By Matt Cecil
Peter Taylor was denied a dream start to his Wanderers career as Sammy McIlroy's Morecambe side held the Blues to a 1-1 draw at Adams Park, with David Artell's close-range effort cancelling out Lewwis Spence's spectacular debut strike in the first half.
Read the clockwatch here.
The Blues boss was forced to do without club captain David McCracken for his first competitive game at Adams Park, with the Scotsman missing out with a calf injury, but was boosted by the return of Mike Williamson and Scott McGleish after injury.
Wycombe lined up in a 4-5-1 formation, with captain-for-the-day Tommy Doherty playing a holding midfield role while Leon Crooks made his first appearance in sixteen months at right-back, with Scott Shearer preferred over Jamie Young in goal.
The opening day of the season is usually associated with bright sunshine and a slow tempo of football as both teams attempt to reduce the risk of conceding a potentially morale-crushing early goal.
This game had neither of those, however, as both teams looked to inject some pace into the match on a wet surface early on, with the Wanderers attacking the Dreams stand in a half-full Adams Park stadium.
Rene Howe was the first to test his shooting accuracy in the second minute after Mike Williamson's clearance fell to him inside the box, but the on-loan Peterborough striker sliced his effort waywardly into the crowd from a tight angle.
Former Millwall man Gavin Grant then showed his speed with the ball as he darted into the area to win a corner on four minutes, and an excellent cross from Craig Woodman two minutes later just evaded the heads of McGleish and Grant inside the area.
A speculative bicycle-kick from Shrimpers midfielder Michael Carr ended up in the Valley Terrace on ten minutes before a deflected cross from Blues debutant Lewwis Spence almost found Grant inside the six-yard area before the slippery surface took the ball away from him.
Wanderers found it difficult to find space in the middle of the pitch with the visitors closing down quickly, but it was down the flanks where Peter Taylor's men looked more dangerous, whipping in cross after cross to test the Morecambe defence.
Garry Hunter tried to relieve the pressure with a speculative effort on 21 minutes which sailed over the bar from 25 yards, and the early quick tempo was stifled by the close attention being paid to Wycombe's danger men by Morecambe's midfield.
In fact it was the visitors' Neil Wainwright who provided the next chance of the half, fizzing a swerving effort over the bar on 29 minutes, and the same player was unlucky to see his clever pass cleared by Gary Holt inside the area two minutes later as the Shrimpers began to enjoy their best period of the game.
How frustrated they must have been then to fall behind on 34 minutes as a clever passing move completely outfoxed the visiting defence and resulted in Lewwis Spence firing home a spectacular left-footed strike on his Wycombe debut. Chris Zebroski and Leon Crooks were both involved before Gary Holt shaped to shoot, prompting a Morecambe player to slide in to block the effort.
That allowed Lewwis Spence to find space 25 yards out and after Holt fed the ball to his left, Spence pulled the trigger and rifled a low effort past Barry Roche to open the scoring in front of a delighted home crowd.
The goal was clearly a big blow to Sammy McIlroy's men as they began to lose their rhythm with the half coming to a close, and Wycombe were the team who looked more likely to find the next goal.
Tommy Doherty was looking one of the Blues' better players in the opening period, combining clever passing and tenacious tackling in typical fashion, but he was the first player to enter the referee's notebook for what appeared to be time-wasting whilst taking a free-kick, and it turned out to be the final action of the half as the Wanderers returned to the dressing room content with their first half display.
That was the end of Gary Holt's afternoon, however, as he was replaced by John Mousinho in the centre of midfield, and the lightning pace of Chris Zebroski almost latched on to an excellent through-ball before keeper Barry Roche darted from his goal to clear.
The rain began to pour down but the class of Tommy Doherty was one shining light in the midfield, delightfully skipping past Garry Hunter before feeding Zebroski inside the box, who fired an effort low into the side netting on 57 minutes.
Gavin Grant was the next striker to test his shooting boots, collecting the ball 25 yards out from a misplaced Morecambe pass and bursting into the box. The ex-Millwall man fired hard and low towards the corner, but Roche got down well to turn the ball around the post for a corner.
And how the Blues could have done with the cushion of a two-goal lead, as Morecambe levelled the scores on 65 minutes with a close-range finish from David Artell. A free-dubious free-kick was drilled to the far post by Danny Adams and as captain Jim Bentley flicked it down, Artell guided it past Scott Shearer to dampen the mood inside Adams Park.
All of a sudden, the visitors were rampant, and the Blues defence needed to be at their best to deny Rene Howe and Michael Carr from giving Morecambe the lead. Neil Wainwright's powerful cross from the left was parried into the path of Howe by Scott Shearer, and the striker's effort was blocked by the diving Leon Johnson. Michael Carr then seized on the loose ball and drilled the ball goalwards, only to see Craig Woodman clear the ball from the goal-line to keep the scores level.
Wainwright then saw a 20-yard effort comfortably held by Shearer at his near post before Lewwis Spence fizzed a low effort right across the goalmouth, agonisingly evading all of the onrushing attackers in front of the Valley Terrace.
Sammy McIlroy made his first substitution, replacing the impressive Wainwright with Wayne Curtis on 79 minutes, and four minutes later Gavin Grant sent another low effort across the face of goal with Scott McGleish inches away from connecting.
Peter Taylor was forced into another substitution on 86 minutes with Leon Crooks picking up a knock, and Will Antwi was brought on to replace the right-back as time ticked away.
The Adams Park crowd were boosted by news of six minutes added time at the end of the game as the Shrimpers attempted to run down the clock, replacing Michael Carr and Matthew Blinkhorn with Stewart Drummond and Diarmuid O'Carroll.
Lewwis Spence was given a sight of goal with three minutes remaining but opted to take one too many touches before receiving a yellow card for an overzealous tackle.
And that was that, as Peter Taylor's side were unable to grab the last minute winner they desperately craved, and all eyes will now look ahead to Wednesday's prestigious Carling Cup tie with Birmingham City here at Adams Park.
Team: Scott Shearer, Leon Crooks (Will Antwi, 86), Craig Woodman, Mike Williamson, Leon Johnson, Tommy Doherty, Gary Holt (John Mousinho, 45), Lewwis Spence, Gavin Grant, Chris Zebroski, Scott McGleish.
