28th October 2000:

28th October 2000: Nationwide League Division Two

Ferguson Beauty Caps Incredible Comeback

Wrexham’s fine away record was maintained after a remarkable fightback which sent their loyal band of fans home ecstatic. Trailing 3-0 with half an hour left, all hope seemed to have been extinguished, but in truth the scoreline flattered Luton massively and Wrexham were able to claim their reward by continuing to keep their nerve and play their passing game on a treacherous pitch made worse by torrential rain throughout the match.

Wrexham were dominant from the outset, Luton looking to be of a similar standard to Oxford, as the league table suggests. It took half an hour for them to win a corner, and when they finally did it broke down into a four-on-two break for Wrexham which Chalk squandered. Their next two corners had similar results, leaving the impression that they were vulnerable even in their rare attacking moments.

Wrexham, meanwhile, created chances from the outset, and were kept at bay chiefly by the heroics of goalkeeper Nathan Abbey. After a troubled season Luton looked to recruit in the Summer, offering Mark Cartwright a trial and reportedly trying to buy Kevin Dearden in the week before the season started, but Abbey has enjoyed a much better start to this term, and produced a string of saves to prevent Wrexham taking an early lead. In the opening moments an indirect free kick was tapped to Ferguson, whose shot flicked the wall before being tipped over, and soon afterwards a short corner was worked to Paul Barrett, whose drive was pawed away, and when Ferguson ran in from the flag to whip in a sharp curling shot from the rebound, Abbey was athletic enough to have regained his footing and touch it over.

Meanwhile, Craig Faulconbridge was continuing his fine form up front, battling for everything and holding the ball up well. He nearly punished some slack marking from an Edwards cross, bringing the ball down on his chest and shooting narrowly wide, and was thwarted by the linesman’s flag when Roche sent both he and Killen clear although Boyce undoubtedly played both strikers onside as he made a tardy rush out of the box.

Considering the one-sided nature of the half, it was something of a surprise when Luton snatched the lead as Wrexham, not for the last time, conceded a sloppy goal. Lee Roche, who had an uncomfortable afternoon which was hardly in keeping with his recent form, gave possession away with a poor pass infield, the ball was worked right to Breitenfelder and his cross was finished sharply at the near post by Stein, who had gone close with a similar effort ten minutes earlier. Dave Ridler, who had picked up a knock earlier, struggled to cover the cross, and immediately had to leave the pitch to be replaced by Paul Marden, who survived his own injury scare in the second half after he took a blow to the head.

If the Reds were shocked by this unexpected setback, how must they have felt when within minutes the lead was doubled? A Peter Holmes corner from the right made its way to the far post where Craig Faulconbridge, whose sterling work at the back from set pieces has helped Wrexham through their defensive injury crisis, headed it into his own net under pressure from Watts. Although Wrexham rallied bravely in the closing minutes of the half, with Paul Barrett scraping a post with a shot from the edge of the area, they went in disappointed.

There were no changes at half time, although the gaps in Luton’s rearguard coupled with the slippery surface seemed to make the introduction of Sam a likely option, but the starting eleven were clearly sent out charged with the task of correcting their mistakes, and they began the half purposefully. Almost immediately Faulconbridge turned inside and out on the corner of the box before curling a shot just wide before Killen missed two golden opportunities created by Bouanane. First the Frenchman hit a ball over the top which sent Killen clear with Abbey strayed too far off his line, but the resultant shot was struck tamely into the keeper’s midriff. Then Chalk sent Bouanane down the wing and he drilled in a great cross which picked Killen out unmarked at the near post, but he totally misjudges his attempt to glance it in from six yards, knocking it onto his standing leg and wide.

Given their profligacy in front of goal and the patternof the game so far, Wrexham can hardly have been surprised when Luton scored again. Again, it was an avoidable spill, starting when Bouanane, who had looked steadier at the back than previously, took a throw from the wrong place, allowing Luton to take over. Taylor received the ball and crossed for Fotiadis, whose shot hit the post, the rebound bounced out, hit Killen and was deflected back towards his own goal. Dearden got across to the ball easily but pushed it back into the goalmouth rather than hold it, aloowing George to drive it into the roof of the net from close range.

Soon after the third goal Wrexham were denied an immediate route back into the match by an astounding save by Abbey. Edwards’ cross from the right was glanced on by Faulconbridge to Chalk, who met the ball with a thunderous volley from eight yards out which Abbey somehow managed to parry on the line as he scrambled back across the goal. It was a save which conjured memories of Gordon Banks’ famous stop from Pele, and the keeper was so pumped up as a result that he nearly denied Wrexham their opening goal in a similar manner. Barrett sent Edwards racing clear and he side-stepped the advancing goalkeeper before chipping the ball back for Faulconbridge to thump in a header which the desperate Abbey did well to reach, but could only push inside his right post.

Four minutes later it was 3-2. With Hector Sam stripped off and ready to replace Chris Killen, who had struggled to replicate his recent lively form, Faulconbridge’s backheel sent the New Zealander clear. Killen carried the ball as far as he could, drew Abbey and chipped it over the advancing keeper to force the Trinidadian to replace his tracksuit!

With the rain lashing down and defending becoming increasingly difficult, the game became increasingly frantic as Luton folded in the face of Wrexham’s sustained efforts. Faulconbridge planted a header over from eight yards when Chalk crossed from the left and Barrett went close with two shots from the edge of the area, the first of which was deflected wide and the second, from the resultant corner, was saved by Abbey. Killen also missed from similar range, and was clearly angry with himself when he sliced his shot over after finding himself in space. Meanwhile, Luton nearly pinched a goal when a goal kick bounced over the top of the Wrexham back four and Stein, typically alert, spotted Dearden stranded a long way off his line and hit a first time shot over the keeper but wide of the mark.

Apart from that aberration it was all Wrexham, and the equaliser finally came seven minutes from the end. An Edwards cross was half-cleared to the edge of the area by Johnson, where Martyn Chalk teed it up for himself and drove through a crowd of bodies to continue his rare scoring run. Having brought Sam on for Bouanane, Wrexham decided to be bold and stick to a 3-4-3 formation in an attempt to capitalise on the momentum they had created. They could have been caught out when Roche, clearly forgetting himself, pushed out as a full back in a back four would, leaving Marden and McGregor exposed by a long ball over the top which caught Dearden in two minds, and although he belatedly decided to attack the ball, denying Stein with an inelegant sprawling interception, he teed it up for Thomson who missed his kick entirely in front of an open goal.

However, this would have been exceptionally harsh on the visitors, and a more just reward for their enterprise was established with a fine winning goal when Darren Ferguson took the bull by the horns, received Faulconbridge’s second attempt at a return pass, held off Watts and clipped a neat finish beyond Abbey and inside the right post.

Wrexham survived a frantic conclusion, with four minutes of added time to endure, although they should have got a fifth when Luton left gaps as they threw caution to the winds, allowing Killen and Edwards to race clear against a lone defender, but to the unconcealed fury of the winger, Killen carried on himself and hit a tame shot straight at the keeper when a simple square ball would have put his team mate totally clear. There was still a frightening moment to endure, Dearden getting lucky when he was again stranded inexplicably far from home but Thomson’s first time chip lacked elevation.

The poignant sight of Abbey, last off the pitch, walking off with his head bowed,to a standing ovation rather than the vitriol his team mates endured, only served to reinforce the fact that had it not been for him, Wrexham could have won this by a country mile. But on this occasion the manner of the journey was what made the arrival so sweet.

LUTON TOWN(5-3-2): Abbey; McLaren, Johnson (c), Boyce, Watts, Taylor, Holmes, Breitenfelder, George, Fotiadis, Stein. UNUSED SUBS: Brennan, Thompson, Fraser, Baptiste, Ovendale.

WREXHAM (4-3-3): Dearden; Roche, McGregor, Ridler, Bouanane; Chalk, Ferguson (c), Barrett; Edwards, Faulconbridge, Killen. UNUSED SUBS: Sam, Marden, Owen, Rogers, Gibson.

Referee: Mark Cowburn (Blackpool)

Bookings:
	Luton Town	Wrexham
	Johnson (Late tackle on Owen, 87)	Ferguson (foul on Holmes, 45)

Attendance: 5,341

Reaction: Ricky Hill

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