A FOND FAREWELL
Over the next fortnight we’ll pay a daily tribute to one of the players who are leaving Wrexham AFC this month.

When a manager brings a new player into a club, there is no guarantee of success. They dream of getting as much value out of a new signing as Wrexham got out of Carra Jones.

She didn’t just offer a tireless desire to work for the team and a goal threat from the flanks; she was also ludicrously versatile. Used on either side of a front three in a 4-3-3, as a wing back on both flanks in back three system, or up front in either shape, she was impressively reliable. She arrived in the summer before our first season in the top tier and instantly established herself in the front three, her exceptional energy and pace making her a constant threat in support of Rosie Hughes, for whom she provided a consistent stream of service in the box.

However, as the season wore on it became clear that, while we were perfectly capable of punishing the sides in the bottom half of the table, getting results against Cardiff and Swansea was rather more difficult. It was too easy to play through us and create chances so we switched to a three at the back system. We didn’t want to sacrifice our attacking threat for the sake of tightening up in big games, though, and Jones was crucial in helping us to strike a successful balance between solidity and threat in her new role as wing-back.

She started our final league game of the season, at Ninian Park, as a wing-back, but switched to play up front as we subsided to a heavy defeat and scored a spectacular long range goal in an outstanding individual performance. It led to her starting up front in our next match, our first Welsh Cup final, which saw us put in a superb performance in losing 2-0.

The next season she started all but two league games – the exceptions were a 3-1 win at Aberystwyth which saw her score off the bench and a dead rubber at TNS in which she was rested in preparation for another Welsh Cup final against Cardiff (which would end in another brave defeat). She started every game as we went on the crazy ride which propelled us into that cup final as well as the top four with seven consecutive wins. The list of wins she started in that period includes some matches etched into our history: first wins both home and away against Cardiff, a first win over Swansea, a 7-1 thumping of Aberystwyth and Welsh Cup quarter-final and semi-final wins.

Her set piece delivery was a more than useful weapon, and she accumulated plenty of assists from corners. It was interesting to see her seeming to put more torque into her flag kicks this season, almost bending in half to get snap and leverage into her contact of the dead ball. It appeared to be a difference from the season before, and I couldn’t help thinking back to the 1-1 draw at Cardiff Met, which was the low point of the previous campaign. In a howling gale, and contending with driving rain, her corners were causing a great deal of consternation on the bench as they weren’t reaching the near post. That wouldn’t have happened this season: her thoughtfulness and ability to take coaching on board was a big part of the reason why successive coaches relied on her.

That intelligence was encapsulated by how many apparent flukes she apparently scored. As I watched her more and more, I realised they weren’t strokes of fortune at all. She specialised in scoring goals from wide positions. You know what I mean: the sort of strikes which are almost always mishit crosses which soar over a helpless goalkeeper and nestle inside the far post. As time went on, it occurred to me that it was happening too often to be mere coincidence. She’s clearly worked out an area of weakness in Adran Premier goalkeepers which she could exploit, and would often look to stand crosses up to the far post rather than whip them in. I’m not saying she intended every one that went in to purely be a cross, but she definitely realised that playing the ball in like that increased the percentages massively in her favour!

Last season saw her game time reduced, as 12 starts in all competitions was essentially fifty per cent down on her totals of 23 and 25 in the previous seasons. Still, she started the massive win at TNS which kept our title tilt on track, and leaves the club having made a massive impact. Ninth most appearances in our history, eighth most goals and eighth most goal involvements. She has been a magnificent example and a fine player, who will always be viewed with the utmost respect and appreciation.