Stitch gives Spirites warning
Reserves go top

Oldham Evening Chronicle
 

Although the 33-year-old does not have the pace of old — meaning he is often forced to check inside and cross with his less-favoured left foot — he saw enough of the ball to suggest that Athletic are relieved to have a more orthodox wide man with whom to launch their attacks. Dudley, meanwhile, had one of those games which in some ways was a blinder, in other ways a case of blind man’s buff. The striker was a constant threat to Wycombe’s overworked backline and, often thanks to his own invention, had no fewer than nine good chances to put his side ahead. Yet, even allowing for Taylor’s heroics, it has to be said that Dudley’s finishing was usually either hysterical or horrendous. While he certainly was not the only one culpable, those opportunities looked all the more precious after a match which, because of inexplicable injury time, lasted just short of 104 minutes. On a night of non-stop action, there was no more eventful period than the one which followed the first whistle. And it was Wycombe who landed the first blow after all of 89 seconds. A long ball from defence should have been dealt with by Mark Hotte, but the centre-back’s failure to clear allowed Baird to run into space down the right. His centre cut through the danger area between goalkeeper and defence, leaving a simple six-yard finish for Sean Devine, who scored his ninth goal of the season. Athletic, however, were back on terms almost immediately.

This time Lee Duxbury was allowed too much time on the right and, when the skipper pulled the ball back, Paul Rickers finished well from eight yards. Incredibly, before five minutes had ticked by, there was another major talking point with the dismissal of Jason Cousins. The defender could have no complaints about the red card after rugby tackling Dudley a s the forward beat him for speed and set off on a clear run at goal. From the 25-yard free-kick, John Sheridan’s chip was deflected inches wide — and that close call was to prove the story of Athletic’s frustrating night. Taylor made his first top-class save after seven minutes — by which time the away fans’ coaches had still not arrived — when Duxbury’s strike was glan-ced towards goal by Mark Allott. Wycombe, a man down and without a win in their last four games, were already facing a test of the spirit instilled by manager Lawrie Sanchez. And their ’keeper had to tip over spectacularly from Dudley’s rasping drive. The impressive Devine brought a save from Gary Kelly, but otherwise it was all Athletic and both Dudley and Andrew Holt could have scored before Allott’s clever play set up the latter, who fired over from 16 yards. The hosts wasted another opening when Taylor saved fearlessly at Dudley’s feet, while Allott met a cross from point-blank range only to see the ubiquitous goalkeeper deny him from a seemingly-impossible position. When the board was held up showing nine minutes of added time before the break, the response was one of general bemusement.

But it was nothing compared to Athletic’s reaction to being held at 1-1 after Taylor made another marvellous save from Dudley, who cracked the rebound against a post from only three yards. Neither did the pattern of the match change after half-time, with both Dudley and the hard-working Rickers heading wide when they should have at least hit the target. Whitehall replaced Allott after 68 minutes and, within seconds, he too was left scratching his head as Taylor rose magnificently to palm away his long-range volley. As the siege continued, Athletic switched formations to throw four men — including left-back Andrew Holt — into all-out attack. Duxbury and Dudley were yet again denied by Taylor, but the longer Wycombe clung on to parity the greater was the danger that a shock could be on the cards. Then, two minutes from time and virtually out of the blue, Athletic’s worst fears materialised. When a rare Wycombe attack reaped a corner, Richard Graham lost his man, Kelly hesitated and, in the ensuing scramble, Baird forced the ball home from almost on the line. But it would have been unjust for the visitors to take three points from such a one-si ded contest and, after 91 minutes, Whitehall ensured they wouldn’t by glancing a perfect near-post header beyond Taylor. There was still time for the game to be shown in microcosm by Taylor’s stunning one-handed save from Dudley. If the ’keeper had been wearing his jockstrap outside his shorts, it would have been the final clinching evidence that here was Wycombe’s very own superhero.

Angry Andy snubs his own players

ANDY RITCHIE refused to speak to his players last night after Athletic threw away the chance of victory against ten-man Wycombe. The furious manager kept his thoughts to himself, opting for quiet reflection instead of verbal fireworks. He revealed: "I didn't say a word to them after the game. There was no point — I would have gone ballistic. To be honest, I just wanted them out of my sight. It was another opportunity lost, two points thrown away and, at the end, we were very lucky to take a point." Athletic had almost total domination of the 2-2 draw, but they were scuppered by bad defending, wayward finishing and the brilliant display of Wycombe goalkeeper Martin Taylor. Ritchie said: "I wouldn't mind a pint of what the 'keeper was on. He was on another planet and made some unbelievable saves. "We must have had 12 decent openings and I thought Craig Dudley was different class for us up front, even though he should have scored at least two or three goals. "But I'm not so much annoyed about the chances we missed as the rubbish we came up with at the back.

"The first goal was bad enough, but we didn't pick up properly when Wycombe got the second and there were people just leaving things to each other instead of covering and doing the basics." The point, which lifted Athletic one place to 19th, was earned by Steve Whitehall, who has now scored in each of the last two games after coming off the bench. Whitehall is right in contention for the starting line-up at Chesterfield on Saturday, while Paul Beavers could make the squad for the first time in two months if he impresses in tonight's reserve-team game at West Brom (7 pm). Leigh RMI defender Paul Jones plays the second game of his trial spell. Reserves: Miskelly, Clitheroe, I McLean, Jones, Swan, Futcher, Walsh, Innes, Tipton, D McNiven, Beavers. Subs: Campbell, Boshell, Sugden, Wharton, Johnston.