5th September 2000:

24th October 2000: Nationwide League Division Two

Lots of Fight for Little Reward

Allowed the luxury of fielding an unchanged eleven for the first time this season, Brian Flynn saw his team earn a second consecutive clean sheet in a performance from which he drew a lot of satisfaction, if not the three points he would have wanted. In a hard fought encounter, Wrexham had the better of the match, but more importantly, showed that the lessons of the Reading game had been absorbed. Clearly a lot of work has been put into the organisation of the team since that beating and, as against Swansea, the home side had a professional edge which earned the admiration of the opposing manager.

Wrexham nearly took an immediate lead when Killen glanced on a Dearden kick for Martyn Chalk to volley just wide at full stretch in the first minute. Chalk was continue in this industrious vein throughout the match, with he and Barrett fulfilling the cliche of covering every blade of grass on the pitch as they endeavoured to unlock a dogged Wycombe rearguard. It was an open start to the match, giving little hint of the tough struggle which was to come, and Wycombe enjoyed their best spell, with Roche having to clear a Ryan header off the line from their first corner.

However, Wycombe began to settle down into a defensive mindset after this open start, forced back by a Wrexham side which was finding its feet and starting to mount sustained bursts of pressure. With the front two again combining well, and Bouanane charging forward enthusiastically at the drop of a hat, winding up a supportive crowd in the process, the similarities to Saturday were obvious. Faulconbridge twice could have fashioned a breakthrough, blasting over from the edge of the box, and then creating a panic in the goalmouth when he beat Taylor to a high ball from the left, but Cousins cleared from under his bar before Killen could pounce.

Wrexham mounted another surge in the 37th minute, and twice came desperately close to taking the lead. McCarthy was fortunate to escape with a yellow card when he bundled Killen to the ground from behind as he ran clear on goal. The Kiwi fell into the box, but the referee called the offence on the edge of the area, slightly right of centre, and when Darren Ferguson tried to repeat his goal at Oxford by firing a quick free kick into the corner, Taylor reacted superbly to squeeze the ball round the left post. It was a save of fine margins, and the breakthrough was desperately close from the resultant corner too; Killen missed Chalk’s corner at the near post but it span wickedly up in the air off a defender, wrong-footing Taylor who fell flat on his back as the ball looped over him, and dropping invitingly at the far post for Faulconbridge to head home from a yard out. However, the referee was swift to disallow the goal as he flattened a defender on the line in the act of scoring, although whether he could help clattering into his stationary opponent is a moot point.

It was an incredibly scrappy start to the second half, with a succession of throw-ins being conceded by either side; indeed, Bouanane seemed to touch the ball with his hands more than his feet in this period! However, it was during this spell that Wycombe carved out their best chance, Brown curling a free kick to the far post where Cousins should have headed into the empty net from close range, but could only direct the ball over the bar as Barrett did well to get back and lean into him.

After about ten minutes of thrashing about unproductively, Wrexham regained the upper hand, and began carving out chances. The best one came early on, when Killen sidestepped the last defender only to see Taylor rush out bravely and save his close range shot. This sparked off a remarkable scramble, with both Killen and Faulconbridge spurning chances before the ball was smuggled clear. Moments later, Faulconbridge met a Ferguson corner, nodding it down to Bouanane who, back to goal about four yards out, couldn’t find a way to force it in.

However, the game descended into a stalmate as time passed, and Brian Flynn chose to keep Hector Sam, rested once more, on the bench in tribute to the efforts of Faulconbridge and Killen. Faulconbridge might have done better with a late header from a Barrett cross, and Bates went close to pinching a late goal with a header from a corner which Bouanane cleared off the line. It would have been a travesty if the Wanderers had snatched a goal, though, as Ridler and McGregor had been superb in keeping the dangerous Rammel and McSporran in check. It had been a hard fought game between two sides which battled for every inch of space on the pitch. Lawrie Sanchez always sends out well-organised sides which know their jobs inside-out and are fully committed to the task, and it is to Wrexham’s credit that, in these and other respects, they matched them at the very least.

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

WYCOMBE WANDERERS (5-3-2): Taylor; Senda, Bates, Cousins, McCarthy, Vinnicombe; Simpson, Ryan (Castledine 84), Brown; McSporran, Rammell. UNUSED SUBS: Lee, Rogers, Brady, Harkin.

Referee: B. Curson

Bookings:
	Wrexham	Wycombe
	McGregor (Foul on Senda, 54)	Bates (Foul from behind on Killen, 33)
		McCarthy (Foul on Killen, 37)

Attendance: 3,014

Reaction: Brian Flynn/ Laurie Sanchez

Home	Association News
Match Reports	Membership Details Supporter Events Player of the Year Trophies Ticket Prices and Directions Feedback
StatZone	Links
Current Season Players’ Records Club Records	History of the Hospital Radio Broadcast Griff’s Word