Wycombe Draw at Macclesfield

Wycombe Wanderers chalked up their first point since 3rd January when they drew 0-0 with Macclesfield Town at Moss Rose this evening.


Manager Peter Taylor Made three changes from the team that lost at Bournemouth on Saturday. Gary Holt, Matt Phillips and Scott McGleish came into the side in place of Lewwis Spence, Angelo Balanta and Matt Bloomfield.

Wycombe lined up in a 4-4-2 formation as follows:

Shearer

Casement McCracken Johnson Woodman

Zebroski Doherty Holt Phillips

McGleish(62) Harrold

Subs: Young Ashton Mousinho Balanta Vieira(62)


This wasn’t a bad performance by Wycombe compared to recent outings. They tried to play patient passing football, kept their shape well and will be delighted to have registered their first clean sheet for a while. After all, it was clean sheets that got them to the top of League Two, certainly not their scoring prowess and that remains the problem. The Chairboys’ build up play was all too predictable again and you felt it might need a defensive error to enable them to get on the scoresheet this evening.

Macclesfield looked considerably better than they did at Adams Park in December and they were noticeably tighter in defence. Playing a 5-3-2 formation, Keith Alexander’s Silkmen were set up to be difficult to break down whilst offering an attacking threat through their pacey on-loan striker Emile Sinclair.


The first half was an evenly matched affair with the home side having the better chances in the first 30 minutes and Wycombe not really threatening the Macclesfield goal until the first period was nearing it’s conclusion.

The first clear-cut chance of the game fell to Macclesfield after about 20 minutes. A cross from the right found Danny Thomas unmarked at the back post but luckily for Wycombe he made a hash of his header when he really should have scored.

After half an hour there was another scare when Blues’ keeper Scott Shearer fumbled a cross but redeemed himself by saving Gareth Evans’ subsequent tame attempt on goal.

Then came Wycombe’s only first-half efforts. Firstly, after 32 minutes, Matt Harrold’s near post header from a McCracken cross was deflected behind for a corner.

The 45th minute saw a well struck free-kick from Craig Woodman fly narrowly over the crossbar from about 22 yards out.

In first-half stoppage time, Chris Zebroski had a low shot blocked by Macclesfield keeper Jon Brain.


Macclesfield started the second half brightly. In the 48th minute, two James Tolley efforts were deflected for corners, before a Sinclair header was comfortably held by keeper Shearer.

Five minutes later, the Wycombe defence watched as a cross from Danny Thomas ran along the six yard line with Richard Walker narrowly failing to connect and prod the ball home.

After 62 minutes Peter Taylor made his only substitution of the game with Magno Vieira coming on for Scott McGleish.

Two minutes later and the Silkmen had another great chance to open the scoring. A corner led to a goalmouth melee which finished with both Sinclair and Evans failing to get enough on the ball to make it count.

After 70 minutes, a Wycombe attack saw a Zebroski effort turned past the post. From the resulting corner a Matt Phillips volley was blocked setting up a Macclesfield breakaway. Francis Green was the man with the chance for Macclesfield but keeper Shearer did enough and Green could only fire into the side netting from a tight angle.

Wycombe perked-up again as the game approached it’s conclusion but they couldn’t turn the pressure they put on the Silkmen during the last 10 minutes into a goal.

The Referee blew the full time whistle on a game in which a draw was the fair result.


Wycombe will be glad to have stopped their run of defeats. Now they have to get back into the habit of winning. For all the talk of new strikers, on recent evidence, it’s creativity that’s lacking. An attacking central midfielder who will run at defences and who isn’t afraid to have a shot would be a welcome addition during the transfer window.

Macclesfield will give lots of teams a problem at Moss Rose if they continue to play as they did tonight and as they reportedly did against Brentford on Saturday.


Wycombe Man of the Match

Tommy Doherty

Back on form tonight.