Wycombe Wanderers 0-0 Northampton Town: FLW reports as Chairboys follow Huddersfield Town in dropping points | OneFootball

All the action from Adams Park as Wycombe Wanderers took on Northampton Town.

Wycombe Wanderers were left hugely frustrated by Northampton Town as the Chairboys missed a chance to temporarily take back top spot.

Northampton thought they'd taken the lead inside 15 minutes, only for the goal to be ruled out for handball. Joe Low had the best chance of the first-half, when he met Garath McCleary's cross with his right foot, but Nik Tzanev produced a stunning save to keep the scores level.

Wycombe continued to press on in the second-half, trying to find a winner who could be so valuable in the race for promotion. However, Kevin Nolan's men executed their game-plan to perfection. The Cobblers almost nicked a winner in stoppage time through Tariq Fosu, but his shot trickled inches wide.

Wanderers had to settle for a point on a weekend where they'd have been desperate to secure three, having seen Huddersfield Town lose to Bolton Wanderers earlier in the day, and Birmingham City play out a 1-1 draw with Wrexham on Thursday.

Wycombe Wanderers 0-0 Northampton Town

After a pretty tame opening ten minutes, Luke Leahy mustered the first shot on goal after being played through by McCleary. Tzanev made the save but was also saved by the linesman's flag.

The visitors thought they had the lead five minutes later. Poor defending from Low gifted Northampton a corner which was turned in. However, referee David Rock ruled the goal out for handball.

It was a pretty poor opening 20 minutes for the Chairboys, as their lowly opponents continued to ask questions of the promotion hopefuls. Both teams were going for the hit and hope approach, but the hosts were struggling to win the second balls.

Brandon Hanlan was the most lively outlet for the Wanderers in the first-half. Just after the half-hour mark, he won the ball high up the pitch and played a little give and go with McCleary. The forward wriggled his way into a crossing position and fired a ball across goal, which narrowly evaded Beryly Lubala's head.

Wycombe should've had the lead eight minutes from half-time, but were denied by a great save from Tzanev. McCleary's cross was met by Low, who was unmarked in the box. His reaching effort had enough power on it to steer the ball towards goal, but not enough to beat the Kiwi.

That was all that was written for the first period. A very poor half of football from both sides meant the two went into the break level. Wycombe finished the half in the ascendancy, but were lacking that finishing touch. The Cobblers looked comfortable, and deserved to go in at half-time level.

Sam Grace made a change for the second half; Dan Harvie was withdrawn and Leahy dropped to left-back, with Matt Butcher taking his place in central midfield; the number eight scored a brace in this fixture last season.

The first 15 minutes of the second period started largely the same as the first. The away side were putting pressure on Wycombe, but the Chairboys defence held firm. Low picked up a head knock which required treatment, but the Welshman was able to continue thankfully.

With 25 minutes to go, Richard Kone entered the fray in place of Hanlan and Jack Grimmer replaced Gideon Kodua at right-back. Wanderers had resorted to just aimlessly hoofing the ball in the second-half, desperately needing a refresh up top.

That refresh almost worked straight away via some good hold-up play from Kone. Josh Scowen received the ball in the box with just the keeper to beat, but once again Tzanev was equal to the effort from point-blank range.

A final roll of the dice from Grace came as Fred Onyedinma came on to replace former Cobbler Lubala, who'd struggled to have any impact on the game.

Talk-of-the-town Kone once again proved why he was attracting interest higher up the pyramid. He effortlessly glided past three Northampton players before finding McCleary on the right. His deep cross at the far post was met by Onyedinma, whose header was caught by Tzanev.

It just wasn't going to be Wycombe's day, on a day they really needed to win with all three of their promotion rivals dropping points at Huddersfield following Thursday's draw between Wrexham and Birmingham. With five minutes of stoppages added on, it gave Wycombe a lifeline to find a crucial winner.

However, it just wouldn't happen for the Blues. The referee blew for full-time, bringing a hugely frustrating afternoon to an end. It was a pretty lacklustre performance from the hosts, who missed the chance to take back top spot in League One.

The visitors defended stoutly all afternoon, thoroughly deserving the point they'd earned on their travels. With a massive win for Burton, every point in the survival race would be crucial.

Player ratings

Wycombe Wanderers

F. Ravizzoli - 6

G. Kodua - 5 (J. Grimmer 65'(6))

J. Low - 7

S. Bradley - 6

D. Harvie - 6 (M. Butcher 46'(4))

J. Scowen - 6

C. Humphreys - 6

L. Leahy - 6

G. McCleary - 6

B. Lubala - 5 (F. Onyedinma 78'(6))

B. Hanlan - 6 (R. Kone 65'(6))

Unused substitutes: N. Bishop, T. Bakinson, D. Skura

Northampton Town

N. Tzanev - 8

A. McGowan - 6

J. Willis - 7 (T. Magloire 90'(6))

T. Eyoma - 6

A. Odimayo - 6

M. Pinnock - 6

T. Taylor - 6

L. Shaw - 6

C. McGeehan - 6 (W. Hondermarck 83'(6))

S. Hoskins - 6 (T. Fosu 90'(6))

T. Eaves - 6 (M. Dyche 89'(6))

Unused substitutes: L. Burge, J. Wilson, S. Chouchane

Match attendance

Benji Walker (@benjiwalkerphoto)

There were 5,446 supporters present inside Adams Park on this cold January afternoon, with a respectable 587 making the trip from Northampton.