Swindon Town

4th February 2001: Nationwide League Division Two

All Square in Love and War

The Racecourse pitch resembled a First World War battlefield after Friday’s rugby international, and visitors Swindon at times sought to live up to the setting as they kicked and scratched their way to a point after withstanding a terrific barrage from Wrexham in a bad-tempered second half. Indeed, as referee Chris Foy, who previously lost control of a fiery encounter with Chesterfield at The Racecourse, again lost his grip of the match, it threatened to boil over, with Darren Ferguson subjected to a systematic kicking and a blatant professional foul going unpunished as Emad Bouanane looked set to claim an injury time victory.

There was little hint of what was to come from the first half, though, as a makeshift Wrexham defence shipped water against an enterprising Swindon side which hardly looked like they were in the relegation mire. With Carey and McGregor suspended, Roberts injured and Williams loaned out, Brian Flynn will have been relieved to see Dave Ridler recover from injury to line up alongside Adrian Moody, who had never previously completed a full ninety minutes in the league. With Phil Hardy restored in favour of Bouanane to give a more solid look to the back four, Wrexham’s fans might have expected the defence to not be as vulnerable as was feared earlier in the week, but in fact it shipped water from the start despite good, fighting performances from Hardy and Ridler. Moody’s edginess transmitted itself across the team in the first half, and Lee Roche looked uncharacteristically vulnerable as Town swept forward with a series of early attacks in a torrid first ten minutes. In the third minute Michael Reddy burst down the right and crossed for Gary Alexander to head powerfully over from eight yards, and when Moody was outstripped on the edge of the box Dearden had to save at Alexander’s feet.

As the pressure eased, Carlos Edwards passed up a gilt-edged opportunity to strike, latching onto Faulconbridge’s flick and running clear through the centre as the visiting defence parted. When Mildenhall went down too early, all Edwards needed was a modicum of composure, but he did not deliver, driving a straight low shot which hit the keeper’s feet and bounced to safety. Mildenhall rode his luck again minutes later when Waynne Phillips capped a neat move between Edwards and Owen with a rasping drive which the keeper parried back into the packed box, and when the loose ball was worked to Roche he whipped in a cross which Faulconbridge flicked on to Russell, whose header was saved.

However, these moments of hope proved to be merely a temporary reprieve with the midfield misfiring despite the industry of Phillips. Soon the familiar failings of the defence were brought back to the fore, but ironically when Swindon took the lead it was due not to an error by one of the beleaguered back four, but to a rick from Kevin Dearden. He had already looked edgy, perhaps seeking to impose himself in order to help his defenders, and was lucky when he over-committed himself, allowing Alexander to race round him only to run the ball off the pitch. Shortly before the breakthrough Dearden had dropped a routine cross and gathered it at the second attempt, and this was to prove a premonition of things to come, for when Ian Woan swung a poor corner under the bar Dearden, under no challenge, dropped it to the feet of Antoine van der Linden, who lashed it gleefully home from the penalty spot. Soon afterwards Dearden’s rash decision-making could have proven costly again, when he rushed out to a ball he was never going to reach, inviting Cowe to execute a simple chip which Moody managed to volley off the line.

With Reddy twice getting round the back of the defence, pulling back first to Williams, who missed from four yards out, and then behind the onrushing midfielder, O’Halloran blasting the loose ball just wide, a second goal looked more than likely. The loss of Woan to injury, shortly after a superb curling shot on his weaker right foot had just cleared the bar, at least robbed Swindon of the wellspring of their attacks. Still, Wrexham were glad to get in at the break only one goal down, notwithstanding a fine piece of play by Phillips, who tackled Duke on the half way line and carried the ball down the right before delivering a sweet cross which Faulconbridge headed narrowly over under pressure from Reeves.

The tone for the second half was set early on when Swindon picked up two quick bookings, their priorities seeming to change from attack to defence, with spoiling tactics to the fore. With hindsight they ought to have pressed on, looking to further exploit Wrexham’s defence, although that unit looked more solid in the second period as Moody gained in confidence. Wrexham, in turn, upped the tempo and the game took on the air, appropriately, of a rugby match as the home side pressed constantly on the mudflat of a pitch, hoping that one final effort might force Town’s defence to buckle and allow them over the line. A determined burst down the right offered Edwards a great chance to shoot from ten yards out, but he instead played a blind pass to Owen, who did well to get a tackle in and squeeze the ball into the six yard box, where Mildenhall spread himself well to block Faulconbridge’s volley.

With Darren Ferguson rolling his sleeves up and showing the committment one might expect from a man who had just turned down a big money move to Wigan and signed an extention to his contract, and Phillips continuing to stand out, Wrexham swamped Swindon’s midfield to the extent that Andy King took the rare step of withdrawing a substitute to tighten up his side. To his credit, Ferguson was able to pull the strings despite a remarkable, apparently systematic attempt to kick him out of the game. Many teams feel that if they can stop Ferguson they can stop Wrexham, but none have gone about the tactic as ruthlessly as Swindon, with O’Halloran to the fore. As the midfield turned nasty, the referee did nothing to effectively control the situation, and Ferguson might have been dismissed after a bad tackle quickly followed a yellow card for a foul on Robinson. With a number of provokative incidents off the ball and Town being allowed to pull Ferguson’s shirt with impunity whenever he received the ball, it was remarkable and galling to see a referee so signally fail to protect a creative player.

As time ticked on, Phillips delivered another good cross from the right which Faulconbridge headed over, and service appeared from the left as well when Bouanane replaced Owen and offered another effervescent performance. Indeed, the origins of Wrexham’s deserved equaliser lay at his feet, as he tore down the flank and pulled back a good cross which was hacked clear. The ball was won back by Hardy and Ferguson whipped a good ball onto the chest of Faulconbridge. The striker showed typically good awareness as he held the ball up on the edge of the box before feeding the onrushing Phillips, who skipped over a challenge and rammed the ball past the helpless keeper.

With the momentum behind them, Wrexham looked likely to press on for victory, but Swindon righted themselves and got a second wind, Heywood’s shot being deflected narrowly over in a moment of sheer panic in Wrexham’s defence, after Dearden had punched weakly from a corner and Phillips’ clearance had hit the back of Bouanane’s head and fallen to the big centre back. The game ended with two explosive moments, though, which nearly brought Wrexham victory. First Robin Gibson, who made a lively contribution in the last ten minutes, threw himself at a Roche cross and connected with a glancing header with Mildenhall brilliantly clawed past the post, and then, in injury time, a superb pass on the turn by Ferguson pierced the defence to send Bouanane clear. With the keeper committed but never likely to beat the Frenchman to the ball, Heywood decided to halt his run a foot outside the box with a crude foul from behind as Bouanane shaped to take the ball round the stranded goalie. It was a text book professional foul, but Foy waved play on despite being right on top of the incident, leaving Wrexham to fume after yet another game performance failed to bring the full reward.

WREXHAM (4-3-3): Dearden; Roche, Moody, Ridler, Hardy; Ferguson (c), Phillips, Owen (Bouanane 70); Edwards (Gibson 81), Faulconbridge, Russell. UNUSED SUBS: Rogers, Barrett, Morrell.

SWINDON TOWN (3-5-2): Mildenhall; van der Linden, Reeves (c), Heyward; Cowe, Woan (Invincible 40 [Robinson 71]), O’Halloran, Williams, Duke; Alexander, Reddy. UNUSED SUBS: Hall, Griemink,Willis,

Referee: Chris Foy (St. Helens)

Bookings:
	Wrexham	Swindon Town
	Phillips (accumulation of offences, 34)	Reddy (handball, 48)
	Ferguson (foul on Robinson, 83)	Van Der Linden (foul on Owen, 55)
		Heyward (foul from behind on Faulconbridge, 87)

Attendance: 3,004

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