By Matt Cecil
Wanderers fell to a fine strike from Pawel Abbott in a single goal defeat to Darlington this afternoon but Blues fans will be reflecting on the game feeling that their side deserved at least a point from the clash.
It was a fourth away defeat of the season for the Blues and admittedly it could have been worse had Frank Fielding not pulled off an excellent save from Abbott's first-half penalty, but Paul Lambert's men created a number of chances that could easily have found the back of the net on another day.
Lambert sprung no surprises with his starting line-up, naming the same sixteen that were successful in defeating Lincoln City last weekend, which meant that John Sutton and Reuben Reid had to content themselves with a place on the bench as Scott McGleish led the Blues' attack.
The Quakers' home form has been impressive this season and they started brightly, with Richie Foran heading over from a Clark Keltie corner in the opening couple of minutes. Keltie then fired harmlessly wide from range after Julian Joachim's free-kick had been headed clear, as the Blues' defence were holding firm against a strong strikeforce.
Wycombe then grew in confidence and showed that when they are allowed time on the ball, they have the capacity to match any side in the league. Fine build-up play between Martin Bullock and Gary Holt carved open the home side's defence, and when Holt's cross found its way to Matt Bloomfield, the midfielder spun and fired the ball against the base of the post, taking a deflection on its way.
The game started to develop almost into a tactical battle, with both sides managing to contain each other with different strategies. The Quakers seemed in a hurry to attack the Blues, and often relied on the pace of the impressive Joe Colbeck to charge at the Wycombe defence, but they came up against a well-drilled back four and no clear-cut chances were created.
Meanwhile the Blues opted for the patient build-up, bringing more players into the game with the likes of Gary Holt, Matt Bloomfield and Sergio Torres all covering a lot of ground to try and create chances. Stefan Oakes was outstanding as a shield in front of the back four, collecting the ball from the defenders and distributing it to his team-mates in space.
The match threatened to turn ugly in the 24th minute when Torres led with an arm into an aerial challenge with Stephen Foster, to which the Quakers' centre-back reacted angrily. Blues' Argentine box of tricks was shown a yellow card as referee Mathieson managed to pacify the situation.
It soon became evident that it would take something a little bit out of the ordinary to bring about a goal, and that moment arrived on 28 minutes when a smart back-heel from Abbott sent Richie Foran into the penalty area on the right-hand side. Leon Johnson stretched out a leg but made contact with the striker, and the referee correctly pointed to the spot.
After a somewhat heated discussion with Clark Keltie, Abbott elected himself as penalty taker and confidently strode up to the ball, dummied in his run-up and fired in an effort to Frank Fielding's left, but the on-loan Blackburn keeper repeated his heroics from the Wrexham match by comfortably clinging onto the ball.
It later transpired in the post-match press conference that Darlington boss Dave Penney wanted Keltie to take the kick having scored from the spot against Brentford last week, but Abbott was under the impression that he was the club's designated penalty taker.
Inspired by their keeper's save, Wycombe gathered momentum and Matt Bloomfield was sent into a one-on-one situation with Alan White in the Quakers' penatlty area. A smart shimmy from the midfielder set him up for a shot but Stephen Foster managed to recover in time to slide in with a fantastic challenge.
Michael Cummins and Clark Keltie both had chances as the half drew to a close, but Fielding was equal to both efforts, saving Cummins' header from a corner and holding on to Keltie's long-range effort more successfully than Scott Carson's attempt from a similar shot for England on Wednesday.
Half-time: Darlington 0 Wycombe Wanderers 0
Darlington were clearly instructed to raise the tempo of the game in their half-time team-talk as they purposefully attacked the Blues with more conviction than in the first half, and only some fine defending from Leon Johnson denied them an opener at the near-post following Foran's cross.
But Wycombe were never pegged back for long, and Russell Martin carved out a chance for himself with some fine footwork in the build-up before unleashing a left-footed effort from range which was parried by Stockdale and cleared by the home defence.
Central midfielders Keltie and Cummins were a constant threat for the home side and both came close to opening the scoring within a few minutes of each other, when Abbott's flicked cross allowed Keltie to head goalwards, producing a good save from Fielding. Cummins then volleyed over from the edge of the box as the home side began to sense that a goal might be on its way.
And it should have gone Wycombe's way. After Paul Lambert switched to a more recognisable 4-4-2 formation by replacing Martin Bullock with Reuben Reid, Scott McGleish was given time and space at the back post when Bloomfield's cross picked him out, but the striker was caught in two minds whether to use his head or feet to shoot, and consequently placed his diving header over the crossbar.
Dave Penney, meanwhile, had replaced Julian Joachim with top scorer Tommy Wright in a quest to break the deadlock.
And sadly, they did just that on 76 minutes. Russell Martin was outnumbered on the halfway-line and Clark Keltie surged forward towards the edge of the box. Despite making a couple of tackles, Wycombe were unable to clear, and the home side worked the ball to Joe Colbeck on the right-hand side. The on-loan Bradford man laid it off to Pawel Abbott who curled a beautiful effort into the top corner beyond the reach of Fielding to give the Quakers the lead.
Ironically, it appeared that Abbott was due to be replaced by Gregg Blundell prior to the goal being scored, as Blundell was preparing himself on the touchline. The substitution still took place, but it could have been a different story had it occurred sixty seconds earlier.
Wycombe weren't going to give up without a fight though, and when Reuben Reid worked his way into the box on the left-hand side, he laid it off to Sergio Torres who sidefooted the ball with admirable composure against the base of the post with the goalkeeper beaten. Some might say that Wycombe have been lucky in recent weeks with penalties and red cards being shown to opposition players, but that luck seemed to have deserted the Blues this afternoon.
With six minutes left on the clock the Blues made a double substitution with Craig Woodman and John Sutton replacing Sam Stockley and Stefan Oakes, whilst Ricky Ravenhill replaced Michael Cummins for the home side. Paul Lambert threw caution to the wind by adopting a 3-4-3 formation, desperate to apply pressure to the Darlington goal.
And it so nearly paid off. A carbon copy of the build-up that led to Scott McGleish's goal against Lincoln last week saw Gary Holt sneak in behind the Darlington defence, and his cutback sparked a mini scramble with Sergio Torres and Matt Bloomfield attempting to hook the ball into the net. Then a cross from Russell Martin fell kindly for Reuben Reid but the striker fired over the crossbar, and it proved to be the last chance of the game as the referee blew for full-time.
So the long journey home for Blues fans might have been a disappointing one but they can at least take heart from the fact that the Blues caused a number of problems for one of the favourites for promotion. We now look forward to a busy December month which could have a huge part to play in Wanderers' fortunes this season.
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DARLINGTON
13. David STOCKDALE (GK)
4. Alan WHITE
5. Steve FOSTER
31. Lee RIDLEY
10. Clark KELTIE
11. Rob PURDIE
12. Julian JOACHIM (20. Tommy WRIGHT 58 mins)
8. Michael CUMMINS (14. Ricky RAVENHILL 85 mins)
9. Pawel ABBOTT (16. Gregg BLUNDELL 78 mins)
30. Richie FORAN
32. Joe COLBECK
Substitutes not used:
1. Andy OAKES (GK)
6. Ian MILLER
Bookings: Keltie 88 (dissent)
Goals: Abbott 77
WYCOMBE WANDERERS
34. Frank FIELDING (GK)
4. Russell MARTIN
5. Will ANTWI
25. Sam STOCKLEY (18. Craig WOODMAN 84 mins)
20. Leon JOHNSON
8. Stefan OAKES (16. John SUTTON 84 mins)
10. Matt BLOOMFIELD
11. Martin BULLOCK (32. Reuben REID 66 mins)
15. Gary HOLT
17. Scott McGLEISH
22. Sergio TORRES
Substitutes not used:
31. Andre BOUCAUD
36. Rab DOUGLAS (GK)
Bookings: Torres 24 (foul)
MATCH OFFICIALS:
Referee: Mr S M MATHIESON
Assistant: Mr A H GREENWOOD
Assistant: Mr W E GRUNNILL
Fourth Official: Mr D A McCALLUM
Attendance: 3,002
