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Wycombe all but said goodbye to their hopes of sneaking into the play-offs after going down 2-1 at home to Bury at Adams Park. Wanderers eighth home defeat of the season came after Roger Johnson had fired his side into a 10th minute lead with a contender for goal of the season when he ran from his own half before sending in a low shot from the left channel inside the near post. Nathan Tyson and Ian Stonebridge went close to extending the lead before the visitors were given a lifeline on 34 minutes when Simon Whaley was allowed to shoot home from the left side of the penalty after the Wycombe defence had failed to deal with a Bury attack down the right. Stonebridge twice went close to restoring Wycombe's lead either side of the break but on 81 minutes Frank Talia inadvertently picked up a back-pass from Danny Senda and the resulting free-kick eventually led to Wycombe being punished in the ultimate manner when David Flitcroft fired in the winner with a dipping cross/shot from around 25 yards out on the left wing.For what was described as a 'must win game' by John Gorman, the Wycombe boss stuck with the same starting line-up that had drawn 0-0 at Grimsby the previous week. Thoughts of another goalless encounter were quickly dismissed after Johnson's dream opener on 10 minutes. However, in a season where Wycombe have conceded the first goal on 28 occasions they were to eventually lose for the first time in 2004/5 having scored the first goal. Chances came to increase the early lead when Tyson flicked a chance wide on 23 minutes while a minute later Steve Claridge got to the right bye-line but his low cross was somehow turned past the far post by Ian Stonebridge. To that point the visitors had hardly threatened the Wycombe goal but the equaliser on 34 minutes was again typical of Wycombe's season. Even then Wycombe had chances to regain the lead before the break. On 38 minutes Tyson shot side at the far post following a cross from the right by Stonebridge. Then on the stroke of 45 minutes Robert Lee spread to the ball right to Gus Uhlenbeek and the resulting cross left Stonebridge with a clear sight of goal but the former Plymouth player could only manage to direct his half-volley straight at the 'keeper. Moments later Danny Senda saw a sweetly struck shot effort tipped over the cross-bar. Half-time 1-1  John Gorman went for a change of tactics in the second period as Uhlenbeek was switched to left back and Joe Burnell moved to midfield. But the change was not to help Wycombe's cause.Claridge wasted a good opening from the right of the penalty area on 52 minutes after Tyson had held off the defender but the chances dried up as the visitors gained more confidence. They went close on 68 minutes. Wycombe went closest to taking the lead on 74 minutes when Johnson's shot from the left channel was deflected into the path of Stonebridge on the right of the penalty area. His header eventually hit the far post and Tyson went agonisingly close to sliding in and converting the rebound. What earlier in the game would have been regarded as an inconceivable victory for Bury all came to a head in the 81st minute when Talia picked up a pass from Senda. The resulting free-kick led to a corner on the left which was taken short to Flitcroft who curled the ball back into the danger zone only to see the ball nestle into the far corner of the net. Good fortune or not, Wycombe never looked liked equalising and were left regreting another missed opportunity on climbing the table. Mathematically it's not over yet but with just three games remaining and a gap of four points to make up, all points towards another season in the basement division. Final Score - Wycombe 1 Bury 2 John Gorman tried to put a brave face on the defeat when speaking to BBC Three Counties Radio after the game. He said "Obviously I'm disappointed but I'm more disapointed that we gave the winning goal to them when really they didn't deserve to win the game. They played well, they came here and had a go and played more football than I expected from them but the winning goal, their player, I know him very well, he said sorry I tried to cross it, I didn't even try and score. And that what really hurts. Why don't we get that luck?." The Wycombe boss went on to say "We played some exhilarating football in the first half and really should have been two or three goals up. If we had got the second one I think we would have won comfortably. More than comfortbably, it would have been party time." Meanwhile, Bury boss Graham Barrow commented to the media "It was a very shakey start, and John Gorman tried a little trick with us, he sent us the video from their last game against Grimsby, the tactics he used last week were not the tactics he used today, and they caught us out completely." He added "They threw everything at us, but credit to the players, they did well. We conceded a bad goal, but there was enough evidence in the opening spell that showed we were going to be allowed to play a little bit, it takes two to tango, John Gorman wants to play football, we want to play football and that's what you get. Every credit to John Gorman, he's done great with Wycombe since he came to Gigg Lane for his first game in charge, and he's done well to get them to where they are now. I have no doubt that they will be a major threat next season." John Gorman added that there was no reason why Wycombe couldn't go on to win at Yeovil next week but concluded "We had a great chance today to go right into the pack but it wasn't to be. That's the frustrating thing because it's been too many games now at home. The worse we should have got was a draw and we end up throwing away all three points."
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