4:58pm Saturday 13th March 2010
Oldham 2, Wycombe 2.
PAWEL Abbot struck an 89th minute penalty to deny Blues a vital win.
He drilled home from the spot after the referee pointed to the spot after his own shot had hit Adam Hinshelwood on the arm.
It was a real sickener for Wycombe who looked to be on their way to all three points through comeback king Kevin Betsy.
He thought he had earned Wanderers three vital points over their relegation rivals and proved a point to boss Gary Waddock.
Waddock dropped the midfielder out of his squad altogether last week for what he called a poor performance at Stockport, but Betsy came back with a bang as they Blues came from behind to come within a minute of winning it.
The Blues appeared to have turned it round after Latics defender Reuben Hazell headed his side into a 29th minute lead.
But Wanderers refused to accept it.
They levelled with a Matt Harrold penalty on 40 minutes after John Mousinho's shot hit Danny Whitaker on the arm.
And then they sent their 182 travelling supporters wild just three minutes into the second half when Betsy tried his luck from distance and the ball bobbled past home keeper Dean Brill.
With a match at home to fellow drop zone rivals Exeter next week, Wanderers knew six points would put them right back in the mix and their attacking line up revealed their desire to turn single points into maximum hauls but they were denied right at the death.
They picked a very attack minded side out with Betsy, Gareth Ainsworth and Stuart Beavon all being added to the team which were held to a goalless draw by Carlisle last week.
And they spent much of the opening on the front foot.
Beavon's tricky probing presented them with their first opportunity turning the defence before spreading wide to Ainsworth in a wonderful position. The veteran's touch let him down though but the ball spun out to right back Julian Kelly who lashed in a shot which nestled in the keeper's gloves.
Having controlled the opening dozen minutes, Wanderers were pressed back into their own half as Oldham took their turn in the ascendancy.
Joe Jacobson's hopeful cross was allowed to go all the way though to the unmarked Deane Smalley who wasted the chance heading wastefully wide.
Moments later and it was a Pawel Abbot cross from the same left flank that had Wycombe in trouble.
Again they left a man unmarked and again they were let off as Chris Taylor's downward header lacked power or direction.
Oldham attacked again and this time it took a timely intervention from Adam Hinshelwood to prevent Abbott a clear sight of goal after the tidy Taylor had again done the spadwork.
Both sides then traded long range efforts with Ainsworth drilling off target for Blues and Taylor doing likewise for the hosts after dispossessing Kelly.
With both sides having had promising ten minute spells each there was little to split the sides until Hazell headed the hosts into a 29th minute lead.
He ghosted into the six yard box unattended to nod Kieran Lee's free kick into the back of the next after it had flicked off Harrold's head.
It was the third time in the opening 30 minutes that Wycombe had left an Oldham man free to win a header in their box and this time it proved fatal.
With a goal to defend Latics tails were up but scorer Hazell picked up a daft booking for throwing the ball at Betsy as he tried to slow down a Wycombe free kick.
It was a sign that Oldham were there to be got at and Wanderers went at them.
Ainsworth flighted over a great cross to Betsy but Whittaker climbed highest on the back post to prevent certain goal.
Then, from the resultant Dean Keates corner, Whittaker was in the right place again to hack Matt Harrold's shot off the line.
But Whittaker's luck didn't last as the minute-long Wycombe barrage continued.
He couldn't get his arm out of the way of a John Mousinho shot and the referee awarded Blues a 40th minute lifeline from the penalty spot.
Last week Latics keeper Dean Brill saved a last minute Exeter penalty to earn Oldham a point but he couldn't repeat his heroics this time as Harrold kept his nerve to beat him and level the scores.
Wanderers began the second half full of purpose. A couple of early runs down the right flank from Ainsworth showed their intent and it took them just three minutes to get their noses in front.
Kevin Betsy, dropped from the squad altogether last week after a perceived below-par performance at Stockport, completed his rehabilitation by firing the Blues in front.
He picked up a loose ball inside the centre circle and burst forward before drilling in a shot from 30-yards which bobbled in front of the keeper and nestled in the back of the net.
The former Oldham player celebrated with a finger on his lips before running to the dugout where manager Gary Waddock and his assistant Martin Kuhl, the men who left him out last week, joined in the celebrations.
And they should have been celebrating minutes later. Beavon cut along the goalline before teeing up Harrold who tamely sidefooted his shot straight at Brill.
Wanderers weren't sitting on their lead though.
Ainsworth, who has yet to lose in a Blues shirt, scampered down the right wing again before picking out Keates with a low cross which the midfielder fired wide.
A third Wycombe goal looked far more likely than an Oldham equaliser.
But the Blues did need keeper Tom Heaton to be in the right place at the right time as Pawel Abbott hammered an excellent opportunity straight at him from ten yards.
Wycombe defended doggedly though with Kevin McLeod coming on for the injured Ainsworth late on.
Blues chucked their bodies in the way of Oldham shots and with their bravery in front of him, Heaton did not have the anxious finale that he might have expected to have had until the dramatic conclusion.
And it was one thrown body too many that cost the Blues.
Hinshelwood chucked everything in the way of Abbott's effort including his arm in the opinion of the ref who awarded the penalty from which Abbott denied the Blues the three points they looked as though they had bagged.
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