A penalty from substitute Dean Morgan rescued a point for struggling Wycombe as they look to pull clear from the League Two relegation places.
Cheltenham Town continue to frustrate in a season that has promised so much but delivered so little. The Robins were looking to try and capitalise on this mid-week fixture against a struggling Wycombe Wanderers side, but flattered to deceive yet again with an un-inspiring performance at Whaddon Road.
The Robins before the game had found themselves five points from a play-off place coming into the business end of the season, which is confusing as many fans have been repeatedly calling for Yates’ head following some dismal performances over the festive period. After coming into this game four unbeaten however, and Wycombe languishing in 20th position, all signs were looking ominous for a home victory.
The home side started rather sluggishly, showing stark similarities to their poor first half performance on Saturday in a 1-0 home win against another struggling side, Torquay. It was Wycombe who started the brighter, firstly trying to utilise the diagonal long ball from back to front, and playing balls through for Arnold and Kretzschmar. They had the ball in the net too early on, but was ruled out due to a foul on Robins captain Steve Elliot. There were a few half chances for the home side too, with Cureton firing over from 20 yards and Gornell dragging wide from a similar position. Kretzschmar again proved to be a thorn in the Robins side (and to whoever attempts to spell his name) as an intricate exchange on the edge of the Robins area saw the winger one on one with Scott Brown, with the latter making a brilliant low save to keep the scores at a stalemate at half time.
The introduction of Byron Harrison on Saturday changed the game, and Mark Yates didn’t hesitate in utilising the big number nine on the 50minute mark. He replaced Gornell, who looked bamboozled by the number 10 role assigned to him by Yates. No surprise that David Noble came on too, which gave Cheltenham more impetus and control in midfield in the early stages of the second half.
Football tends to work in opposites however, and this showed as against the run of play, Wycombe sprang on the counter attack. A mistake by weekend matchwinner Matt Richards in midfield enabled front-man Craig to go through one on one with ‘keeper Brown, who he beat but unfortunately for the 242 Wycombe fans, his effort struck the post.
A few moments later, Yates’ substitutions paid dividends. Cheltenham took the lead courtesy of good work on the left flank by Saido Jombati who crossed for Harrison and his glancing header beat Ingram at the near post. Just like in his previous match, Harrison had influenced the game with his physical prowess and his aerial ability, and is certainly in line for a start in the Robins’ next match at AFC Wimbledon on Saturday.
With ten minutes to go however, a blatant foul by captain Steve Elliot on sub Joe Kuffour left referee Harrington with little choice but to point to the spot. Another substitute, Dean Morgan, stepped up for The Blues and sent Brown the wrong way, equalising for the team who were beginning to look like they were running out of ideas.
The game began to fizzle to a dull ending, much like large periods of the first half, before Cureton had a chance to steal the 3 points from under Wycombe’s noses. A floated ball in from McGlashan on the right saw Cureton left all alone in the six yard box as it looked easier to score. He skewed his header horribly wide, whereas a younger or confident Cureton would have surely made the net ripple. A speculative 35 yard drive from Wycombe right back McCoy prompted cries of ‘ooooh’ from the Wycombe faithful but the further four minutes of injury time failed to produce anything worthy of winning this tight encounter.
Yates was obviously frustrated in his post-match interview, and his views were echoed by Jombati, who collected his second consecutive man of the match award. "It's been a possibility to do that but now we've lost two points, it's frustrating. "Because this season hasn't been as good as previous years, we've not got that confidence” says Jombati to BBC Gloucestershire, which is no surprise as the Robins performances have come under scrutiny from many of their own fans.
A draw was probably a fair result; neither side deserved to win or lose as Cheltenham shaded the second half with Wycombe doing likewise in the first. Cheltenham fans will view this result as two points dropped rather than one gained, as the hope of making the play-offs is a door that is threatening to slam shut. For Wycombe however, they move four points clear of the relegation places as this result took them into 19th position. Both teams have lots to do to try and get out/remain in this division respectively, but the likelihood is these two teams will meet again in the 2014-2015 season.