Wycombe manager Matt Bloomfield admitted to being put through the wringer during his side’s 3-2 win over Leyton Orient that gave them their first points of the season at the third attempt.

It was a frantic night at Adams Park as Orient had centre-back Dan Happe sent off in the second half in what was their third straight defeat in League One.

The incidents did not stop after the final whistle either as Orient head coach Richie Wellens and his assistant Paul Terry were both shown red cards for their protests towards the officials.

Bloomfield said: “It’s just a relief to get the first win if I’m honest.

“This job means the world to me, this football club means the world to me and it’s hurt a huge amount, losing the first two games in the manner in which we did.

“It’s really hurt and I’m desperate to do the right thing for this football club, I’m desperate to do a good job here.

“The emotion was up and down, we have to manage that at times and I felt like at times maybe we didn’t and we got a bit caught up in the game, but football is an emotional game.

“I know there are a lot of things trying to take the emotion out of the game at the minute, with all the new rules and everything, but we all love football because at times we love it and at times we hate it.”

Joe Low’s opener for Wycombe was cancelled out before half-time by Ruel Sotiriou, but momentum shifted five minutes after the restart when Happe was sent off for pulling back Dale Taylor when the last defender.

Low headed in Luke Leahy’s cross for his second to restore the Chairboys’ lead and Taylor then added a third for the hosts before Sotiriou’s second brought about a nervy finish.

Orient goalkeeping coach Simon Royce, speaking to the media because Wellens and Terry were barred from doing so, said: “I think with 10 men we were the better side.

“It’s nice to score a couple of goals away from home, but conceding three away from home is not going to win you many games.

“But the lads put in a great shift, the fans were unbelievable and they cheered us right to the end.

On Happe’s red card, Royce added: “He didn’t get close enough [to Taylor] to start with, he’s held his hands up in there, but we don’t say sorry in that changing room, we all stick together.

“He may have pulled his shirt a little bit, I haven’t seen it back.

“Whether it was a red card, I couldn’t see whether there was anyone coming around, but it did change the game a little bit.”

Wycombe manager Matt Bloomfield praised the impact of his substitutes after they helped see off MK Dons in the first round of the Carabao Cup.

Brandon Hanlan struck the opener for the League One Chairboys deep into the second half before setting up the second for Chris Forino after the visitors had to endure an uncomfortable first 45 minutes at Stadium MK.

Bloomfield said: “We had to abandon all good plans because we had a couple of knocks and had to make another couple of changes.

“We’re still maybe slightly behind in our fitness with some of the boys but I was really pleased in terms of how the finishers came on and really impacted the game tonight.

“I thought Brandon was fantastic, and Tjay (De Barr) and Luke (Leahy).

“I thought the finishers came on and really helped us get over the line, which was a good impact to see.”

Wycombe goalkeeper Max Stryjek made good saves to deny Warren O’Hora and Alex Gilbey in the first half, which was shaded by the League Two Dons.

The Chairboys broke through after 73 minutes when Hanlan pounced after Craig MacGillivray pushed out Freddie Potts’ cross before Forino nodded in to make the tie safe with eight minutes remaining.

Dons boss Graham Alexander said: “I thought we certainly played our part in the game and I thought it was about both boxes in the end.

“They were a little bit more clinical than us because we certainly had the opportunities to score.

“I was disappointed to concede at that stage of the game because I thought we were doing reasonably well.

“There was still time for us to get back into the game, but we conceded a second, although even after that we still had opportunities to get one.”

Matt Bloomfield admits his Wycombe players suffered a significant “reality check” after weeks of pre-season work went up in smoke against Exeter.

Two goals in the first five minutes fired Gary Caldwell’s red-hot Grecians to a comfortable 3-0 opening day victory as Jack Aitchison, captain Will Aimson and James Scott all netted at Adams Park.

Bloomfield says that left his players “shell-shocked” and the Chairboys boss urged them to deliver a rapid response when their travel to Lincoln next weekend.

He said: “It’s a reality check – if you look at the way we conceded those goals the lads were shell-shocked.

“It’s a disappointing scenario to find yourself in – there’s a lot of planning that goes over in over the summer and during this week, and then to find yourself 2-0 down.

“I think behind the scenes we’ve seen during pre-season that we have been missing bodies – we’ve had far too many of our top performers not being able to take part.

“The football league has a habit of throwing up these scenarios so unfortunately we were on the wrong end of one of those today. We have to make sure we are up to speed as quickly as possible.”

“We gave the ball away in a dangerous area early on, and unfortunately that ends up in the back of the net.

“There’s been plenty that’s happened at this football club that isn’t in our control, and in those situations where we are we have to make sure we’re better.”

Aitchison was one of 13 debutants across both sides and made the perfect start since joining from Motherwell, scoring after just 24 seconds.

A goalmouth scramble from a corner three minutes later then saw Aimson tuck home to double the lead.

Sam Nombe could have made it three from the spot, after Demetrii Mitchell was felled by Max Stryjek, but the Wycombe keeper saved superbly.

Wycombe rung the changes and had second-half penalty appeals waved away after substitute Josh Scowen was barged over in the box, but failed to muster a single clear-cut chance and Scott’s late goal saw Exeter seal victory.

Grecians boss Caldwell loved his side’s razor-sharp attacking performance and added: “It was an amazing start – I don’t think any of us would have thought we would have scored that early.

“I thought the intent and the aggression we showed in the first 15-20 minutes was incredible.

“We spoke a lot in the last couple of weeks about wanting to have a style of play and to play in a certain way, and we have to be a team that’s aggressive with and without the ball.

“And I thought the way we played in that early period, how we landed on second balls and when we ran forward – we called them so many problems.

“We looked a really dynamic front-foot football team, which is what we want to be. Every time we passed the ball forward today I thought we looked a real threat.”