IF Saturday brought frustration for Wrexham and their fans, there was a measure of satisfaction for Wycombe Wanderers manager Tony Adams, following an uncompromising and fought stalemate at the Racecourse.

Making his first return to the North Wales stadium since the winning side he captained found themselves on the wrong end of an FA Cup giant-killing act, the former England national said: "Well at least we got a better result than Arsenal."

And, while a point for the Second sion's bottom club was probably as much as Adams could have hoped for before the start, the visitors might have notched up their first away win of the season had it not been for one superb save from Andy Dibble and the thickness of the Wrexham goalkeeper's crossbar.

On the other side of the coin, the Drag-ons will look back on Hector Sam's failure to convert a penalty, another in a series of fine saves by Wycombe goalkeeper Frank Talia.

The Aussie kept his side in the game as Denis Smith's men cranked up the pressure when they played towards the Kop end of the ground after the break.

Although a novice in management - this was only his third game in charge - Adams revealed he is shaping to be from the Arsene Wenger school, albeit with a touch more humour.

"I've started to realise that dug-outs are not the best places from which to watch football matches, because you don't get the best view," he said.

"I didn't think it was a penalty but I was miles away." And asked if he was happy with the squad he inherited from former Adams Park boss Lawrie Sanchez, he replied: "I would prefer Arsenal.

"But this is the squad I've got and I've been very proud of them. They've done well in the three games in which I've been involved. There's been maximum effort, and that's all I can ask for."

Following the anti-climax of Wales' failure to qualify for the European Championship earlier in the week, the home fans were looking for something to lift their spirits. But Wycombe showed few signs of playing ball, particularly in the opening period when they got 10 men behind the play every time they lost possession.

There were grumbles from the crowd as Wrexham did their best to probe for gaps. Every error was greeted with outright criticism which could have done little for the players' confidence during a difficult opening period.

It seems to follow nowadays that supporters, brought up on a diet of televised Premiership and Champions' League football, all become armchair experts in the skills of the game. They expect similar levels of ability, consistency and excitement from Second Division football.

Wrexham have more than their fair share of them. Yes, fans pay their money and expect to be entertained but the regular barracking often heard at the Race-course would be unthinkable at the likes of Brentford, Port Vale, Swindon and Bristol City unless the home side were being played off the park.

And that certainly wasn't the case at the Racecourse on Saturday, scarce though the initial goalmouth action was in an opening period from which neither side emerged with much credit.

But Wrexham had six goalbound efforts in the first half, the visitors two. The mistakes on a treacherous surface, although numerous, were equally shared.

With hindsight, Racecourse manager Denis Smith would probably have started with a fit Chris Armstrong. But he was on the bench because Hector Sam has been in good form recently.

However the Trinidad international, whose off-day was capped by his failure to convert the penalty, is not the only one who has been performing well. If you want consistency, look no further than Darren Ferguson.

The captain was always looking to put players into space in dangerous areas, despite the close attention he received from the Wycombe midfield. He was an obvious contender for star man until Carlos Edwards began to sparkle in the second period. Fans then got full value for money.

In the 50th minute Sam was felled by Scott Marshall as he dived to meet a Paul Edwards cross, but Talia guessed right and parried his spot-kick.

Soon after the keeper somehow managed to push away a 30-yard blockbuster from Carlos Edwards. For much of the second half he threatened single-handedly to win the game for the home side.

As it opened up the visitors had their chances. None better than when Jermaine McSporran picked out an unmarked Stuart Roberts. The former Swansea man could scarcely believe it when Dibble managed to fling out his arm to save.

Jim Whitley squandered another good opportunity for Wrexham following more skill and trickery from Edwards down the right. But the former Manchester City midfielder was guilty of being caught in possession by Wycombe captain Steve Brown, who rattled Dibble's crossbar with a shot from outside the penalty area.

There were cameo roles for two strikers who have enjoyed better days at the Racecourse. Armstrong replaced Sam and Craig Faulconbridge returned to first-team action for Wycombe after eight months out with injury.

Neither of them was able to affect the outcome of a contest in which both defences came out on top.

WREXHAM: Dibble; Pejic, Carey, Lawrence; C Edwards, P Edwards, Whitley, Ferguson, Barrett (M Jones 65); Llewellyn, Sam (Armstrong 65). Subs: Whitfield, Roberts, Crowell. BOOKINGS: Carey.

WYCOMBE WANDERERS: Talia; Senda, Thomson, Marshall, Vinnicombe; Currie, Brown, Simpemba, Mapes (Bulman 90); McSporran, Roberts (Faulconbridge 82). Subs: Williams, Holligan, Johnson. BOOKINGS: Marshall.

REFEREE: Graham Salisbury (Preston)

ATT: 3,208