By Matt Cecil

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Wanderers were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Stockport County on Easter Monday as both sides cancelled each other out in a tense affair at Adams Park.

All the talk before the game had surrounded Paul Lambert's 100th game and Stockport's eight match winning streak on the road, but it seemed to be a case of neither side wanting to lose rather than going all out for the win as goalscoring chances were few and far between.

Tommy Doherty returned to the Blues' starting line-up in place of Neil Lennon as Paul Lambert's side sought to make it six points from six in a busy Easter period, but a combination of rain, snow and hail in the opening exchanges made it difficult for either side to maximise their passing games, and a low-key midfield battle ensued.

Both teams looked fairly comfortable in defence, with captain Mike Williamson in particular putting in an impressive display in his first home start in thirteen months, while Leon Knight was full of running up front.

Paul Lambert then opted to switch to a diamond formation, with Chris Herd occupying an attacking midfielder's role while Tommy Doherty dropped into a defensive midfield position, but the first chance of the game didn't come until the 24th minute when Stefan Oakes saw a shot deflected wide for a corner.

Stockport's best chance of the game came through Anthony Pilkington on 41 minutes, when the young winger cut the ball onto his left foot on the edge of the box and curled his shot just wide of the post with Frank Fielding beaten.

The action then switched to the other end, when a cross from Russell Martin threatened to cause problems for the defence and Leon Knight jinked onto his right foot before firing over the crossbar. That proved to be the last half-chance of the first 45 minutes, and both teams retreated down the tunnel to reassess their strategies.

The second half began with more attacking intent from both teams, with a cross from Gary Holt meeting the head of Scott McGleish on 47 minutes, but the striker's effort deflected off one of the visiting defenders and behind for a corner.

Two minutes later, Pilkington managed to wriggle inside the box from the right-hand side before unleashing an effort which was deflected goalwards, and only a smart reaction save from Frank Fielding prevented the visitors from taking the lead.

On the hour mark,  Gary Holt had a sight of goal but miscued his effort and it wasn't long before Paul Lambert made a double change, replacing Chris Herd and Leon Knight with Sergio Torres and John Sutton.

County manager Jim Gannon reacted to Wycombe's substitutions by making two changes of his own, bringing on David Poole and Johann Smith for Jason Taylor and Anthony Pilkington.

On 71 minutes, Wanderers' hearts were in mouths twice in a matter of moments as Frank Fielding dashed from his goal to thwart attacks from the visitors. First he tackled Tommy Rowe on the edge of the box to concede a throw-in but seconds later, Frank's fractions weren't quite so perfect as he brought down Liam Dickinson on the corner of the box to concede a free-kick and pick up a yellow card.

Sergio Torres then began to make his mark on the game, with two excellent runs causing problems for the County backline, and Stefan Oakes fired over the bar at the end of an impressive move from the Blues. Liam Dickinson then saw yellow for kicking the ball away, and a free-kick by Stefan Oakes cannoned back off visiting keeper John Ruddy as the Wanderers enjoyed a good spell of pressure.

Gary Holt and Stefan Oakes both attempted to find the target from range and Liam Dickinson forced a good save from Frank Fielding as the game drew to a close, and referee Mr Miller brought an end to proceedings to ensure that both teams picked up a point in their promotion chases on a day where Hereford lost and Darlington were held to a draw.