By Chris Thompson
March 14 2005

Chester drop increasingly closer to a return to the conference with an immensely disappointing result at the Causeway Stadium, as Wycombe score 4, yes 4 goals against the blues Where do we go from here?
A side that concedes 11 goals in just three appearances, and lies just 6 points off a position which would send them straight back down to the conference, needs to stop, look back at itself, and wonder where it all went wrong. Ian Rush described yesterday’s performance as that of a ‘schoolboys’ following an 8 minute spell where the defence contributed to the team’s inability to gain 3 points, on a day which saw all three teams below us salvage points from their respective games.
Once again, Chester were simply unable to back up an impressive result the previous week (against Southend) with a much needed victory this week against Wycombe.
Though yesterday’s opposition were never going to be easy, as they harbour ambitions of a play-off place come the end of the season, made the game free-entry for a bumper home support, and in Nathan Tyson can boast a constant threat upfront, Chester must come away and be horrified at some of the problems surrounding their league status.
Ian Rush will call the players in for the third crisis meeting this year on Monday, as Chester look to pick up points in a nine-match run in, incorporating 7 teams which lie beneath mid-table.

Yesterday’s performance was, in the words of Ian Rush, a result of maintaining the wrong mentality. It does seem that way, after the defence has simply crumbled after the opposition scored their first goal at both Shrewsbury and Wycombe Wanderers.

Wycombe began the brighter of the two sides, so far as attacking possession goes, although it was hardly unexpected in front of a packed Causeway Stadium. The first 24 minutes bought about chances from both sides, the only one of note for city, a Ben Davies lob from a free-kick. Although it was Wycombe who had looked the more lively, as Nathan Tyson created a number of half chances, and Joe Burnell and Ian Stonebridge looked to, but failed to, test Wayne Brown.
And so it was, somewhat against the run of play that Chester opened the score line courtesy of a mistake by Ian Stonebridge, on which Michael Branch was on hand to capitalise.
A long ball was headed down by Stewart Drummond, and Branch took full advantage of a pass back into his own half by Ian Stonebridge to race through on goal, and slot his shot into the bottom-right-hand corner of the Wycombe net.
Wycombe’s attacking dominance soon paid off though. Chester were saved of conceding the first of the afternoon, twice thanks to the bar, and twice through excellent saves courtesy of Wayne Brown.
But just two minutes before the end of 1st half normal time, Nathan Tyson was on hand to neutralise Chester’s lead. Under Wycombe pressure, Wayne Brown first denied Wycombe a Roger Johnson goal, before Tyson followed in with a thrashing shot just seconds later.
If Wycombe were lively in the first half, the next 15 minutes as the players came back onto the field were something else.
First Joe Burnell struck the post, then Phil Bolland headed a Wycombe cross onto the bar, and all this before Nathan Tyson was on hand to poke in Ian Stonebridge’s missed effort whose header rebounded off the bar.
Just five minutes later, Ian Stonebridge bounced back from a yellow-card offence turning provider twice in 2 minutes of madness for City, who fell behind 3-1 just 12 minutes into the second half.
First providing Gus Uhlenbeek with a goal, it took him just two more minutes to assist captain Roger Johnson into a speculative effort, and with it, a comfortable 3 goal cushion, with Chester well an truly out of the game.
Chester made their solitary subsitution of the match as Ashley Sestanovich replaced the tiring Michael Brown, but his introduction had little impact as Chester searched, but failed to open up the Wycombe defence.
Wycombe introduced Steve Claridge, and Nathan Tyson soon came close to even greater widening their already worrying goal cushion.
In the end, it took a Michael Branch penalty to eventually score again past Frank Talia in the Wycombe goal. Final score, a rather unnerving, Wycombe 2 Chester 4.

Suddenly, the result at Southend seems a million miles away, and City fans can only hope that the players can repeat a bounceback similar to that which produced a slightly reassuring victory at Rushden earlier in the season.