Wycombe were left frustrated against a resilient Bolton Wanderers as they drew 0-0, but they maintain their unbeaten run. With a lot of the talk being focused around the potential future of Bolton’s Ian Evatt pre match, the anticipation was Wycombe could take advantage. That factor was heightened with Bolton missing their first choice centre backs and having makeshift backline for the game. Wycombe themselves were also missing influential players as Dan Harvie was suspended whilst Aaron Morley was ineligible through the parameters of his loan agreement. But despite this, it was Bolton that looked the brighter of the two sides initially. Aaron Collins fired the warning signs for Wycombe within the first five minutes. He picked up a loose ball from Luke Leahy before drinving into the box and unleashing a shot on goal that Franco Ravizzoli had to tip wide for a corner. And six minutes later as the Trotters gained confidence from dominating possession, Collins again ran at the Chairboys defence after a good passing move helped him push forward but his shot from distance blazed the Valley End terrace.
Wycombe however started to grow into the game. Whilst they struggled to get any clear cut chances on goal, They started to build momentum through patient moments. The first real moment came after Jasper Pattenden who’s tenacious running down the right allowed him to direct a lovely floated ball into the path of Tyreeq Bakinson. Bakinson controlled the ball superbly via a flick and got himself into a promising position in the Bolton box before seeing a shot on goal charged down for a corner. From the subsequent corner, Luke Leahy found Bakinson at the back post and it looked like he might give the Chairboys the lead but his effort hit the back of Aaron Collins and into the path of Bolton goalkeeper Nathan Baxter. Wycombe continued to probe the Bolton defence, next through some patient dribbling by Fred Onyedinma. With the Bolton defence backing off, he threaded Cameron Humphreys who in turn set up Bez Lubala for a shot on goal. But he was thwarted by ex Chairboy loanee Randall Williams who slid in to deny him a shot on goal and concede another corner. Three minutes later, we then saw potentially the most contentious moment of the game as it appeared Onyedinma was pushed in the back by Gethin Jones inside the Bolton box. But to the surprise of the Adams Park faitfull, both referee Stephen Martin and the linesman failed to see a clear foul.
Wycombe persevered to try and force further opportunities. Onyedinma once again weaved into the Bolton box and tried to set up Lubala, but once again, Randall Williams got a block to deny Lubala. Next it was Richard Kone’s turn to be frustrated. Kone chased down a Leahy through ball as he battled with centre back Jones and with the ball bouncing, he appeared to get the better of Jones only for the referee to adjudge a foul by Kone in the build up. Despite knocking on the Bolton backline door, Wycombe went into half time frustrated that things weren’t coming off. And this in part was credit to Ian Evatt’s game plan as the defensive line made it difficult for Wycombe to get any rhythm. But with the team talk ringing in their ears, the Chairboys came back out with determination. And once again, they forced the issue as they attacked the Valley end. Kone made himself a nuisance and controlled a through ball superbly but was crowded out by the Bolton defence. And two minutes later, Alex Hartridge delivered a delightful through ball that seemed to deceived the Bolton back line as it was controlled by Cameron Humphreys. Humphreys tried to use trickery to navigate past Jay Matete but to his credit, Matete chased him down despite calls for a potential handball against him.
Five minutes later, Kone once again forced the issue when he picked up the ball down the righ hand side and dribbled into the box before laying off Humphreys who with the goal at his mercy blasted the ball without control. The frustration was then increased further as referee Stephen Martin played the pantomime villain by seemingly allowing fouls to go unpunished in what seemed to be a gritty ten minute spell for both sides. But the Chairboys continued to probe and Luke Leahy tried to be creative with a series of set piece routines. He first combined with substitute Garath McCleary which caused a moment of chaos for Bolton. As they attempted to clear their lines a multitude of times, first Onyedinma saw an effort saved by Trotters keeper Baxter before the ball bounced out to Richard Kone who tried to juggle the ball into the box whilst Joe Low and Caleb Taylor created an aerial nuisance without any luck. Then it was Bolton’s turn to create some drama. After a break in play for a Bolton double substitution, Jay Matete ran on goal and had a shot tipped wide by Ravizzoli for a corner. The game started to get stretched as both sides sensed a goal could be enough to win the game. Leahy once again tried to deceive Baxter in the Bolton goal. From a free kick, he choose to take a shot on goal which was superbly saved by Baxter and tipped over for a corner.
And three minutes later as we entered the last ten minutes of the game, a patient build up play between Bakinson and Humphreys saw substitute Dan Udoh get on the act and almost set up Richard Kone for a goal. Udoh’s cross reached Kone only for the Ivorian struggling to get a clear connection. The Adams Park faithful kept urging the Chairboys on but into the last five minutes despite the open end football, Bolton almost forced a winner. Through a combination of Randall Williams long throw in’s, they started to grow in confidence and into the last minute of the game almost snatched a victory when Garath McCleary failed to connect cleanly with the ball, it landed at Gethin Jones feet who saw his shot blocked by a bundle of Wycombe players before George Thomason saw his effort into the arms of a grateful Franco Ravizzoli. As the referee blew the full time whistle, frustrations were matched across the faces of both the players and fans, who were left cursing at what could have been. Wycombe remain top of the table but now hand the initiative to second placed Birmingham City, who could displace them if they beat Crawley Town on Monday evening. Meanwhile the Chairboys next fixture is on Boxing Day away at Stevenage Borough.
