Garath McCleary scored twice as Wycombe made it three away wins on the spin with a 3-1 victory at relegated Carlisle.

It has been a fine week on the road for Matt Bloomfield’s side, who have secured nine points from a possible nine to stretch their unbeaten league run away from home to five games.

Joe Low knocked Luke Leahy’s deep cross back across goal for McCleary to open the scoring in the 15th minute.

The lead barely lasted five minutes as Jon Mellish’s cross bounced across the box and Alfie McCalmont was on hand to level for the hosts.

Wanderers restored their lead four minutes after the restart as teenager Richard Kone bundled the ball home from close range after hesitation in the box.

McCleary finished off the game with 15 minutes to go as he completed a team move with a fine header. Kone’s deft flick allowed Kieran Sadlier to race away on the left before Leahy put the ball on a plate for McCleary’s second.

Wycombe boss Matt Bloomfield was full of praise for Luke Leahy after his side returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory at Shrewsbury.

The hosts went down to 10 men with just over 20 minutes remaining when Tom Flanagan made a dangerous challenge on Joe Low.

The Chairboys found the breakthrough through ex-Salopian captain Leahy in the 83rd minute after he stroked home a superbly-worked free-kick from the edge of the box.

Wycombe doubled their advantage in stoppage time after Garath McCleary teed up Richard Kone to tap home and leave Shrewsbury six points above the bottom four.

Bloomfield said: “It was a fairly scrappy game, the pitch was playing quite slow and it has been a long and emotional week for us.

“The sending-off happened and sparked the game into life a little bit.

“I thought we took the two goals extremely well and it’s very fitting for Luke – it was always going to happen.

“We made him captain today because he puts so much into our football club in terms of his performances and his personality and character.

“It was his 500th appearance on Wednesday evening and today it just felt right he led us out and he scored a goal as well. I know how fondly he remembers his time at Shrewsbury.

“Kone has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. He hasn’t done that recently as much as I would of liked.

“It was a huge step up in terms of level and his performances have been very good.”

Shrewsbury boss Paul Hurst was left annoyed by his side’s performance.

He said: “I can see and hear the fans’ anger a little bit in the game but at the end of the game I can’t stand here and say I don’t agree with them.

“It is hard to put into words in truth what we have witnessed. As the game goes on, it was a nothing performance and I am not going to stand here and defend it or lie about it.

“People that were here have certainly seen what they witnessed and it was a performance far from good enough.

“It is a silly and ridiculous challenge and it’s a sending-off.

“The only bit I can say, and it still doesn’t defend it in the slightest and I am really not tempting to, is these sort of situations can occur when free-kicks are not given.

“That one (Leahy goal) which I thought was the important one again, we don’t seem to be getting the rub of the green with any referring decisions.”

Shrewsbury’s relegation fears continue to grow after goals from Luke Leahy and Richard Kone earned Wycombe a 2-0 win at the Croud Meadow.

The host went close in a first half devoid of action after a mix-up between goalkeeper Franco Ravizzoli and Joe Low but Dan Udoh saw his effort blocked.

The first opportunity of the second period came when Tom Bloxham ran through on goal. The forward found Udoh in the box but his strike was cleared for a corner by Ravizzoli.

Shrewsbury went down to 10 men with just over 20 minutes remaining when Tom Flanagan made a dangerous challenge on Low.

The Chairboys found the breakthrough through ex-Salopian captain Leahy in the 83rd minute after he stroked home a superbly-worked free-kick from the edge of the box.

Wycombe doubled their advantage in stoppage time after Garath McCleary teed up Kone to tap home and leave Shrewsbury six points above the bottom four.

Wycombe manager Matt Bloomfield praised his players for not letting their heads drop after being thwarted on a number of occasions before two late goals gave them a 2-0 victory over Cheltenham.

The Chairboys ended February the way they started it by defeating the struggling Robins, but they were frustrated for 86 minutes by a terrific performance by Cheltenham goalkeeper Luke Southwood.

Eventually, goals from Joe Low and Beryly Lubala gave them a first win in four games in League One and condemned the visitors to a first defeat in five, leaving them three points adrift of safety.

Bloomfield said: “I was really pleased with their resilience in terms of the disappointment of the penalty miss, which has happened at times this season, the disappointment of that not going in and then maybe a bit of edginess about the place.

“I felt like Cheltenham’s substitutions gave them a bit of fresh energy and the gaps were getting a little bit too big between our units, so we had to try and bring fresh energy on ourselves.

“So, for our boys to show that resilience, and I’ve said it a couple of times, they’ve had a lot to deal with this year in terms of late knocks, and bits and pieces.

“Slowly but surely, the tide’s turning in our favour and that’s another clean sheet which we’ve got to be really pleased about – I’m really pleased for Franco [Ravizzoli] in goal, I thought he was excellent.”

Southwood tipped Dale Taylor’s volley onto the bar in the first half and after the break kept out a Freddie Potts penalty before making another superb stop from Garath McCleary.

But he was finally beaten when Low blasted in from close range from a McCleary corner before Lubala sealed the points with a stunning strike from distance into the top corner.

Cheltenham boss Darrell Clarke said: “No complaints from me [about the result], we were miles off with our performance.

“I thought all game we were miles off. We were searching for answers on the sideline, we never felt comfortable.

“Wycombe were by miles the better team on the day and we got what we deserved: nothing.

“I don’t want to be too critical of my boys, they’ve been excellent, but tonight we were nowhere near the standards and the level we needed to win a League One game, that’s for sure.

“I don’t want to repeat myself but whenever we’re playing these games in the league, in the division we’re in, I can’t afford to have only two or three players be on the top of their game. I need nine or 10 players and tonight we didn’t have that. We need a reaction.”

Rob Page has revealed Charlie Savage will be staying with the Wales squad for the Euro 2024 qualifier with Croatia on Sunday.

Savage, the 20-year-old son of former Wales midfielder Robbie, made his full senior debut on Wednesday as the Dragons cruised to a 4-0 friendly win over Gibraltar in Wrexham.

The Reading midfielder was due to join up with the under-21 side ahead of their European Championship qualifier away to the Czech Republic on Friday.

But Savage and Wycombe central defender Joe Low – who also made his senior debut against Gibraltar – will remain with Page’s squad ahead of the vital Croatia clash in Cardiff.

“We’ll keep Savage and Joe, not just off the back of tonight,” said Wales manager Page. “They’ve done themselves the world of good.

“Sav has earned the right to be with us and I’ve got a lot of time for Joe.

“He’s earned the right to be there with injuries we’ve got.”

Savage claimed an assist for a Kieffer Moore header as Wales brushed aside Gibraltar with all four goals coming in the first half.

Bournemouth striker Moore scored twice to take his Wales goals tally to 12, the same number as Ryan Giggs and one fewer than John Toshack.

Ben Davies, who wore the armband in the absence of injured captain Aaron Ramsey, and Nathan Broadhead were also on target.

“He has taken my advice and left,” Page said of Savage’s move from Manchester United to Sky Bet League One outfit Reading in the summer.

“It must have been hard for him. I spoke to Rob who had to leave United to go to Crewe. It’s no different for Charlie.

“He did it because he’s playing week in week out in competitive football. He trains as he plays and has personality. We blocked Robbie from speaking to him all week which was a big achievement.

“Joking aside, Rob has got his back, he’ll look after him. He’s got his feet on the ground.

“Sav’s best position is an old-fashioned box to box eight. The ball for Kieffer was first class, right on his head. He showed he can do both sides of it and he’s a great talent.”

Wales’ comfortable win saw them secure back-to-back victories for the first time since November 2021.

“The results were not great in June, but it’s how you bounce back and we did that in September with class (winning 2-0 in Latvia),” Page said.

“The environment is brilliant. We won’t get carried away beating Gibraltar, but I see work in progress.

“My challenge to them was to be clinical and we were. We have to put it all together on Sunday.

“We picked a team here knowing what we’ll face on Sunday.

“From the first minute on camp we knew the team we’d pick here and we know the team on Sunday. We are ready and can’t wait for Sunday’s game.”

Wes Burns has returned to Ipswich and will be assessed by his club after the wing-back suffered an arm injury that forced him off in the early stages against Gibraltar.

Wycombe manager Matt Bloomfield sang the praises of defender Joe Low after he played the role of local villain to perfection in a tense 2-1 victory over Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium.

The former Bristol City defender put the Chairboys in command after 19 minutes when he headed in ex-Rovers skipper Luke Leahy’s free-kick, only to be booked for goading the home fans who greeted his celebrations with disdain.

Veteran striker Garath McCleary strengthened Wycombe’s grip on the game when he rounded off a swift counter-attack with a clever finish after 74 minutes only for Rovers’ on-loan Chelsea forward Harvey Vale to spark a tense finale with a deft strike 10 minutes later.

The Wanderers goal was under siege for most of the closing stages but 21-year-old Low showed off his defensive capabilities with a series of aerial clearances before his stoppage-time block to divert Tristan Crama’s goal-bound shot wide ensured a victorious return to Bristol.

“Joe said he enjoyed the block more than the goal, but I don’t want to go overboard about him,” Bloomfield.

“He’s done everything we’ve asked of him and we’re really proud to have him as one of us with the way he treats everyone and goes about his work.

“He’s going to be a very good player and we absolutely love him. We’ve got high hopes of Joe but at the time same time he’s got a lot to work on. He’s got to enjoy his football and keep improving.”

Bloomfield also leapt to the defence of the centre-back – whose father Josh started his career at Rovers – following his booking by referee Lee Swabey after scoring.

“When a local boy comes back against the team which is the opposite of the one he used to play for and then he scores, silly boy, and celebrates like that we’ll have to stop it,” Bloomfield added.

“But it’s all part of the emotion of the game and we’ve got to be careful we don’t take too much of that out. He enjoyed his moment, and you can’t hold that against him.

“These boys work extremely hard and sacrifice a lot in their lives and while we don’t encourage provocative behaviour in terms of inciting the crowd, you’ve got to be able to enjoy those moments.”

Rovers manager Joey Barton, who said defeat was “tough to take”, criticised the referee’s performance.

“We don’t get much out of that referee and we never tend to when he comes here and I’d quite happily never see him again,” Barton said.

“I don’t think he’s a fantastic referee for us. We’ve got this new directive to speed play up and he was constantly slowing play down to get himself a breather.

“He needs to get fitter. These are fit boys at this level and if a directive is coming from the EFL to drive more ball-in-play time then unfortunately the referees and assistants are going to have to get down and do a bit of work to keep up with the physicality.

“The little fella in there was gasping for air. He wasn’t the only one, there were a lot of W players doing the same.”

Centre-back Joe Low scored twice on his first league start for Wycombe as they edged to a 3-2 win over Leyton Orient to claim their first points of the season.

Orient’s tally remains empty, however, after their third straight defeat in League One and their cause was not helped by a red card for Dan Happe in the early stages of the second half.

Wycombe had their first league goal of the campaign after 15 minutes when Low did well to reach Luke Leahy’s cross and finish into the bottom corner.

Having drawn blanks in their opening three games in all competitions, Orient finally broke their duck as Theo Archibald’s cross was firmly finished by Ruel Sotiriou.

Happe was then sent off five minutes after the restart for tugging back Dale Taylor when the last defender and Wycombe restored their lead when Low nodded in another Leahy cross in the 68th minute.

Taylor appeared to have made the game safe in the last 10 minutes by tapping in Josh Scowen’s ball across goal, but Sotiriou quickly pulled one back by squeezing an effort under Max Stryjek.