RETURNING hero Dave Carroll inspired Wanderers to a 2-1 win over Swansea thanks to a brace from Andy Rammell

Rambo struck twice in six first-half minutes to put Wanderers in control but it was Carroll, making his first start of the season after his pelvic injury, who was the architect behind an impressive first half.

But, when he went off in the second half, Wanderers lost their poise and almost chucked the game away against a team who have not won in 12 games.

Sanchez said: "Carroll's got a lot of qualities and we've missed them this season and we missed them when he went off."

Carroll's Christmas return gave Wanderers better balance and more invention as they bossed the first half but they did not stack up the goals they should have done when they were on control.

Sanchez said: "We should have killed them off but we were hanging on by our coat tails at the end. At 2-0 up we should have gone on and won the game three or four nil.

"The players brought it on themselves by not being at it in the second half. They're not used to being two goals in front and it showed. In the end we were very lucky to win.

"We were all over the place in the second half. We were sloppy and our passing went to pieces.

"I was relieved to hear the final whistle. Our performance level was nowhere near what it should have been. We were living on a prayer at the end."

It never should have been a close-run thing from the moment that Rambo readjusted himself brilliantly to head in team-mate Niall Thompson's wayward shot on 16 minutes.

Rammell looked suspiciously offside when he scored but referee Uriah Rennie let it stand and Wanderers were away.

Six minutes later Rammell grabbed his third goal in a week when he confidently volleyed home after Carroll's cross to the back post had picked him out.

It should have been three on 35 minutes but this time Rennie gave Swansea the benefit of the doubt when he turned down appeals for a penalty after Steve Brown was felled in the box.

But the second half was a different story as the Swans had Wycombe on the ropes.

The Welshmen made a real fight of it after super-sub Stuart Roberts reduced the arrears with a confident low finish with more than 20 minutes remaining.

And it would have been worse for Wycombe had Giovanni Savarese not missed an opening goal ten minutes before.

It was all Swansea. Jason Price headed a good opportunity over the bar, while Roberts was just a whisker away with a delicate chip to the far post and Paul McCarthy had to block Steve Jones' cross-cum-shot on the line.

Wycombe: Taylor, Townsend, Vinnicombe, Cousins, McCarthy, Carroll (Parkin 64), Brown, Simpson, Bulman (Ryan 76), Rammell, Thompson. Subs not used: Rogers, Harkin.

Swansea: Freestone, Jones, Howard, Cusack, Smith, Bound, Thomas (Watkin 44), Savarese, Price, Casey, Romo (Roberts 64). Subs not used: Mounty, O'Leary, Lacey.

Attendance: 5,001 (Swansea 317)