Night Out
John Parry, Lincolnshire Red, goes to a ‘home game’…
As an exiled Wrexham fan living and working in Gainsborough, just 30 minutes’ drive from Lincoln, I travelled the short distance full of excitement, looking forward to a performance to match the one at Huddersfield in the FA Cup (pity about the result) but this time a win.
I travelled with a friend, who, being a Lincoln supporter, was full of confidence, with them playing better since their chairman, John Reames, had taken over the reins as manager - the previous Saturday they had won at home to Millwall, to take them above the dreaded relegation line for the first time in 5 months. Lincoln had found the past month’s effort a happy springboard from which to approach the AWS semi-final, they just could not wait to get back on the pitch as they were just two steps from Wembley, and their players couldn’t be more up for it. John Reames appealed for fans to get behind his team, as the atmosphere had been brilliant recently - they knew it was going to be a battle as Wrexham had done well over the past weeks, and they would have their eyes on Wembley as well. Man of the Match over the last few games for Lincoln had been Stuart Bimson, recently called city’s own white Ronaldo.
We called in at the recommended Portland Arms on Portland Street for a pre-match drink, where my friend decided not to stand behind the goal with us Wrexham fans but to take a seat in the stand; I knew what to expect with regard to facilities at the Bank, having been there before, but overheard others saying what a good stadium it was apart from the pitch - a legacy from the John Beck era. The first half of the game belonged to Wrexham, who lacked a player willing to put himself about and who was not goal-shy when chances were being made. Wrexham took a deserved lead right on half time when the second of two Brammer corners found the incoming Ridler, who hammered home unchallenged from close range past Vaughan. The second half was a bit closer, Lincoln coming out with fire in their bellies and a hunger to make a game of it at last. They poured forward time after time (still very predictably, like a John Beck game plan), the pressure from Lincoln finally telling when, according to the Lincolnshire Echo match report the next day, "sub Lee Philpot bamboozled the Wrexham defence inside their own area with a slice of sublime skill which lit up a bitterly cold Lincoln night. He twisted and turned like an electric eel just inside the 18-yard box and forced Kevin Russell to bring him down. Holmes stepped up to blast the resultant penalty into the back of the net".
So the game went into Golden Goal time, and Wrexham almost scored from the start as Chalk saw his effort rebound off the inside of the post. Unfortunately for Lincoln, but great for the travelling fans, just ten minutes later Stuart ‘Ronaldo’ Bimson provided the game’s curtain call, heading into his own net in a bid to clear an innocuous corner from Brammer. It was not a good way to go out, but, being run off the park in the first half and only coming into the game in the last 30 minutes, the result was justified. Mr Reames said that the team were devastated to go out of the cup in such unlucky circumstances. "What do they say? Life’s a bitch? Well, it was tonight. We knew what it was all about, sudden death, and we are obviously very disappointed at how it turned out." He did reveal that three of his players were physically sick at half time, but played on regardless - he put it down to a bug going round.
On the way back to Gainsborough we discussed the game, as we both play local football (at 40 years of age), and we agreed on the following verdict: Wrexham deserved to win for the amount of effort and number of chances in the first half, and the defending in the second half, but we were not exactly happy about the Golden Goal format. At the end of the day Wrexham will finish mid-table and Lincoln will avoid relegation, hopefully, then I can see the Robins over here next season. Lincoln’s and Wrexham’s problems seem to be increasingly difficult, with gates just about the same as the Third Division, and increasingly tight finances.
Gareth Venn ventures, optimistically, into Yorkshire…
A night for dreams
The FA Cup is one I always look forward to. It always brings some good football, laughs and a chance to dream. So travelling to Huddersfield on a Wednesday night I was pretty optimistic, why not after the recent years in the cup? The plan was that my friend Lee and my stepbrothers Leighton and Matthew would pick me up at 5.30. But as usual Lee turned up late - it seems customary now for him to be late, as I don't think he's ever picked me up when he said he would.
So we all set off with Lee driving his work's car at high speeds - so I don't think our editor will ever want a lift - down the motorway to Huddersfield. And after a quick burger stop at McDonald's we all arrived just in time to witness Huddersfield Football Club's spectacular firework display. Only trouble was it was from outside the ground rather than in. All the same it was a great sight, as the bursting lights lit up the magnificent stadium against the dark skyline. But as well as seeing the firework display we also saw steam and water pour from the car engine, giving us the feeling we may be calling for assistance. No time to worry about this though as there was a football game about to begin. And Huddersfield truly has a magnificent stadium to watch from, perfectly designed for the modern football team and one to aspire to. Although the gaps in the side of the ground did create a windy atmosphere, making life even more difficult for Cartwright. So we ran to the ground and took our seats in time to catch a glimpse of the kick off. The half proved to be an entertaining one, showing how different an FA Cup atmosphere can be.
The fans sang their hearts out, and of course there was the obligatory chants about England. This time around helped along by the topic of day, Glenn Hoddle's resignation. It all adds to the atmosphere, and the Huddersfield fans found comments to throw back - if a little predictable. But their most annoying aspect was the band playing the same tune throughout the entire game - please find some new material. The game went well until after twenty minutes when we let in a truly awful goal, Hardy not challenging for the ball and Marcus Stewart having an easy header was not a pretty sight. But this ugly sight was to be turned into a beautiful one as our own Rooster scored an excellent goal, showing great composure and skill to get it in from a tight angle. But why does he only do this in the Cup? So we all jumped about mad with images of glory and success. Trouble was by the time we sat down again Huddersfield had regained their lead, enough to make us feel thoroughly sick. A cruel deflection is not worthy of putting any team out of the FA Cup, but it happened to us.
The rest of the game was spent anxiously looking at each other then the giant scoreboard behind us. Hope was there, but it turned to frustration in the end when the final whistle went. So the game came and went with only chance to realise Rush is really passed it as a striker, seeing three chances for him to latch onto a good ball being cut out by a quicker defender. Our group returned to the car in good spirits, only trouble was it would soon hit us we would be returning to league football at the weekend. But worse in the mean time to, what we thought was, a broken car engine. Fortunately we had an offer of kipping down for the night at the Red Passion editor’s place, although I don't actually know where it is! But lucky the car started and it was time to return to North Wales, annoyed yes, but you get used to it supporting Wrexham.
Wigan warriors
Will Lamprell, Wigan man, looks back on that horrible first leg game at that horrible Springfield Park…
A "warm" March Tuesday night saw Wigan meet Wrexham in the Northern Final of the AWS, described as a "Mickey Mouse" trophy by some - but hey, it’s a trip to Wembley!
The weather was as hot as it gets in Wigan - even in summer - so it was no surprise to see T-shirts being brandished. The pitch had suffered a bit after the 4-1 thrashing we’d given Gillingham on Saturday. It was the usual trip down in the car - predictions time! "2-0 Wigan", "2-1 the mighty Blues" and "4-1 Latics" were all blurted out (the lad who made the last prediction has since been admitted to hospital!). I was a bit more methodical - "1-1"! From laughter to silence with a speed that would embarrass the Ferraris of this world. "What?" and even a "Get out!" were shouted - thanks lads. I’ve seen too much of Wrexham to write them off.
The victor of the two legs gets a shot at Millwall in their own back yard - what a lovely prospect.
We arrived at Springfield Park at 7.34 p.m., with what looked like the whole of Wigan turning out to see us get to Wembley. We got in 5 minutes late, but missed nothing. There was the usual exchange of chants when these two teams meet - these, I’m sure, don’t need to be mentioned. Wrexham bossed the opening ten minutes of the second half, but again, as earlier in the season, failed to be ruthless in front of goal. Pat ‘50p-head’ McGibbon marked Connolly out of the game, while the brilliant Russell bossed the midfield. It took a "brilliant" goal from Kev Sharp - he hit the ball from the edge of the area, down the goal line, and it hit Cartwright, then his near post, and then the back of the net. Barlow scored twelve minutes later, when his first chance of the game came after man of the match Sharp slipped the ball through to him, and he turned and shot in one movement. 2-0 it finished.
Lager than life
Steve Plane goes to the McAlpine for a firework display…
Being a Norwich fan sitting in the Wrexham end with a couple of thousand singing Welshmen, I was willing Wrexham to give Town a good hiding. This feeling was increased by the complete arrogance of the Huddersfield PA announcer’s comments about Town having some new, super-rich chairman who will be taking the club into the 21st century, starting with this FA Cup victory over Wrexham. Talk about counting your chickens! Or maybe he knew what we all did by midway through the second half, that the ref was a paid Huddersfield official!!
The first half was about 50-50, although it was disappointing that Town managed to score twice with their first two chances. Stewart gave Huddersfield a 20th-minute lead with a superbly-taken diving header - closer Wrexham marking would have cleared the danger but Stewart was allowed to grab that extra half a yard that he needed. Before the Town man netted, Wrexham had a couple of half-chances, but Ian Rush never looked capable of scoring, he simply looked like an over-the-hill striker who hasn’t scored in over a year! Why Flynn puts up with Rushie I really don’t know. Stewart’s goal started eight minutes of mayhem, with Russell equalising in the 27th minute with a really well-taken goal. This prompted 30 seconds of delirium, with Welsh voices singing loud...then Huddersfield had their second chance of the half, with Thornley’s deflected 25-yard effort going over Cartwright’s dive. I doubt whether the Wrexham keeper would have saved the shot if not deflected. With three goals in eight minutes I was genuinely expecting Wrexham to bag another straight away.
The second half saw Wrexham control the possession but everything was down the right wing and showed little imagination. However, when little Gibson came on he managed to get to the by-line quite easily, but either his crossing wasn’t good enough or Rushie completely mis-timed. Huddersfield’s long ball, hard-tackling style gave the Wrexham defence a few problems. Cartwright’s woodwork was rattled on numerous occasions, and one particular shot was miraculously cleared off the line. I was hoping that Wrexham would equalise, because personally I like the unpredictability of a penalty shoot-out. Alas, this wasn’t to be, and was disappointing because Wrexham put up a spirited performance and the divisional difference between the clubs was rarely evident. Russell and Gibson were very impressive. Russell must have covered every blade of grass, he ran his bollocks off. Gibson should have been brought on at half time, because Wrexham’s belief in the right wing needed someone who could deliver. The Wrexham fans were magnificent, they completely outsang the home fans. I was disappointed not to hear "Fluffy Sheep" and I blatantly refused to join in with the cries of "Argentina", although being fed with Wrexham Lager "till I want no more" seemed reasonably appealing.
Overall it was an entertaining game, and Wrexham can count themselves unlucky not to get extra time, although this gave us an extra half an hour of drinking time to discuss how, why and where things went wrong. Indeed, this in itself was a valuable experience...showing the Welsh how to drink!!