5 minutes later, it could have been 3. Mitchell was felled in the box which led to a City penalty. Nombe stepped up, but his spot kick was brilliant saved by Wycombe keeper Stryjek.

City were comfortable for much of the afternoon and generally dictated the play and pace of the game. Tom Carroll & Ryan Trevitt were very calm and assured in the middle of the park, while Dimi Mitchell, Vincent Harper & Dion Rankine caused Wycombe numerous issues with their pace and energy down the flanks.

It was very noticeable to see Caldwell’s game plan being actioned. Keeping possession, trying to find the pacy wide men when possible and a high and persistent press appear to be the City boss’ desired style of play.

Indeed, Nombe & in particular Aitchison were very quick in the press in the 1st half. Aitchison was quite often the first man to engage, regularly forcing the Wycombe defenders to clear upfield, where the ball would generally fall to City’s backline. This then allowed City to regain possession and build their passing game.

City wrapped up the game in the 83rd minute when substitute James Scott scored with a superb finish. Scott looks to have come back fit and raring to go and the City number 11 expertly fired a first time shot into the top right hand corner of net. You would like to think that this goal will have been just the boost of confidence Scott needed at the start of this season.

Special mention must go to Alex Hartridge who put in an imperious display at the back. Hartridge is a player who seems to divide opinion between some City fans, but I think he is a very good defender at this level and I would not be surprised if bigger fish were watching his performances closely over the course of this season.

City followed this up with a hard fought 2-1 win versus League Two Crawley Town in the League Cup. With Crawley strong favourites to be relegated out of the Football League this season, it had the air of “we just need to turn up to beat this lot” about it among supporters.

Whether the City players had a similar sense of the occasion I’m not sure, but City did struggle to impose their game effectively in the first half. I felt that City started the better of the two teams, but when Crawley scored out of the blue in the 15th minute through Klaidi Lolos, it seemed to shock and unsettle City.

There was even more concern 1 minute later when Pierce Sweeney had to exit the field of the play with an injury. The City defender looked to have tweaked something and was replaced by Zak Jules. Sweeney was seen limping around the SJP pitch at the full time whistle and City fans will be hoping that the reliable Irishman will not be out of action for any duration of time.

For a team expected to struggle, Crawley knocked the ball around and kept possession very well in the first half and City struggled to implement their pressing game.

The direction of the game changed in the 2nd half, with City playing with much more speed and aggression. Ryan Trevitt started to become more involved in the game as the minutes passed and City started to assert their dominance.

Trevitt had an exceptional game. He is calm in possession, has an eye for a pass and has the ability to glide past players effortlessly with the ball at his feet. He was certainly a joy to watch at SJP on Tuesday night and City fans will be hoping for many more performances like that.

The Grecians eventually equalised in the 73rd minute through substitute Kyle Taylor. A fitting reward for all of the hard work he has had to put in to even be back on the football pitch.

The instigator was Trevitt. A driving run through the centre of the pitch, the Brentford loanee played a defence splitting pass with the outside of his right boot. Sub Sonny Cox did well to get in front of his man and pull the ball back to the edge of the area. It was a foot race between Taylor and the Crawley man, and sheer determination alone got Taylor onto the end of the pass. KT slid and placed the ball into the bottom corner of the net. 1-1. Game on. City in the ascendency.

City edged in front in the 84th minute. The outstanding Trevitt again being City’s creator.

Trevitt picked up a loose ball around 30 yards from goal and drove straight at the Crawley back line. As he rounded the defender, he immediately whipped in a delicious cross straight onto the head of the airborne Scott. The ball across was of the highest quality.

City have been “rewarded” with a home tie against Steve Evans’ Stevenage Borough in Round Two of the Cup. Not quite the tie some of us were hoping for (Chelsea or Tottenham away would have been nice). On the flip side, it does give us another home game and an opportunity to try and make round 3 for the first time since 1989. It won’t be an easy task against Stevenage, who are tipped to more than hold their own in League One this season.

A lot of ITK accounts and League One tipsters/podcasts and such like have almost all predicted that City will be involved in a relegation fight this season. However, I must say that I am encouraged by some of the displays so far this season. I am also very aware that we could do with 2 or 3 more bodies through the door and we need to keep our fingers crossed that key players can stay fit for the majority of the season.

Regardless of the good start, much tougher tests are on the horizon. We host Blackpool on Saturday, relegated form the Championship last season. They are strongly fancied to at least mount a strong play off push under Neil Critchley. It’s a game I am very much looking forward and I feel both teams will try to play football, which should make for an entertaining game.

Following that, we head to Fratton Park to face another fancied team, Portsmouth. This one will be taking place under the lights and under the gaze of the Sky TV cameras.

Being a City supporter for many years, I have learned to never get too excited after a couple of wins and to never get too low when we lose a game.

These 2 upcoming games will be a good barometer of where the team is at and while I am excited to see how we perform, if it all goes wrong, I won’t be getting too downbeat.

Remember, always back the team and always back the manager. When the whole club is united, we can achieve much more.