games 11-15

match reports...

AVERAGE

Game 11 - Oxford (1-0) by Robert Stock and Richard Williams

Pre-match background: Robert - After two disappointing defeats at the hands of Notts County and Luton, Wrexham needed a win to keep up with the leading pack. Most worrying was the fact Wrexham had let in 3 goals before half-time in the last two matches, and our disciplinary record was 4 sendings-off and 21 bookings in our previous matches. The good news though was the signing of long-term target Darren Ferguson, son of Alex, on a month's contract after an unhappy period at Sparta Rotterdam. Richard - Not as exciting as it normally is, probably because of the County tragedy last Friday. There was a special offer at the new Pryce Griffiths' stand, juniors getting in for a quid, so the ground was packed by kids. Quite traumatic.

Conditions: Robert - Wet and windy. Richard - Excellent pitch as it always is, very cloudy.

Selection: Robert - 19-year-old centre back Steve Roberts made his league debut, and paired up with Carey, despite the fact Ridler had come back from suspension. Full team: Dearden, McGregor, Hardy, Owen, Carey, S.Roberts, Barrett, Ferguson, Connolly, Stevens, Faulconbridge. Richard - The normal XI. New boy Darren Ferguson, son of Alex, starts his first ever game wearing a Wrexham jersey.

Tactics: Robert - 4-4-2, but Connolly often pushed up front to make it 4-3-3. Richard - The simple 4-4-2, with Stevens and Faulconbridge making a dangerous attack for the United defence to cope with.

Ebb and flow: Robert - Wrexham dominated for a large amount of the game, and should have scored more than one goal. Oxford only really pushed us in the final minutes, but our defence held strong, and Dearden made a few good saves. Richard - Wrexham started the match out of this world, with a goal coming in the first five minutes, though the buzz of the match died down until the final whistle. Not much to talk about, just an ordinary game.

Atmospherics: Robert - A crowd of 4,229 was boosted by Wrexham using a quid for kids scheme (shock, horror!) Let's hope they do it again, as I doubt 4,000+ would have turned up otherwise. Lots of singing from the Kop, and some great taunting of Oxford goalie Paul Lundin,who according to the programme, was an ex-Swedish wrestler! Maybe that explains why he punched the ball so often instead of catching the easiest of crosses or shots! Richard - Surprisingly dull.

Goals: Robert - We had to settle for the one, which came after just 4 minutes. New midfielder Darren Ferguson's inch-perfect pass put Stevens on a one-on-one, and he calmly slotted home past Lundin. Richard - Just a simple tap in by Stevens, with some good play by Connolly - back at his best, though the Oxford defence pleaded for offside.

Incident: Robert - I was surprised S .Roberts started off, but I was really impressed with him. He kept their experienced striker, Anthrobus, quiet throughout the match. Also Connolly missed (somehow) from just a few yards out, when an Oxford defender deflected a Barrett cross onto Paul Lundin's leg and it rebounded straight to Connolly's feet - he was unmarked just a few feet from the open goal but managed to shoot wide. Richard - Not much, a few ambiguous challenges on Connolly.

Post-match verdict: Robert - A necessary win which puts Wrexham into 7th place, equal on points with 6th place Bournemouth. It was an average performance, and amazmgly, no-one got sent off. Richard - In the end, the score was well deserved, though nearing full-time, Oxford dominated leaving the Wrexham defence scrambling to get the ball away.

Man of the match: Robert - Gareth Owen was superb, and gave 110% effort. Richard - Brian Carey/Phil Hardy - Brian dominated the air and was at the heart of the back four, Phil broke well and assisted the Stevens goal. But in the end, Carey just clinched the MOM. Some expensive champagne is in order for him.

DISAPPOINTING

Game 12 - Stoke (2-3) - by Fran Merola and Richard Williams

Pre-match background: Fran - Memories of that thrilling 3-1 demolishing of Stoke back in February, came flooding back as I took my place on the Kop, hoping for a repeat performance from the lads. Also the Phillips - Megson battle was on - with Waynne wanting to prove something to Gary Megson after his unhappy and unsuccessful time at Stockport. Unfortunately Phillips wasn't fit enough to prove this to Megson. Us being above Stoke in the table wasn't really a basis for a prediction as I thought this wasn't going to be an easy game. Also reports of a large contingent of Stoke City supporters turning up for the game turned out to be very true. The suspension of Phil Hardy resulted in Michael Ryan coming into the squad. Richard - Thousands of City' fans came to Wrexham for this game, and I felt shaky whilst walking past 10 Stoke fans in the Plas Coch car park. Wrexham beat the Potters 3-1 last year, and wanted to do the same this time.

Conditions: Fran - Typical British weather - that annoying shower, dry spell, shower etc. Very annoying, if like me you didn't have an umbrella and got wet every five minutes.  Richard - Good pitch, a normal day by Wrexham standards with a few showers.

Selection: Fran - A return to first team action for Chalk - even though it was on the bench. Ryan started at Right Back with McGregor starting left, although i much prefer him on the right. Ridler and Carey marshalling the defence. Cartwright was dropped from the bench and replaced by Walsh. Also Kevin Hannon, who was impressive when he played against TNS, started on the bench. Owen, Barrett and Ferguson Jnr were the chosen three in midfield with Faulconbridge and Stevens preferred upfront. Richard - The normal strike force (Faulconbridge and Stevens) with Martyn Chalk coming in.

Atmospherics: Fran - The huge travelling support from Stoke which bumped up the attendance up to near 6,000, certainly made themselves heard, only when they scored though. The sound of 'Delilah' rang through the Racecourse. Not that this is criticising the Wrexham fans, but on some occasions, Stoke were the louder of the two sets of fans, although as always the Reds fans gave as good as they got. Richard - The Stoke fans' made a lot of noise, and the rest of the ground's atmosphere was non-existent.

Tactics: Fran - Nothing spectacular, just the usual. Like I say in all my match reports, so I'll mention it again, Macca made a load of runs down the left, although I felt not as successful as if he were on the right. Also the 'just get it to Faulconbridge he's sure to score' rountine. I think Wrexham missed the Williams trademark, of having a go from outside the area, but Owen and Ferguson did put a couple of decent strikes on target. Richard - The usual and tedious 4-4-2.

Ebb and flow: Fran - Stoke really controlled the game, although Wrexham did have their chances on goal, passing and possession wise, it was nearly all Stoke. They put Wrexham under a lot of pressure and it showed. Ferguson had a free kick which produced a really good save from Gavin 'I would love to play for Wrexham' Ward. I think we haven't seen the best of Ferguson as I didn't think he had that good a game, like a lot of people commented he looked short of match practice. Dearden played really well, he produced some decent saves from Thorne, Keen, Lightbourne and Connor. Ryan tired near the end and was replaced by Kevin Hannon for his first League game, although he had a bit of a shaky start, a couple of passess going astray, but it's nice to see the young lads coming through. Near the end, Macca put a perfect cross in for Faulconbridge, who controlled it brilliantly only to see the ball crash against the cross bar after he unleashed a fierce shot. Wrexham then changed it with Chalk coming on for Barrett (60) and Lowe coming on for Stevens in the 80th minute. Richard - Wrexham started the game with a buzz, but faded just after the first goal. Stoke, to be fair to them, dominated the end of the half, and looked dangerous with Peter Thorne up-front. The Wrexham strikeforce needed more service to have caused the Potters' defence trouble, but Darren Ferguson and Karl Connolly failed to do that.

Goals: Fran - Our first was scored in the sixth minute. Ferguson swung a decent corner in, and was met with power by Brian Carey who, with a well timed header, blasted the ball into the back of the net. Stoke's equaliser came about through poor defending by Wrexham. A quickly taken free kick which resulted in the ball being played to an umarked Thorne, who had the easiest of scoring opportunities right in front of the Wrexham goal, finished the move off with a goal of some ease. Stoke's second came within five minutes of the second half. As throughout the match, the lack of defending lead to the goal. After failing to get rid of the ball, it fell to Lightbourne who unleashed a shot, it too a deflection off Michael Ryan, sailed over Dearden's head and into the back of the net. Stoke's third in the 78th minute was - yep you guessed it, down to poor defending. Keen whipped the ball in from the corner, Mahon has a simple enough task given the anount of time and space he was allowed by the defence, to head the ball home to kill off Wrexham's chances of a point. The two subs worked well together to produce Wrexham's second in the 83rd minute. Chalk crossed from the right, which resulted in Lowe finishing the move off with a header, his first goal for the club. Richard - A bullet header by the super Brian Carey, then Stoke, with the help of their fans, bounced back when Peter Thorne equalised. Kyle Lightbourne then made it 1-2 when his shot was deflected, and then Nicky Mohan rapped it up for the visitors with an easy header to make it 1-3. David Lowe made a come-back for the Reds by scoring seven minutes from time.

Incident: Fran - Wrexham fans made themselves heard early on in the match when Faulconbridge was stamped on in an off the ball incident, which the ref probably didn't see considering the ludicrous decision to not award Wrexham a penalty. Also another penalty claim refused, the ref only awarding a free kick. At half time the ref, Matt Matthias, and his assistants had to change their tops due to the fact that they clashed with Stoke's navy away tops. Careless refereeing by Mr Matthias, who summoned Mark McGregor and gave him a serious ear-bashing for a foul, nothing out of the ordinary I hear you cry - except the fact that it was Ferguson who was the culprit - well they do look so similar don't they!!? Richard - Not much, Mohan snapped Faulconbridge in the first-half but got away with it. The referee was probably the best one Wrexham have had this season,keeping a low profile throughout the 90 minutes.

Post-match verdict: Fran - A very disappointing performance by Wrexham, they never really dominated the game - it was all Stoke. Wrexham really do have to sort the defence out. This is the third time in as many games we have concede three goals. We need certain players back and quick - Gibson, Williams etc. Richard - If Wrexham are going to challenge for promotion, they cannot afford to lose games at home. Kevin Hannon, who came on as sub, cost Wrexham dearly by giving far too many balls away, although the rest of the players did pile the pressure on the 17-year-old.

Man of the match: Fran - It has to be between Owen and Dearden. Dearden produced a string of excellent saves on a number of occasions, was unlucky with the second goal, but he wasn't helped by the lack of defeding, he coped well with the circumstances. Owen worked really hard in an outplayed midfield, but he battled and never gave up. Richard - None of the players deserved to win MOM, but if I had to choose, Brian Carey would just about win it - he is very strong in the air.

UNDISCIPLINED

Game 13 - Colchester (2-2) by Peter Williams

Pre-match background: Colchester languish in next to bottom place going into this match. Wrexham, with one win in four, need all three points to put themselves back in the top half of the table.

Conditions: Mostly fine, although there's a downpour late in the first half which doesn't help the standard of play.

Selection: Hardy in for Ryan, Russell for Barrett. Chalky gets his first start of the season in place of Karl, out injured.

Atmospherics: A smallish crowd. Not surprising, considering the home side's lowly league position and who fancies a 400-mile-plus round trip from Wrexham on a Friday night?

Tactics: Chalk wide on the right, Owen on the left. Rooster and on-loan Ferguson in central midfield. Er, that's it.

Goals: (1) Ten minutes into the second half, a long-distance shot from Gareth Owen gets a slight deflection off a defender's head and flies in the top corner. (2) With ten minutes to go, a Colchester midfielder runs 40 yards unchallenged, crosses to Duguid (unmarked) who sidefoots in. (3) Five minutes left. Rooster crosses from the right. Colchester keeper Brown can't keep out a stooping header for Morrell. His first league goal for us. (4) Time added on. Wilkins rises unchallenged to head home from a corner. The ref blows full time.

Ebb and flow: The first half was dreadful really with passes from both sides going badly astray. I've never seen so many intended passes go straight out of play (and Tony Humes wasn't even on the pitch!). That said, we could have been ahead at half time if not for good saves by Brown from Faulconbridge and Stevens. Wrexham were the better side in the second half and should have killed the game off long before the last-gasp equaliser. Colchester were very poor, despite the efforts of tellytubby soundalike substitute Lua Lua, and scored with their only shots on target.

Incident: One of the worrying aspects of the game was Wrexham's increasing inability to defend, not just in terms of the back four, but throughout the side. At Luton we conceded three goals because of our inability to close down the player with the ball. Colchester's first goal was another prime example of this. The home side should never have been allowed back into the game once we'd gone 1-0 up. Lightweights like Russell and Ferguson in central midfield are just not capable of battling enough. We're missing Danny Williams, Wayne Phillips and Dave Brammer(!) and Gareth Owen is wasted wide on the left. Also, we can't defend at corners: Dearden didn't catch a cross all night and obviously doesn't talk to his back four. On the plus side, credit to Owen (in particular) and Chalk for tireless running throughout, Ferguson occasionally showed good touch and an eye for a quick first-time pass, and it was satisfying to see Andy Morrell on the scoresheet. But disappointing overall.

Post-match verdict: Two points lost rather than one won.

Man of the match: Gareth Owen

Players: Dearden 6, McGregor 6, Hardy 6, Owen 8, Ridler 6, Carey 7, Russell 5, Ferguson 7, Chalk 8, Faulconbridge 7 (Lowe 5), Stevens 7 (Morrell 7).

EASY

Game 14 - Aberystwyth (3-1) by Huw Griffiths

Pre-match background: The Reds found themselves on the road again, still fuming after Colchester's equaliser deep into injury time.

Conditions: The sun that had blinded us all the way down to Aber finally descended over the aquatic horizon nearby. The sky was clear so the temperature soon plummeted. At least there was no wind, and the pitch looked in good nick.

Selection: Hardy and McGregor take up their usual positions, but Stephen Roberts is introduced to partner Ridler in the heart of defence. Owen, Ferguson and trialist Jason Jarrett are on duty in midfield, with Chalkie on the right wing and Lowe and Morrell up front. Carey is on standby, as are strikers Stevens and Faulconbridge.

Tactics: A 4-4-2 system, with Chalk looking quite sharp on the right wing. Lowe also caused some problems down the left in an effort to feed Morrell. Owen and Ferguson were impressive, and Jarrett looked quite promising. Things got even better when Stevens came on for the last half hour.

Ebb and flow: Aber's goal came as a shock, so it was great to see us getting the equaliser early on in the second half. After that, we lost the plot a little, then Stevens and Faulconbridge came on and that made all the difference. Aber continued to battle and came close a couple of times, but as the game wore on, they became more stretched when we were on the attack. As a result, Stevens made the most of his opportunities and won us the match.

Atmospherics: More or less non-existent, apart from the odd "Come on Abba!!", and a few local die-hard supporters behind the goal willing Dearden to make a bodge of his goal kicks throughout the second half.

Goals: A very dubious penalty awarded to Aberystwyth in the 33rd minute gave the home side a shock lead. Ridler was judged to have pushed Morrison as a cross came in, but I was not convinced. Not to worry, Wrexham bounced back in the second half. Chalk took a short corner early on and Lowe passed back. Chalk then whipped it in and Morrell beat his marker and flicked it in from close range. Then, enter Ian Stevens in the 61st minute. Five minutes later, Ferguson did well to reach the edge of the six yard box, and his short cross found Stevens who side footed the ball into an empty net. The highlight of the match came in the 83rd minute, when Ferguson once again found Stevens. He turned and quickly shook off his marker to rifle the ball to the top right hand corner.

Incident: Ian Gwyn Hughes and the rest of the BBC Radio Wales team happened to be sitting on a bit of scaffold nearby, so I had full running commentary throughout the match. Another amusing thing was hearing those Aber lads behind the goal chanting "You couldn't score in a brothel." Thankfully, we shut them up in the second half!

Post-match verdict: This was Aber's big night, and they were obviously fired up for it. As a result, we were treated to a good little game of football. I believe the final score reflected our overall dominance on the evening, but Aber surprised me with their excellent workrate. They had a couple of decent chances in the second half too, but Wrexham proved too strong on the counter attack.
Man of the match: Gareth Owen worked tirelessly in midfield and did more than enough to warrant his rank as captain for the night, but the man of the match must go to Ian Stevens for those two vital goals.

CATASTROPHIC

Game 15 - Gillingham (1-5) by Daniel Jennings

Pre-match background: Wrexham went into the game with a leaky defence which had conceded 11 goals in the previous four matches. Gillingham's squad contained only one recognised striker in Robert Taylor.

Conditions: Dry and warm but overcast.

Selection: Dearden in goal behind a flat back-four of McGregor, Ridler, Carey and Hardy. Jason Jarrett made his league debut alongside Owen and Ferguson in the midfield, Chalk played on the right wing as Lowe came in for Stevens to partner Faulconbridge upfront.

Tactics: Very poor. Our usually bad 'one winger' system looked even worse with Chalk not doing anything in the way of going forward.

Ebb and flow: We had two good 10-minute spells at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half - but that was it.

Atmospherics: Gillingham's fans sang "SUPER ROBERT TAYLOR" loudly - all 6,000 of them. Wrexham fans (although there were only about 100) sang along with the Gillingham fans to "IF YOU HATE MAN UNITED / MAN CITY / FULHAM / MILLWALL / CARDIFF CLAP YOUR HANDS.'

Goals: Dearden was beaten at his near post as Andy Thomson stuck out a leg to put Gillingham in the lead. Wrexham equalised as Faulconbridge's looping header beat Vince Bartram from Ferguson's corner. Less than a minute later Gillingham retook the lead as Wrexham's defence was torn apart. Nicky Southall was the man to finish with ease but any one of three could have slotted the ball home in the end. Another mix up in the Wrexham defence saw Robert Taylor burst through to steer high into the far corner. Before Wrexham had time to regroup Dearden came for a cross but never arrived - it was a headed goal Taylor couldn't miss. A traning ground set-piece gave Taylor a hat-trick in the space of five minutes, finally sweeping the ball into the top corner from 20 yards.

Incident: At 1-0 down Wrexham missed a penalty. Faulconbridge made firm contact but whether he hit the post, Bartram saved it, or a combination of both, we'll have to wait for the replay.

Post-match verdict: Dearden - too many Cartwright-like errors (3/10); McGregor - strong at the back and a ray of hope going forward (7/10); Hardy - easily beaten too often (3/10); Owen - lost his head (5/10); Carey - not the player he used to be, far too slow (4/10); Jarrett - stood out in a poor midfield, good debut (7/10); Chalk - didn't go forward, didn't get crosses in (3/10); Lowe - very ineffective (3/10); Ridler - a rare bad game (4/10); Faulconbridge - always looked like scoring, battled well (6/10); Ferguson - poor passing, spent too long on the ball and abysmal final ball (2/10); Barrett - played his heart out after coming on at half-time for Owen (7/10); Morrell - only played for the last 25 minutes (6/10). Team as a whole:: the only passion was the red ones we were selling. Not going anywhere on this form.

Man of the match: Robert Taylor of Gillingham. If I had to pick a Wrexham player I'd go for McGregor.