Going to a Rangers game with a hangover is never good. In fact this was the first time I had gone to a game with a hangover since out last home defeat so I was a little worried that history may repeat itself.

Still upon hearing the teams announced I was reasonably confident. Just two changes from last week with Thorpe and Williams out and Bean and Padula in. This was a big game for Bean, his first start of the season and a chance to make a name for himself.

Rangers appeared to lose the toss and attacked towards the loft in the first half which is a tactic often used by Wimbledon against us over the years, It didn’t seem to affect us though as we piled forward from the kick off.

Ainsworth was full of running down the right as Wycombe looked all over the place in the opening minutes. Gallen and Furlong both headed wide early on and it was all Rangers in a good start for the home side. McLeod was having plenty of joy down the left easily beating his full back to whip crosses in but unfortunately the final ball was not as good as it could have been.

Gallen did well to hold off two defenders on the right before placing a low cross in but Furlong didn’t anticipate it and the chance was gone.

Wycombe had a good five minute spell where they put us under pressure. They had two wingers right on the by-line and launched long balls over to them, which we struggled to get to grips with. Day was forced into a good save from Darren Currie as we looked vulnerable at the back especially out wide but Shittu and Gnohere began to dominate in the air and Padula did well to head clear a cross which looked very dangerous before we settled again and stormed forward.

It was all Rangers for the rest of the half. Ainsworth did well to beat his man and sprinted into the box to cross for Furlong. The big striker found Gallen but he couldn’t get his shot away and when the ball fell to Palmer Wycombe were defending as if their lives depended on it and cleared the danger.

McLeod was next to go close after more good work by Furlong and the winger flashed a shot towards the far post which beat the keeper but flew just wide. McLeod was having a good spell and his weaving run inside saw him find Gallen who did brilliantly to turn past his defender and place a brilliant shot into the top corner but the keeper somehow made a superb save and kept Gallen out.

The corners continued to be disappointing though especially from Gino who didn’t look 100% fit to me. Surprisingly though Gino was the first name in the refs book for a foul on the wing. He seemed to take the ball and it didn’t even look like a foul to be honest so to see him booked was a real disappointment.

Furlong and Gallen were having excellent games with Furlong looking very sharp. He fashioned a chance out of nothing as he turned his man and powered a shot just wide.

Ainsworth was next to have a go cutting inside and seeing the keeper out of position he fired a curling effort just wide. We were doing everything but score and as the half drew to a close we created several more chances to take the lead.

McLeod ran at them again and fired just over before Bean found himself in space on the right and curled a brilliant effort which saw Talia produce another brilliant save to tip it wide for a corner.

Ainsworth then went in for one of the toughest tackles I’ve ever seen. The ball broke loose and he threw himself into a 50/50 just as the Wycombe player did and both players gave it everything they had to win the ball. It was great to see but Ainsworth seemed to be hurt for a few minutes afterwards.

As the half time whistle went it seemed unbelievably that we hadn’t scored and I think most fans were confident that we’d grab that all important goal during the second half.

We started the second half where we ended the first, on the attack. Wycombe were desperately trying to hang on for a point and the keeper Talia was taking around a minute to take every goal kick from the start of the half. Sadly the ref never warned him over time wasting and he was able to take away any momentum we were building up.

The first chance of the half was so close to giving us the lead. A free kick in Richard Langley territory saw Martin Rowlands step over it. He curled a brilliant effort towards the top corner and Talia somehow tipped it onto the post and away for a corner. It was another incredible save by a goalkeeper producing his best performance of the season.

We continued to push forward and were denied by a foul on Furlong. Furlong did well to win the ball back with Wycombe on the back foot. Wycombe’s Roger Johnson first handballed before hacking Furlong down as he was about to send Gallen through. The defender was booked but and the chance was gone for us.

To compound our misery Johnson then cleared one off the line as Furlongs effort looked destined to give us the lead. We just couldn’t grab that opening goal and through some desperate defending and great goalkeeping Wycombe were still in the game.

Padula and McLeod then had a good spell winning the ball and causing problems down the left. McLeod had the beating of his full back but his crosses flew across goal with no one able to get on the end of them.

Marcus Bean had three opportunities to give us the lead but on each occasion his shot from outside the box went well wide. Some fans began to get on his back but Bean was doing all that was expected of a defensive midfield player and a more experienced player would probably have looked for a pass rather than shoot but I’m sure Bean will learn from this.

Furlong then saw a shot deflected just wide as the pressure increased but from the corner it all kicked off. It’s hard to tell from where I was sitting but I’ve been told since that a Wycombe player elbowed Furlong in the back of the head to send the striker down and Furlong got up and reacted. Both were booked although some might argue an elbow in the penalty area is a penalty but a corner was given.

After all the pressure we had we almost threw it away as the Wycombe substitute Hooligan found himself clean through in acres of space as the defence went AWOL. Chris Day came out and saved with his legs as the forward tried to nutmeg him. It was a big warning to Rangers and that seemed to inspire us to push forward even more in search of that elusive goal.

McLeod got into several good positions out wide and flashed crosses in but no one could get on the end of it and Ainsworth went close late one firing wide with another shot.

Furlong was put in by Gallen and as he looked set to smash it into the bottom corner a Wycombe defender threw himself in with a great last ditch tackle to keep us out.

Gallen was then brought down right on the edge of the box although it looked like it was just inside from where I was sitting but the free kick was once again kept out byt he Wycombe defence.

It was turning out to be one of those days and then it should have got even worse. Hooligan found himself totally unmarked just eight yards out and the goal gaping but he sliced his shot well wide with a pathetic effort. We were lucky to get away with that but we’d earned some luck after dominating the entire game without scoring.

After five minutes of injury time the final whistle went as Wycombe celebrated as if they had won the league and our players looked devastated. Some fans decided to boo but that was pointless. The team had given it all they had and were just unlucky not to win the game.

Rowlands, McLeod and Ainsworth all made a point of coming over to clap the fans at the end and hopefully they’ll bounce back on Tuesday night.

Man of the Match: Kevin Gallen

Players Ratings

1. Chris Day: Made two excellent saves to and was alert when we needed him to be 7/10

14. Martin Rowlands: Much better from Rowlands who struggled early on but used some real quality to dribble out of defence and was always a threat going forward. 7/10

3. Gino Padula: Didn't look fully fit and didn't get forward as much as he usually does. 6/10

6. Danny Shittu: Played two superb cross field passes and was bringing the ball out of defence very well. 7/10

24. Arthur Gnohere: Goes for the safety first option but just clearing his lines which sometimes led to him giving away possession but he defended well enough. 7/10

4. Steve Palmer: Worked hard and made sure he gave the ball to the more creative players. As ever with Palmer he did nothing wrong but in a game like this we could have done with some more creativity in midfield. 7/10

11. Gareth Ainsworth: At times he was excellent beating his man and whipping in some excellent crosses but to often his final ball let him down in the second half. 7/10

17. Marcus Bean: Worked hard and broke up the play whilst covering for the wide players when they got forward. Not the creative player we need but he did his job well and will learn from this. 7/10

22. Kevin McLeod: Had the beating of his fall back and was causing loads of problems but his final ball and his shooting was very disappointing. 7/10

29. Paul Furlong: Held the ball up well and was very unlucky not to score. 7/10

10. Kevin Gallen: Looked very sharp back up front and went very close to scoring on more than one occasion. Possibly should be more greedy in front of goal rather than looking to pass but an excellent performance from Gallen. 8/10