16th September 2000:

21st October 2000: Nationwide League Division Two

Killen Earns Derby Win

In only the fourth start of his loan spell at The Racecourse, Chris Killen earned Wrexham victory in the Welsh derby, and his goal, along with the Robins’ first league clean sheet of the season, alleviated concerns about his team’s inability to win at home. In for Hector Sam, who was rested as he is still jaded following his Mexican jaunt, Killen linked with Craig Faulconbridge and the duo led the line superbly, stretching the Swansea defence with their movement and combining to great effect on a number of occasions. The goal came in the twenty-sixth minute, and it was a touch fortunate; the willing Martyn Chalk, enjoying a renaissance in the centre of midfield, hit a drive from twenty five yards which took a wicked deflection off Matthew Bound over the stranded Roger Freestone for Killen to prod home.

It was an authoritative first half performance by Wrexham, who reaped the benefit of scoring first at The Racecourse for once. As a result, they were able to relax in possession without criticism from an impatient crowd, and looked assured throughout. In fact, after Giovanni Savarese worked a 1-2 with Steve Watkin from the kick-off and fired a cheeky shot over the bar from forty yards, the only other opportunity they carved out came when Jonathan Coates cut in from the left and hit a disappointing shot across the face of Dearden’s goal.

Wrexham had problems breaking a stubborn Swansea rearguard down, but to put this in context, the Swans had the best defence in the country last season, keeping a staggering twenty two clean sheets on their way to the Third Division championship. Nevertheless, Paul Barrett nearly pierced their defence early on, hitting a shot from twenty five yards which took a nasty deflection, obliging Freestone into making an excellent save on the half volley, low to his right. As the half wore on, Wrexham’s movement up front offered options for Darren Ferguson, who on a number of occasions nearly burst clear after exchanging passes with his forwards, only to be denied by a lack of pace and some organised defending. In the absence of Sam, Swansea felt comfortable pushing up the pitch, but Faulconbridge continually peeled off the shoulder of Jason Smith to make some probing runs down the inside left channel which Ferguson and the buccaneering Bouanane sought to exploit. However, City held firm, and the remaining noteworthy goal efforts tended to come from outside the box, apart from a sharp chance from a corner which Bouanane failed to bring under control, the best being Carlos Edwards’ drive which Freestone saw late but pawed round the post.

The second half was a different story, with Wrexham unable to regain their passing composure as the game degenerated into a scrappy affair. Swansea forced a series of corners on the right which became increasingly threatening, especially once left back Michael Howard took over and started hanging them under Dearden’s crossbar. Twice Matt Bound came up from the back to cause problems, first with a far post header which Dearden did well to claw away amidst optimistic claims that it had gone over the line, then with a shot which deflected off Watkin and could easily have ended up in the net with Dearden wrong-footed, but rolled harmlessly wide. However, it was now time for Wrexham’s back four to prove their worth, which they did despite the fact that only one of them was fully fit, and two were playing out of position. Dave Ridler and Mark McGregor formed an impermeable barrier across the centre, while Lee Roche, now an England Under-21 international, played with the authority of a potential star. Emad Bouanane remains an entertaining, if occasionally heart-stopping enigma, and he often lost possesion dangerously in his own half as he needlessly carried the ball forward, but his enthusiasm and pace have endeared him to the crowd, if not to Dearden, who stood aghast as the Frenchman took a ball which was rolling harmlessly through to the keeper off his toes and dribbled past Jenkins to safety.

Steve Watkin, captain for the day against his old team-mates, worked hard up front, but enjoyed little support from Savarese or his replacement, Cusack. However, the visitors did carve out one golden opportunity when Lee Jenkins beat Bouanane down the right and crossed to the far post where substitute Ryan Casey, presented with an open goal from ten yards out, somehow steered the ball across the face of goal where McGregor, flat on his back, trapped it between his legs and ushered it out for a corner. City offered little but endeavour in the closing moments and Wrexham, rejuvenated by the late entry of Sam, looked menacing on the break, with the highlight being Ferguson embarking on a mazy run past three opponents before hitting his shot too straight. The Reds’ pacy breaks were often halted by fouls, and as a result the game became niggly. Despite Roger Furnandiz’s attempts to allow play to continue, bookings were amassed before the inevitable happened and a red card was produced: it was Howard who was the recipient, receiving a second yellow after he seemed to tread on Faulconbridge following an avoidable altercation. The dismissal had no bearing on the outcome, though: it had been a scrappy performance, but to Wrexham it didn’t matter. After all, they have played better than this more than once at home this season and lost.

WREXHAM (4-3-3): Dearden; Roche, Ridler, McGregor, Bouanane; Ferguson (c), Barrett (Owen 84), Chalk; Edwards, Faulconbridge, Killen (Sam 75). UNUSED SUBS: Rogers, Moody, Gibson.

SWANSEA CITY(4-4-2): Freestone; Price, Bound, Smith, Howard; Roberts (Casey 71), Jenkins, Romo, Coates (Thomas 46); Watkin (c), Savarese (Cusack 55). UNUSED SUBS: Jones, O’Leary.

Referee: Roger Furnandiz (Doncaster)

Bookings:
	Wrexham	Swansea
	Ridler (Foul on Roberts, 24)	Romo (Kicking ball away, 23)
	Bouanane (Retaliation, 32)	Roberts (Accumulation of offences, 56)
	Faulconbridge (Foul on Howard, 90)	Howard (Foul on Edwards, 68)
		Smith (Foul on Faulconbridge, 85)
		Price (Foul on Sam, 90)
Sending off:
		Howard (Second booking, retaliation, 90)

Swansea will incur a mandatory fine from the F.A. for accumulating five bookings.

Attendance: 4,008

Reaction: Brian Flynn/ John Hollins

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