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.

We all use facile phrases like “putting your body on the line” when we talk about football. In Keren Allen case it’s not facile: she retired this Summer having put herself through so much for us that ultimately she had to call it a day.

I’ve always instinctively pulled away from the “who wants it more” wing of football analysis, and it would be terribly reductive to look at an intelligent player like Allen’s time with Wrexham in that way. However, I must start by paying tribute to her remarkable braveness when leading from the front. Allen would always put her body on the line when she was asked to. Every game she played seemed to contain at least one break when she was receiving treatment, and we’re not talking about tactical cramp here! Allen’s quality on the ball meant she often drove from the back when she got the ball at her feet, which opponents seemed to view as a green flag to foul her. I suppose it’s a compliment, because her driving runs were an important element of our play. Still, the battering she took was ludicrous, and referees should have offered her more protection.

Two incidents at Briton Ferry illustrated this clearly. On the opening day of the season, with just four minutes played, a shocking late tackle ended her participation in the game and she never managed to get fully fit as a result. It was a great shame, as Jenny Sugarman was clearly looking at how she could help take the team forward. There was no punishment beyond a free kick for the challenge which didn’t feel particularly surprising: the season before at Briton Ferry she was fouled, hit her head on the concrete wall surrounding the pitch, and the referee refused to allow her to receive treatment!

Those incidents lead me in a different direction about officiating in the Adran Premier, and how a failure to clamp down on fouls consistently leads to serious injuries, but that can keep for another day.

Allen arrived at The Rock at the start of our first season in the top tier, and it was instantly apparent why Steve Dale trusted her with that responsibility. Leading from the front, Allen was not only an inspirational skipper: she was a high quality centre back, physically strong, good on the ball and quick enough to cope with all but the very quickest strikers. Her partnership with another new signing, Louisha Doran, looked impressive but the latter picked up a career-ending injury just twelve games into her Wrexham career.

Allen missed just two league games in a superb first taste of the Premier, and was instrumental in the step up in quality required to finish third and reach our first Welsh Cup final, where we were terrifically unlucky to lose to Cardiff City.

The grind of our second season in the Adran Premier began to tell, but she continued to be an inspirational captain. She had three separate spells on the sidelines through injury, but timed her return to perfection to score one of the most iconic goals in our history. If we’d played the final game of Phase One when we were supposed to, Allen wouldn’t have been fit. However, the postponement which seemed to suit The Swans as we had to hastily arrange a midweek game for our semi-pro side, rebounded on them when Allen came on with three minutes left and hit the dramatic winner as the winner-takes-all match neared additional time. Her only other goal for us also came in a memorable 3-2 away win as she hit the net from a corner the previous season at TNS as we came from 2-0 down to win the other cross-border derby.

“The Miracle of Swansea” which Allen was responsible for propelled us into the top half and featured as part of a remarkable sequence of wins in which Allen played her part, including our first ever win at Cardiff and a Welsh Cup semi-final win. She would pick up another runners-up medal after Cardiff gained revenge for our Phase Two double over them.

Allen did well to accumulate 301 minutes last season after the opening day blow she took. Her two full nineties came in heavy wins, beginning with a 6-1 win over Pontypridd. However, the first round Welsh Cup win at NFA in November wasn’t just the only other time she got to the end of a match; it was also her last game of her career. It was a sadly low key end for a player who brought so much to Wrexham as we established ourselves as a top division club.