Let's have a bit of nostalgia...

Big Posh Triumph

Tim Kendrick-Jones gets all worked up about a cup tie at London Road

I know many Reds fans will have fond memories of this FA Cup tie but for me this was a very special day and the end of a 10-year quest. To understand why it meant so much, a brief explanation is necessary. 

I was born and raised in Cambridge of North Walian parentage. Supporting Wrexham was my birthright and my father and Taid were Wrexham supporters and I took on the family tradition very willingly. Down the years living in Cambridge, and with Peterborough being so close, I went to perhaps five Wrexham-Peterborough games at London Road. We never won, but as the years went on we seemed to get closer to victory every year. This sequence culminated in that incredible FA Cup game in 1994 when we lost 1-0 at London Road. 

Everyone who was there will agree that they have never seen a team play so well, dominate a game as much, miss so many chances and somehow contrive to lose 1-0. To add insult to injury, with Wrexham having hit the woodwork five times Peterborough scored direct from a corner. The day, and in fact the whole sequence of Wrexham results at Peterborough going back 10 years, was summed up by a late Rooster header in front of the away end. This was in all the way…until it was inadvertently blocked on the line by our own Steve Morris, and eventually cleared.

The Anglian Reds had attended all of these games at London Road and, for all of us, the wait for a victory at Peterborough had become a quest of almost Biblical proportions. The scene was set perfectly. The game itself was an important FA Cup tie and although the game was on a Tuesday there were 1,500 Reds fans packed into the good old-fashioned away end at London Road. The atmosphere in, and noise from, the away end was fantastic.

The early exchanges followed a familiar pattern with the Posh going ahead early on. Wrexham equalised with a bullet header from a corner from Wardy - maybe it was gonna be our day. The rest of the half was very cagey and half-time came at 1-1. Early in the second half Peterborough scored again when Andy Marriott made a hash of a difficult low free-kick (yes, he did use to make mistakes occasionally) and from the rebound it was 1-2. The next 15 minutes of football will live forever in my memory as all those years of frustration and disappointment were blown away in a brilliant period of attacking football from Wrexham. First, a typical Steve Watkin poacher's goal from a low centre from the left. Almost from the kick-off Martin Chalk was sent down the right wing and he sent in a great ball. Rooster was running in but the ball across goal seemed to be too hard, too high and slightly behind him. With a great bit of skill he re-adjusted to send a looping volley over the Posh keeper. The away end literally erupted. My friend Damon later told one of his abiding memories of this game was me screaming at the top of my voice 'What a ******* goal!' as Rooster's effort found the top corner…before I disappeared into the mêlée in the jubilant away end. Soon after this, a clearance from the Peterborough box fell to the Rooster who controlled it and drilled it home. I was right behind this shot and it was a goal all the way.

The rest of the game passed fairly uneventfully with the away end celebrating in great style. For me the dawning realisation we may be about to beat Posh only added to the great feeling of a brilliant cup win. At the final whistle it was a reality and we had laid the ghost of all those frustrating games at London Road and secured bragging rights over Posh fans for years. Now that was quite a good game!

PS. Like buses you wait ages for a Wrexham victory in Peterborough and then two come at once. The next week Wrexham won 1-0 at London Road thanks to a brilliant Yozzer goal.