5th September 2000:

24th February 2001: Nationwide Laegue Division Two

Trundle of Joy!!

Incredible! This was Wrexham’s first away league win since the comeback at Luton, and although they didn’t come back from three goals down this time, this victory was more remarkable as their opponents came into the game in second place in the league, having lost only one home game all season, and should have finished the game off in the first twenty minutes. However, the day belonged to Lee Trundle, who ironically had a trial with Walsall this season but was not taken on by Ray Graydon. How the Walsall boss must have regretted that decision as the robust striker marked his first start for Wrexham with a superb display of forward play, capped by a brilliant goal and a terrific injury time run which ended in him setting up the winning goal.

And yet it could all have ended so differently. Wrexham’s side showed radical changes from recent weeks, Gareth Owen’s injury forcing Brian Flynn to drop Kevin Russell back into midfield and start with Andy Morrell and Trundle up front. The reshuffled side suffered an horrendous start: after twenty minutes the only mystery was the fact that they were only 1-0 down, having been torn to shreds by a confident, fluent Walsall side. Brett Angell lashed a decent chance over in the second minute, and Matias repeated the feat two minutes later, quickly followed by a piledriver from Dean Keates which fortunately flew straight at Kevin Dearden.

Lee Roche, who has shown signs of tiredness in recent weeks, was being given a particularly torrid time by Matias, and when the Spaniard charged down a clearance and swung in a cross, Leitao turned Ridler and hit a close range shot which was deflected off the outstretched boot of the defender onto the outside of the post. From the resulting corner, Roche made amends with a crunching block tackle in the goalmouth after a terrific scramble, but the breakthrough had to come, as Wrexham were not only defending shakily but were incapable of getting a grip of the ball and earning the defence some respite from the endless waves of Saddlers attacks. Inevitably, the goal was unsatisfactory, with Paul Hall allowed to deliver a cross from the right with little hindrance, despite Ferguson and McGregor doubling up on him, and no-one being on hand to stop Tom Bennett from lashing the loose ball in from ten yards off the body of Ridler, who was still on the floor after the centre back had blocked Leitao’s initial effort.

There was no let-up from the home side in the short term, with Bennett immediately lashing a 20-yard free kick narrowly wide and Leitao glancing a free kick across the face of goal to Matias, who ought to have done better than slash a wild shot wide with his weaker right foot. However, the Robins began to find a foothold in the game after this twenty minute barrage. Up until this point their only moment of relief had come when Russell fed Trundle, who typically held the ball up, turned and hit a shot which Walker clawed away at full stretch, just beyond the reach of the onrushing Morrell. As the midfield began to get a grip on the sort of pitch usually seen on Sky’s coverage of beach football, Ferguson and Russell combined to give Morrell something to chase into the box, nicking it away from the onrushing keeper but failing to remain in sufficient control of the ball to either finish himself or pick out Trundle in front of an open goal.

Trundle’s power and aggression almost brought a breakthrough when he turned once more and hit a shot which went narrowly wide, and with Gibson beginning to take the game to Aranalde, the signs were promising. These hopes were apparently dashed, though, when Walsall got a second goal against the run of play, Leitao laying the ball off to Bennett who lashed a sensational drive into the top right corner from twenty yards. Before this match, Bennett had only scored twice all season, but he had a glorious chance to complete a hat-trick soon afterwards, shooting wide from just outside the area after Dearden had come a long way off his line for a left wing cross, only to punch weakly to the Walsall skipper.

To Wrexham’s credit, they kept their heads up, and perhaps ought to have pulled a goal back when Dearden caught a corner and threw swiftly to Gibson, who broke to good effect, releasing Morrell behind the left back, but the striker’s cross was taken comfortably by Walker as the unmarked Trundle bore down on the near post. Half time gave the visiting coaching staff a chance to inspire their team, and they emerged clearly pumped up and ready to by-pass the treacherous middle of the pitch with swifter service for the front two. However, they ought to have been put out of their misery within two minutes of the restart when Hall’s cross picked out Angell on the edge of the six yard box. He ought to have scored with his initial effort, a header which was blocked by Carey, but how he missed from the rebound, scooping the ball over from virtually under the bar, is hard to understand, although I suspect Everton fans might be able to explain.

Wrexham capitalised fully on this stroke of good fortune and over-ran their lofty opponents in an incredible reversal of fortunes. Trundle, as ever, was at the sharp end of everything. Russell helped a ball on to him on the edge of the box and he nicked it brilliantly past Roper before crashing a fulminating shot against the outside of the post before Walker could move a muscle, and then he was denied by Brightwell’s fine sliding tackle after Morrell had put him clear. His inevitable first goal in senior football came in dramatic fashion: Ferguson’s free kick from the right wing was flicked on by Carey to Trundle, who controlled it on his chest and launched a terrific overhead kick over the keeper.

Walsall roused themselves briefly after this shock to their system, and Mark McGregor, making his three hundredth appearance for Wrexham made a crucial intervention when he deflected a Hall shot just wide of Dearden’s right post. Any hopes Walsall had of regaining their grip on the match were shattered in the 69th minute by a goal which put even Trundle’s in the shade. It began with another scurrying break by Gibson, who raced from deep in his own half, cut in from the right and fed Kevin Russell, who crashed a tremendous drive in off the bar from twenty five yards. Russell was making the 550th appearance of a sixteen year career, but he can have scored no better goals than the 113th!

Walsall now became increasingly desperate, bringing the house down with an appeal for handball in the box when Angell’s goalbound volley clearly struck McGregor squarely on the chest, but it was Wrexham who looked more likely to score a winner. The referee was less kind to Wrexham when he stopped the game to allow Bennett treatment on an injured knee as Aranalde played a terrible pass which sent Gibson clear down the right. Wrexham were justifiably furious with the decision, as Bennett was on his feet and clearly capable of leaving the pitch under his own steam; indeed, Aranalde’s errant pass had been intended for him as he thought he was still active! Ferguson’s protestations could easily have earned him a booking, and his ferocious challenge for the drop ball prompted Byfield to withdraw from the contest! Then Brightwell played a backpass which Walker picked up, a clearcut free kick which everyone recognised except the officials! The final controversial decision could easily have handed Walsall an undeserved winner, as Dearden was flattened by a reckless challenge as he attacked a driven cross, but play was waved on and Roper shot wide with the goal unguarded. Things looked bad as Dearden received lengthy treatment, but he was finally able to continue.

Meanwhile, Craig Faulconbridge, on for Morrell, was showing signs of striking up a promising partnership with Trundle, and he nearly got on the end of his partner’s cross-shot from the right. Gibson had two efforts from the edge of the area, one of which was blocked, the other pulled wide from twenty yards, but the final word fell to the two strikers. As the game entered the third minute of injury time, Trundle raced down the right, nutmegged a man on the half way line and embarked on a surging run into the box. Having side-stepped Roper on the edge of the box his shot was cleared off the line by Brightwell, but he latched onto the rebound and drove a cross to the far post, where Faulconbridge turned the ball neatly over an onrushing defender and into the top corner.

There was still a nervous moment to endure as Keates hoisted a free kick into the goalmouth which Dearden missed, the ball flashing across the face of goal and behind for a goal kick. The final whistle blew moments later to scenes of remarkable celebration on the pitch, the bench and not least the terraces, where the loyal band of Wrexham fans had kept going even in the darkest moments of the match. It was a remarkable victory, and one which reminds us why we choose to support our local football team through thick and thin rather than catch a bandwagon to Anfield or Old Trafford when the fancy takes us.

Reaction: Brian Flynn / Ray Graydon / Lee Trundle / Craig Faulconbridge / Kevin Russell / Paul Barrett / Kevin Dearden

WALSALL (4-4-2): Walker; Brightwell (c), Roper, Barras, Aranalde; Hall, Bennett (c) (Ekelund 86), Keates, Matias(Wrack 37); Leitao, Angell (Byfield 78). UNUSED SUBS: Emberson, Gadsby.

WREXHAM (4-3-3): Dearden; Roche, Carey (c), Ridler, McGregor; Barrett, Ferguson, Russell; Gibson, Morrell (Faulconbridge 73), Trundle. UNUSED SUBS: Rogers, Pejic, Blackwood, Bouanane.

Referee: Billy Burns (Scarborough)

Bookings:
Walsall		Wrexham
Barras (Foul on Gibson, 71)		Roche (Foul on Leitao, 71)
		Carey (pulling back Leitao, 77)

Attendance: 4,958

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