HARRY Smith marked his return to the Swindon Town side with the winning goal as his early strike was enough to see off Wycombe Wanderers this afternoon.

The on-loan Millwall striker has been back at his parent club over the past fortnight to deal with personal issues but was restored to the Town line-up against Wanderers to cover the absence of injured top scorer Luke Norris.

Smith needed just 15 minutes back in Swindon colours to feel at home again, rifling a spectacular volley past Wycombe keeper Scott Brown for what proved the decisive goal at the Energy Check County Ground.

The victory was just a third on home soil for David Flitcroft’s side this season but came with the added bonus of lifting them into the play-off places in the League Two table.

With a strong wind at their backs in the first half, Town used the conditions to their advantage and peppered balls into the Wycombe box early on.

First, a deep Matt Taylor free-kick was met by Amine Linganzi, with Scott Brown pushing the bouncing effort over the bar, before Taylor’s subsequent corner was headed back across goal by Matt Preston but the Wanderers goalkeeper was able to gather as Harry Smith looked to pounce.

Town persevered with the tactic and it provided them with the opening goal after 15 minutes. Again Taylor sent a good deep ball into the box, with Smith shrugging off the attentions of Joe Jacobson at the back post before unleashing a brilliant volley into the top corner.

The home side continued to dictate play and Keshi Anderson and Donal McDermott combined well on the left, with the latter pulling the ball back across the box for the waiting Linganzi but he sent a scuffed snap-shot wide.

Anderson was proving a nuisance for the Wycombe back-line and scampered up the right soon afterwards to float in a ball to Smith, whose header was met by a good save from Brown, before the Crystal Palace loanee brought the best out of the visiting stopper himself with a powerful long-range effort.

It took 35 minutes for Wycombe to offer any real attacking threat and even that was of no real alarm to Town as Sam Saunders blazed high over the bar after Adebayo Akinfenwa had brushed off Olly Lancashire to send him into the box.

Town were swiftly back in the ascendancy but no further clear-cut chances arrived before the interval and they headed back to the changing rooms looking more than good value for their one-goal cushion.

Swindon goalkeeper Reice Charles-Cook was a virtual spectator throughout the first half but had to be on his toes within five minutes of the restart to push away a low drive from Paris Cowan-Hall on the angle.

Town responded and a good ball from McDermott sent Smith through on goal but, after he had appeared to shake off the attentions of Adam El-Abd, the Millwall loanee opted to shoot too soon instead of baring down on Brown and fired the ball harmlessly into the side-netting.

After a stagnant period, Charles-Cook was called into action again in the home goal with 20 minutes to play as he got down well to smother a smart snap-shot from Nick Freeman.

Again, the conditions took their toll on the contest as quality deserted the game once more but Town finished strongly and substitute Paul Mullin went close to a late second for the hosts, stinging the palms of Brown with a close-range effort.

Wanderers were able to galvanise themselves for one last push as the contest ticked into stoppage time, with Ebere Eze firing through a crowded box and over the bar as Town bravely held on for their hard-earned win.

SWINDON TOWN: Charles-Cook; Purkiss, Lancashire (capt), Preston, Taylor; Linganzi, Dunne; McDermott (Mullin 86), Anderson, Goddard; H Smith. Subs not used: Henry, Robertson, Iandolo, Gordon, Woolery, Knoyle.

WYCOMBE WANDERERS: Brown; Bean, Jacobson, El-Abd, Scarr; Gape, Saunders (Eze 66), Bloomfield, Freeman (Southwell 81); Cowan-Hall (Mackail-Smith 65), Akinfenwa. Subs not used: Ma-Kalambay, O’Nien.

Referee: John Brooks

Attendance: 7,114