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Wanderers were eventually beaten 2-0 by Reading on Tuesday evening at Adams Park. Wycombe held out until the 68th minute against the League leaders before Jamie Cureton smashed the ball past Martin Taylor on the break. The chance had come after Dannie Bulman had opted to shoot rather than pass the ball wide to Darren Currie and sadly it proved extremely costly.The vital goal also came five minutes after Steve Brown had been tactically replaced by Stuart Roberts. The Welshman added some pace to the Wycombe attack but the loss of Brown's aggression in midfield was too much to bear against a powerful Reading side. Brown was in a Wycombe line-up unchanged from Saturday's nil-nil draw at Wigan and as expected it was a tough game against the promotion favourites. Kick-off was delayed 15 minutes in order to get a record Football League attendance of 9,250 into Adams Park and the large crowd saw The Royals start the game at a fierce pace. Wanderers did manage to force a flurry of corners and half-chances midway through the half but Phil Whitehead was rarely tested in The Royals goal. After Cureton had opened the scoring it was Wycombe substitute Andy Baird who came closest to equalising when he chipped an 87th minute shot a shot just high of the target after Michael Simpson had pushed in a pass from the right edge of the penalty area. However, Reading's victory was sealed on the stroke of full-time when substitute Darius Henderson broke through the Wycombe defence on the left flank before taking the ball around Martin Taylor. In the end it was fair result against The Berkshire side. Backed by over 2,00 fans, the visitors had seen Jamie Cureton's 2nd minute free-kick rather bizarrely fisted over by Taylor when a catch looked possible. Taylor may have been unsighted for that effort but he had a clear view of Nicky Forster on ten minutes when he raced off his line to block the shot after The Royals player had sprinted through from midfield. Just when it looked like Reading may completely over run Wycombe, The Wanderers hit back with deluge of corners starting in the 11th minute. First Michael Simpson delivered two from the right and then after Currie's shot had been deflected wide, there were two more from the left and then another couple from the right. For Wycombe it was the story of the night as none produced any worthwhile strikes on target. Bulman's shot from a free-kick on 21 minutes after the ball had been moved forward on ten yards saw another spell of Wycombe pressure and Devine did have the ball in the net on 27 minutes but the flag was up well before for offside. It was Devine who looked the biggest threat to the visitors. On 32 minutes he couldn't quite find the space to turn and shoot after Currie had lofted the ball in from the right. A minute later Devine flashed another effort just wide of the target before Reading came strong again. Three minutes before the break Phil Parkinson totally miskicked in front of goal following Reading's first corner of the game while moments later McSporran picked up a booking for kicking the ball away after being pulled up for a foul. Half-time 0-0 The now obligatory Adams Park wind and rain started to come down as the second-half started and for a short period it was Wycombe who looked the side most likely to score. On 54 minutes Devine was unlucky to be penalised for a foul on Phil Whitehead after Currie had dinked the ball in from the right flank. However, Reading started their onslaught on the Wycombe four minutes later when Forster screwed a shot a wide after slicing through the Wycombe defence. Mark Rogers headed clear on 60 minutes after Reading had moved the ball in from the right while on loan central David Tuttle also dealt with most things on his home debut. He didn't do anything fancy but got the basics right and is more than capable cover in Wycombe's injury hit defence. Martin Taylor also provided another extra special display although he was grateful to grab Cureton's long range efort on 62 minutes at the second attempt. Brown's substitution on 63 minutes seemed to be the turning point of the match. Taylor saved brilliantly from Forster a minute later and Andy Hughes should have done better when he drove the ball into the side-netting. Taylor looked to be injured in the process of coming for the ball but thankfully he was able to continue. Currie was furious with Bulman on 68 minutes for not passing to him on a rare Wycombe attack and moments later Reading were ahead. Andy Baird injected a bit a life into Wycombe when he replaced McSporran and he could have made a name for himself if he had converted Roberts low bye-line ball from the right on 72 minutes. Baird also went close near the end after Simpson's pass but it was Henderson who ended any hopes of an unlikely draw when he took the ball around Taylor in the final mimute. Final Score Wycombe 0 Reading 2
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