14th October 2000:

14th October 2000: Nationwide League Division Two

Roberts Injury Mars Another Away Win

Wrexham’s terrific away run continued with a thrilling 4-3 victory at the Manor Ground which was spoiled only by an injury to Steven Roberts, who sustained a suspected broken leg to further deplete Brian Flynn’s options at the back.

With Wrexham having remained unbeaten away from The Racecourse since the defeat at Bristol City in April last season, eleven games ago, and with Oxford’s last victory over the Robins coming back in 1983, the form certainly didn’t favour the bottom of the table home team, and the early signs were that there would be no surprises, with Bouanane shooting straight at the keeper after working a nice 1-2 with Sam, and the Trinidadian planting a powerful header against the bar from his compatriot Edwards’ cross.

However, in the seventh minute Oxford were handed the lead. Lee Jarman slung a hopeful ball into the box from deep on the left which Dearden came for but failed to reach, allowing Paul Tait to head into the open goal from the edge of the six yard box. It was only the third goal Oxford had scored at home all season, and hardly the start a makeshift back four wanted, with Danny Williams forced to fill in at right back for Lee Roche, who was involved in a car crash on Friday. Indeed, Joey Beauchamp threatened to further punish them, driving a dangerous corner into the box which was deflected across the face of goal, and then nearly scoring a brilliant goal from thirty-five yards after Dearden had come out of his area only to clear to the feet of the Oxford danger man.

Despite the tension created by the goal, however, Wrexham kept their nerve and persisted with their probing approach, looking likely to breach United’s ragged defence as long as they kept their patience. While Beauchamp was allowed the freedom to create, there seemed to be no-one able to tell him to drop back in his own half when the ball was lost, and Wrexham sought to exploit this with a series of searching diagonal balls to Edwards. From one such manoeuvre, Edwards sent Martyn Chalk clear, only for play to be controversially halted as Craig Faulconbridge was standing in an offside position.

Darren Ferguson was running the show in midfield, and his alert mind led to Wrexham’s equaliser with a goal of real quality. Faulconbridge was fouled on the edge of the D and the Scottish midfielder was swift to ask the referee if he could take it quickly before whipping a terrific shot into the top right corner as the wall retreated. As the half came to a close he nearly added to his tally, latching onto a sharp return ball from Barrett and driving a shot just wide.

Oxford sought to regain a grip on the match at the outset of the second half, putting a man on Ferguson and sending Manny Omonimni on down the left. Immediately they looked a different team, with the substitute’s pace and dribbling adding a new dimension to their play. He swiftly set up a great chance for Lilley, who headed wide from six yards out, and was soon confronted with the prospect of attacking Gareth Owen when the midfielder was forced to fill in at right back following the departure of Roberts. The centre back was injured as he stretched to volley a long ball out of play and landed awkwardly on his right leg. It was immediately apparent that he was in a great deal of pain, and Kevin Reeves later reported that the bench had heard what they thought was a bone snap as he hit the ground. As Roberts was stretchered off, Williams had to fill in in the middle of the defence and Owen slotted in on the right, and did an admirable job keeping Omoyimni at bay.

As the half wore on, Wrexham began to regain their poise, aided by the generosity of their hosts. Faulconbridge nearly scored from a Ferguson corner, his header being cleared off the line by Neil McGowan, but similarly poor marking allowed the visitors to take the lead. Again it was Ferguson’s delivery from a set piece that made it possible, Mark McGregor finding himself totally alone on the penalty spot with enough time to pick his spot inside the right hand post and plant an authoritative header there.

The goal sparked off a frantic last twenty minutes, with both sides regularly threatening. Cook lifted a chip from a tight angle over Dearden and against the face of the bar, and Lilley drove a powerful twenty five yard shot just wide, while at the other end Barrett capped a direct run with a shot which was well held by Knight, and the tireless Faulconbridge beat Jon Richardson down the right and pulled the ball back, the defender making a desperate interception as Chris Killen, on for the tiring Sam, lurked with intent.

When the inevitable fourth goal of the match came, it gave Wrexham a two goal lead. Killen broke dangerously down the left, cut inside and hit a shot which rebounded off Knight’s chest to Chalk, who made no mistake from eight yards. It seemed the game was safe, but instead it merely became more frenzied. Steve Anthrobus was thrown on to offer a physical presence up fromt and he immediately had the ball in the net, attacking a Lilley cross at the far post and heading it home, but the referee disallowed his effort for climbing. In all honesty, his header looked clean, and as an onrushing striker he was inevitably going to collide with a stationary defender after making contact with the ball, but after some of the refereeing decisions Wrexham have had to endure this season, not least in the first game of the season, it was hard to begrudge them a slice of luck.

The referee’s decision took on a new importance when Oxford pulled back a legitimate goal, Beauchamp dispatching a twenty-five yard screamer into the net via the bottom of the bar. Roared on by a desperate crowd, they pushed for an equaliser, but their over-committment was to be their downfall as Wrexham struck on the break. Faulconbridge again ran down a channel and got behind the back four, pulling the ball back for Carlos Edwards to dig it out on the half volley and steer it past the keeper for his first goal for Wrexham.

Still the madness was not over, as Oxford once more narrowed the deficit. A long ball over the top shouldn’t have posed a problem, but with no call coming from Kevin Dearden, McGregor was forced to make an unneccesary header, diverting the ball towards the corner flag. As the stand-in centre back berated his keeper for the lack of communication, Anthrobus retreived the ball and fed John Robertson, whose early ball into the near post was diverted into his own net by McGregor at full stretch.

A nerve-racking conclusion ensued, with Anthrobus making a hash of a free header at the far post and McGregor picking up a booking for a reckless foul on the edge of the box as the whole Wrexham team battled manfully to defend their goal. United had a shout for a penalty denied when, after two shots from the edge of the area had been desperately blocked, a third effort by Omoyimni was inadvertantly halted by the arm of Owen. It would have been an extremely harsh decision, as the defender had jumped and turned his back on the shot, but some referees would have given it. However, the madness of the closing minutes disguised the fact that once again Wrexham, allowed space to play in an away match, had taken full advantage to earn another deserved win.

OXFORD UNITED(4-3-3): Knight; Ricketts (Robertson 68), Richardson, Jarman, McGowan; Tait, Whitehead, Murphy (Omoyimni 46); Beauchamp, Lilley, Cook (Anthrobus 78). UNUSED SUBS: Glass, Brooks.

WREXHAM (4-3-3): Dearden; Williams, McGregor, Roberts (Owen 56), Bouanane; Ferguson (c), Barrett, Chalk; Edwards, Faulconbridge (Killen 69), Sam. UNUSED SUBS: Rogers, Gibson, Morrell.

Referee: David Crick (Surrey)

Bookings:
	Oxford United	Wrexham
	Lilley (Persistent fouling, 37)	McGregor (Late tackle on Robertson, 90)

Attendance: 3,884

Reaction: Kevin Reeves / Mike Ford

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