying over from the resulting corner, and Peter Taylor's new 4-4-2 system seemed to be favouring the home side who looked sharper and more potent with two men up front.
However, a second goal for the visitors looked as though it might just kill the game, and Garry O'Connor almost provided the comfort of a two-goal lead after wriggling away from the Wycombe defence before prodding an effort into the arms of the unrushing Jamie Young.
Moments later, it was that man Zebroski again who hit the target, this time connecting with a Gavin Grant cross and forcing keeper Colin Doyle into a smart save at his near post.
City boss Alex McLeish handed a debut to Dutch forward Quincy Owusu-Abeyie on 62 minutes, replacing Gary McSheffrey on the left-hand side, but it was Swedish midfielder Seb Larsson who doubled the scores on 65 minutes just after Wycombe had enjoyed their best period of the game.
The former Arsenal man seized on a stray pass in midfield before exchanging passes with Garry O'Connor and when Larsson received the ball on the edge of the area, he was left with the simple task of sidefooting past Young to silence the home crowd.
Kevin Phillips had barely been given a sniff of goal in his 68 minutes of action before being replaced by Cameron Jerome, while Magno Silva Vieira was given his first taste of competitive football with Wycombe when he came on for Scott McGleish shortly after.
Birmingham put the game out of sight on 73 minutes when Jerome was given too much space inside the area to connect with Stuart Parnaby's right-wing cross, and although the ball bounced off the former Cardiff striker's shoulder, it still looped over Young and into the net before Robbie Rice replaced Tommy Doherty for the Wanderers.
Predictably, the tempo of the game dropped to barely above walking pace with City content to leave Adams Park with a place in the second round, but there was still time for Owusu-Abeyie to grab a dream debut goal on 85 minutes as he collected the ball on the left wing, drifted inside and clipped a perfect finish into the far corner.
Lewwis Spence tried in vain to fire a consolation goal three minutes later but his effort from distance fizzed past Colin Doyle's post, and the full-time whistle was met by cheers from the away fans as they recognised that their team had been simply too strong for Peter Taylor's men.
The ex-England coach must now focus his side's attentions on Saturday's trip to Chester City as the Wanderers look for their first win of the 2008/09 campaign.
Team: Jamie Young, Leon Crooks (Nathan Ashton, HT), Craig Woodman, Will Antwi, Leon Johnson, Tommy Doherty, John Mousinho, Lewwis Spence, Gavin Grant, Chris Zebroski, Scott McGleish (Magno Silva Vieira, 71).
Subs: Scott Shearer, John Sutton, Derek Duncan, Lewis Christon.
Birmingham: Colin Doyle, Stuart Parnaby, David Murphy (Franck Queuedrue, HT), Martin Taylor, Liam Ridgewell, Seb Larsson, Medhi Nafti, Lee Carsley, Gary McSheffrey (Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, 62), Kevin Phillips (Cameron Jerome, 68), Garry O'Connor.
Subs: Maik Taylor, James McFadden, Jordon Mutch, Marcus Bent.
