Lacklustre Wycombe In Dull Stalemate: Wycombe 0 - Chesterfield 0

6:25pm Saturday 8th September 2001

Wycombe and Chesterfield played out a goalless draw at Adams Park today in a game of few chances which was only lightened by the encouraging performance of young striker Gavin Holligan.

The best chance for either side came in the second minute when a Darren Currie cross saw Steve Brown have a header cleared off the line. However, despite the bright start, neither side could break the deadlock and that was to be one of Wycombe's few real chances.

It was Chesterfield who created the next chance when Martin Taylor had to be at full stretch to save Luke Beckett's seventh minute shot. Beckett was able to find space on the left, but his shot across goal was well saved by the Wycombe keeper.

Wanderers ex-West Ham striker Holligan looked promising, although he could have done better with Chris Vinnicombe's 13th minute cross, when he headed it over the bar.

Neither side created any firm chances until the half-hour mark when Currie laid off a free kick to Bulman, whose 20-yard shot only just missed Nathan Abbey's right post.

As Wycombe pressed and they had a good chance to take the lead when Holligan surged into the area from the left wing and, after a neat one-two with Brown, hammered a shot across goal from a tight angle. Unfortunately for the Chairboys no one was on hand to turn it in and the ball went out for a goal kick.

At half time, Lawrie Sanchez replaced Bulman with the quicker Danny Senda in a bid to inject some pace into the side. Also, as a result of the substitution, Currie moved to the left side of midfield and Brown moved into the centre alongside Simpson to try and dominate the so far scrappy midfield battle.

Senda created an early chance when his 47th minute cross was scrambled behind but unfortunately the resulting corner was easily cleared. Holligan was yet again proving a nuisance to Chesterfield, as he showed when he was pulled down on the edge of the area, but Wycombe were unable to make anything from it. The sideways pass to Jason Cousins was intercepted.

From then on there were very few chances of note. Jon Howard, a player who had been a thorn in Wycombe's side all day, gave Taylor a routine save from a long distance volley and Danny Senda hit the bar with a cross-cum-shot that Abbey had covered.

Even the introduction of Keith Ryan ten minutes from time and Jermaine McSporran eight minutes from the end failed to result in any real shots on goal.

It was a scrappy game of four bookings where neither side was able to show the invention to create chances. The one silver lining was the performance of Holligan who emerged as a possible saviour for Wycombe's striker crisis after his goal last week at Huddersfield. He has the pace and strength to succeed at Adams Park.

Wycombe: Taylor, Vinnicombe, Cousins, McCarthy, Emblen (Ryan 80), Holligan, Currie (McSporran 82), Bulman (Senda 45), Simpson, Brown. Subs not used: Carroll, Lee.

Chesterfield: Abbey, Richardson, Breckin, Howard, Reeves, Ebdon, Beckett, Booty, Williams, Payne, Hyde. Subs not used: Hewitt, Pearce, Rushbury, Richmond, Jones.

Attendance 5644

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