Day Out
 |
Well organised, a good passing team, but I’m sorry – that guy Connolly was miles offside | |
After two thrilling games last season – one of which produced five goals and was shown on Sky TV live – the crowd were eagerly anticipating a great game.
The Wigan fans came out in their thousands on what was an overcast and dull day. The pitch was greasy – perfect for what should have been a game in which both teams enjoy passing the ball.
Early on it was all Wrexham, and as early as the second minute the right-winger showed great skill by controlling the ball and volleying it towards goal. Wigan had to resort to long balls – which suited the Wrexham defenders more than Stuart Barlow and Paul Warne.
Wigan slowly clawed their way back, and on 25 minutes David Lee – who was to be man of the match – produced the best run of the game. He picked up the ball on the halfway line, running past three Wrexham defenders and putting the ball inches wide from eight yards out.
The save of the game was made 15 minutes later. Karl Connolly unleashed a shot that was destined for the top corner before Roy Carroll superbly jumped to his right and palmed it away. It was a fantastic save that had both sets of fans clapping.
The second half was pretty much the same end-to-end stuff with few clear goalscoring opportunities. Then, a piece of brilliance brought the first goal. On 70 minutes David Lee picked up the ball on the right wing; he ghosted past the left-back and unleashed a perfect shot into the top left-hand corner from 18 yards out. The Wigan fans went mad, sensing victory.
Within two minutes, the Wrexham keeper kicked the ball downfield after receiving it from a poor free-kick Karl Connolly, looking suspiciously offside, chased onto it and rounded Roy Carroll before slotting the ball into the bottom corner.
The Wigan fans were incensed at a ball-watching linesman.
Both sides rallied late on – but to no avail. In the end a draw was probably a fair result. The Wigan fans left disappointed after a poor performance from the lads – yet they knew they had come up against a well organised Wrexham team.