Wycombe Wanderers 1-1 Northampton Town

Aaron Pierre’s first Wycombe goal earned his side a point at home to Northampton, with both sides settling for a share of the spoils as this vital bottom-of-the-table clash produced no victor.

Pierre headed home only eight minutes after a Matt Ingram mistake had given the visitors the lead, while a dramatic finish almost saw substitute Dean Morgan take advantage of 10 minutes of stoppage time but his last-gasp effort was ruled out for offside.

Wanderers and Town remain level on points - although Wanderers have leapfrogged Bristol Rovers on goals scored - and will have to hope that Portsmouth can do them a favour at home to Rovers tomorrow, while defeat for rock-bottom Torquay United means that they now lie eight points behind both clubs.

Zander Diamond replaced Chris Hackett in the starting line-up for the Cobblers’ only alteration from last week’s victory over Burton Albion.

On the other hand, Gareth Ainsworth made four changes to the side that lost 2-0 at Newport County, as Marvin McCoy, Steven Craig, Nick Arnold and Max Kretzschmar made way for Leon Johnson, Matt Bloomfield, Jo Kuffour and, unexpectedly, Paris Cowan-Hall.

Northampton looked the hungrier of the two sides during the opening exchanges but no-one was quite expecting the manner in which they found their opener.

After 10 minutes, Ricky Ravenhill’s cross was heading into goalkeeper Ingram’s arms for what looked to be a routine catch.

Unfortunately for him it was anything but as he lost his grip and blundered the ball over the line.

A well-struck Alan Connell volley whistled narrowly wide minutes later as Town carved out early chances in a half of few clear-cut opportunities, but Wycombe were level just eight minutes later.

Twenty-one-year-old Pierre notched the all-important equaliser in only his fourth appearance for the Chairboys, heading home powerfully into the top right-hand corner from Bloomfield’s pinpoint free-kick.

The move was repeated 10 minutes later but this time Pierre directed his header over the crossbar.

Both teams made their full allocation of substitutions as the game was hampered by injuries throughout.

Wycombe had been dealt a blow on the half-hour mark when Cowan-Hall, who hasn’t featured since early March, hobbled off to be replaced by Morgan.

For Northampton, Diamond was forced to leave the pitch on a stretcher on the 78th minute and the significant delay in action meant that 10 minutes of stoppage time was to be played after 90 minutes.

As normal time drew to a close, it suddenly got very tense at Adams Park; neither team wanted to lose, particularly so late in the game.

Brennan Dickenson’s quick left-sided attack and subsequent pass across goal could very easily have been tapped home for a late winner but it evaded every player in the box.

Meanwhile, at the other end, Kretzschmar, who had replaced Kuffour on the 90th minute, stepped up to take a 20-yard free-kick in the dying stages.

Watched on by a nervous Adams Park, Kretzschmar’s set-piece violently struck the crossbar before falling to Johnson.

The defender tried to turn the ball goalwards before Morgan, much to the delight of the onlooking terrace, clipped it over the line.

Cue wild celebrations, fans spilling onto the pitch, Ainsworth and his fellow staff members up on their feet – all of which was cut short by the assistant referee’s flag.

Disbelief met the final whistle as such extreme jubilation was halted so cruelly.

With a place in the relegation zone up for grabs for the loser, the outpouring of emotion that met Morgan’s disallowed goal capped off the high tensions which had been running high throughout.

This was certainly demonstrated during the first half as Wycombe’s players reacted furiously after John 

Marquis’ high foot caught Sam Wood as the visitors attacked.

The terraces urged referee Andy D’Urso to brandish a red card but, much to their displeasure, he settled for booking the striker instead.

The incident had followed a fantastic save by Ingram to deny a dangerous Connell free-kick, tipping the ball away in a gallant dive to his left.

At the other end, Matt McClure wasn’t far away from directing another Bloomfield free-kick past Matt Duke as Wanderers looked threatening from the veteran’s free-kicks.

The theme of set-piece opportunities continued into the second half as Marquis won a corner for Northampton after his low shot clipped the bottom of the blue wall.

Minutes earlier, just as he had dismissed Stuart Lewis’ penalty appeals in the final stages of the first half, D’Urso had ignored the visiting fans’ and Evan Horwood’s handball protests after his cross struck Bloomfield.

More accusations followed from the away end as they grew irate with D’Urso for allegedly missing two further handball incidents.

But, although Northampton were spending long periods of time in their opponent’s half, it was Wycombe who could so easily have taken the lead just five minutes after the interval.

Wood’s left-sided cross gave Morgan his first chance to net his ninth of the season but the striker stung the crossbar with his header instead.

And from a fast-paced corner, McClure swept across to try and direct Bloomfield’s cross goalwards but his header flew wide.

Ainsworth was forced into making another substitution on the hour mark as goalscorer Pierre made way for Anthony Stewart, while 10 minutes later Chris Wilder withdrew both Emile Sinclair and Horwood in favour of Dickenson and Hackett, before a masked Mathias Doumbe replaced the injured Diamond.

A long-range Lewis shot was collected by Duke before the fourth official lifted his board and a remarkable finale ensued.