Brian Ede, whose clearance from Tooting and Mitcham was confirmed by phone shortly before kick-off on Tuesday night, stepped straight into the team to debut in Wycombe Wanderers' first Premier Floodlight League fixture of the season.

But he found himself on the wrong end of things, as local rivals and continual bogey side, Slough Town tore some weak first-half defensive covering apart to take a two-goal interval lead.

Theoretically, Wycombe v. Slough meant top Isthmian v. top Athenian club. But, sticking to their policy concerning Floodlight League games, Wycombe fielded an experimental line-up, with Vince Faulkner replacing 'flu victim John Delaney at centre-half, lan Rundic back in at number two, and Paul Birdseye showing varied form wearing the number ten and performing a midfield role.

Also lining up for Wycombe. were Bobby Marcham on the wing, and Tony Horseman, who had missed Saturday's clash at Sutton due to a toe injury.

Slough, however, played one of their strongest available formations, and duly ticked up their fifth Section B win in five matches, adding to a goal aggregate which stood at 15-3 prior to Tuesday night.

Thus Wanderers are already up against the odds if they are to take the Section title for a third successive year. Ultimately, beaten play-off finalists last season, they will have to improve on this performance.

Slough, testing out young 17-years-old discovery, Ray Hyde in goal, clicked from the kick-off, and went ahead in five minutes. 'Tony Amos, the striker whose departure from Hayes at the end of last season Keith Searle had been intended to compensate, did the damage.

Roger Day touched a free kick onto him, arid Amos. lashed his shot straight into an empty corner of the goal, with Ede given little chance of doing anything but picking the ball out of the net.

Wanderers seemed to have equalised six minutes when Marchom outrun and outmanoeuvred Hyde on the way back to Slough's goal. The Wycombe striker headed the hall home, only for referee Mr. Griffiths to disallow the "goal".

Further upsetting the Loakes Park crowd, Mr. Griffiths soon proceeded to give a goal kick after a Slough defender had. obviously conceded what should have been a corner, in tackling Tony Horseman.

Robb Williams, once Slough's books, saw a typical long-range shot parried away by Hyde after 25 minutes, as a climax to a period of Wycombe pressure on. But six minutes later, Slough increased their advantage when John Ritchie outpaced Vince Faulkner to a cutting-through pass from Hill, then slowed up, and rounded the defender again before shooting the Rebels 2-0 ahead. Again there was little Ede could have done.

Wanderers, who last season went almost until the turn of the new year before yielding a Floodlight League point, now found themselves in an identical situation to that which haunted Sutton during the interval the previous Saturday.

The Rebels' build-up work had often outshone the home side, for whom Tony Horseman and Larry Pritchard grafted hard and intelligently without a deal of positive assistance. The running and supporting as a team was also a class above the Isthmians on the night.

The second period heralded an improved Wycombe display. They weaved and worried the Slough back row, without managing to create enough scoring chances. When they did, they almost invariably met a wall of flesh.

Ted Powell, a much-needed influence in a defence in which both Chris Austin and Ian. Rundle also turned in competent games, ventured forward at times and, in the 64th minute, lined Marcham up with a fine opportunity, only to see the winger slam the ball across the target.

Wanderers did reduce the arrears, however-after 70 minutes Mick Holifield gave yet another insight to his capacity for conjuring goals, when he took the ball out of a crowded centre, ran on to the left and sent his shot racing through the air into a wide-open Slough goalmouth. Such an impromptu touch caused Hyde to concede his first goal as a Slough 'keeper, in four outings.

Two minutes later, though, with Wycombe's tails up in search of an equaliser, Ian Rundle had his name taken - the fourth Wycombe hooking this season for a hefty tackle on Amos. But time ran out on the Blues, as, yet again, they found the men from the Dolphin just that little bit too strong for them on the night.