Wrexham 1
Sheffield Wednesday 2

Saturday 03 January 2003 @ 13:00

MATCH STATS

Score and Scorers

Wrexham 1 Sheffield Wednesday 2
Brian Carey 49' Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu 39'
    Alan Quinn 65'

Starting Line Ups

Wrexham Sheffield Wednesday
01 Andy Dibble 27 David Lucas
18 Shaun Pejic 21' 04 Graeme Jones
05 Brian Carey 05 Dean Smith
06 Dennis Lawrence 12 Steve Haslam
07 Carlos Edwards 02 Derek Geary
12 Paul Barrett 22 Robbie Mustoe
10 Darren Ferguson 24 Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu
02 Jim Whitley 07 Alan Quinn
14 Paul Edwards 11 Paul Smith 74'
23 Hector Sam 88' 34 Mark Robins 86'
11 Chris Llewellyn 35 Mark Burchill 90'

Substitutes

Wrexham Sheffield Wednesday
09 Chris Armstrong 75' 01 Kevin Pressman (GK)
13 Paul Whitfield (GK) 02 Brian Barry-Murphy 74'
17 Mark Jones 88' 09 Grant Holt 86'
19 Steve Thomas 21' 75' 16 Craig Armstrong 90'
22 Jimmy McNulty 29 Laurie Wilson

Yellow and Red Cards

Wrexham Sheffield Wednesday
None. 45' Alan Quinn - Foul on Carlos Edwards
  60' Paul Smith - Foul on Carlos Edwards
  77' Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu - Pushing Darren Ferguson

Stat Attack

Wrexham Sheffield Wednesday
14 Shots on Goal 6
6 Shots on Target 3
6 Fouls Committed 14
10 Corners 4
0 Yellow Card 3
0 Red Card 0

Other Information

Venue: Racecourse Ground Attendance: 8,497
Referee: David Crick - Surrey Half Time: Wrexham 0 Sheff Wed 1
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MATCH REPORT

DRAGONS SUFFER NEW YEAR HANGOVER

By Mark Williams

Pre-match thoughts: Full of confidence following three successive wins but playing a team that had gone twelve games without a win you always have your doubts with Wrexham.

Conditions: Mild for the first weekend in January. The rain kept off although the pitch looked wet under foot.

Sum up the performance in one sentence: A game where we should have taken at least a point.

Turning point: Dennis Lawrence’s header cleared off the line after Wrexham had just equalised.

Main incidents and goals:

0-15 minutes: Quiet start to the game with both teams content with a passing game. The Sheffield Wednesday defence looked a bit suspect when Wrexham ran at them but this happened too little in the opening stages. Jim Whitley dragged a shot wide from 20 yards and Darren Ferguson hit a free kick into the arms of a well positioned David Lucas. The best chance fell to Brian Carey when he met Darren Ferguson’s inswinging corner but David Lucas made a simple save diving low to his left. Score 0-0 with Wrexham just on top.

15-30 minutes: The Wrexham defence were looking quite comfortable but had to reorganise in the 21st minute when Shaun Pejic appeared to pull his hamstring when chasing a pass from Carlos Edwards. As Denis Smith had no other central defenders he dropped Jim Whitley back and Steve Thomas came on in midfield. Wrexham continued to control the game with the visitors yet to have a shot on goal and another well worked move created an opportunity for Chris Llewellyn. Darren Ferguson got ahead of the Wednesday midfield and fed in Chris Llewellyn down the left side of the area but his shot lacked any power to trouble Lucas in the visitor’s goal. Sheffield Wednesday finally tested the Wrexham defence when Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu broke quickly after Llewellyn lost the ball deep in the Wednesday half. Ndumbu-Nsungu played in Derek Geary down the right side but his shot across the face of Dibble’s goal was just missed by the lunge of the unmarked Mark Robins at the far post. After a mistake by Paul Smith, Hector Sam took possession of the ball and his run to the edge of the area came to a halt following a good tackle from Steve Haslam. The frustrating part was that Sam had options either side of him in the shape of Paul Barrett and Chris Llewellyn but attempted one trick too many and Wednesday cleared the danger. Score 0-0 but Wednesday were now looking dangerous.

30-45 minutes: Sheffield Wednesday were now enjoying their best spell for the game in terms of creativity and chances. After a misjudgement by Dennis Lawrence, Mark Robins found himself with a clean shot on goal from 18 yards and he was unlucky to see his dipping shot strike the base of the post and rebound to safety. A good pass by Robbie Mustoe beyond Brian Carey found Mark Robins but the striker had a bad first touch that allowed Andy Dibble to smother the ball on the edge of the six yard box. Wrexham did not heed these warnings as the visitors took the lead with six minutes of the half remaining after further good play from the impressive Derek Geary on the right. His centre was flicked on by the on loan Mark Burchill and Mark Robbins had a clean shot on goal but Carlos Edwards made a good last ditch tackle at the far post. The ball was only cleared to Paul Smith who swung over a inch perfect cross from the left and Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu was unmarked at the far post to plant a header past Dibble. Wrexham had the ball in the net deep in injury time but the joy was short lived when the linesman had flagged Hector Sam offside after the striker headed in Steve Thomas’ shot that rebounded back off the crossbar to him from close range. Score 1-0 Wednesday with the visitors on top.

If we could have just scored a second in our good spell at the start of the second half I'm sure the outcome would have been different.

Wards Left Foot on the RP Messageboard
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45-60 minutes: The half time break allowed Denis Smith to reorganise the shape of the side that was lost since the departure of Shaun Pejic midway through the first half. Carlos Edwards went on a run that took him past four defenders before it was brought to an abrupt end with by a lunge from Paul Smith. Darren Ferguson swung in the free kick but Dennis Lawrence’s header back across goal went about a yard wide. Wrexham did not have to wait long for the equaliser when Brian Carey was unmarked in the area to head home four minutes after the restart. The move was started by Carey when he laid the ball off to Darren Ferguson just inside the Wednesday half and the tall defender made his way to the box and by this time Ferguson had fed Paul Barrett on the right. Barrett looked up and picked out the unmarked Carey with a good cross that the defender glanced in across Lucas from twelve yards. Wrexham continued to pressure the Wednesday defence and almost made it two goals in as many minutes. Dennis Lawrence met Darren Ferguson’s corner with a well directed header that was destined for the top corner but Robbie Mustoe rose at the last minute to head the ball away for a corner that came to nothing. Score 1-1 with Wrexham back on top.

60-75 minutes: For some reason Wrexham took their foot off the gas and with Wednesday now getting back into the game you could see the goal coming as the Wrexham passing went astray. Derek Geary had the freedom of the right wing with Paul Edwards caught up field and his cross from the by line was tipped away by the diving Dibble but only to the feet of Alan Quinn who had the simple task to pick his spot from ten yards out. Score 2-1 Wednesday with both teams now cancelling each other out.

75-90 minutes: Wrexham replaced substitute Steve Thomas with Chris Armstrong in search for the equaliser but the Red Dragons failed to create any decent chances for their three strikers. Chris Llewellyn tired his luck from 25 yards but his shot lacked any accuracy as the time counted down. The best chance fell to Dennis Lawrence when he got above the Wednesday defence to meet a Ferguson corner swinging in from the right but although it was goal bound it proved to be a simple save for David Lucas who plucked the ball out of the air. Sheffield Wednesday wound down the clock with late substitutes and Wrexham’s last throw of the dice was when Mark Jones replaced Hector Sam but Wednesday played out the four minutes of injury time without any danger to their three points. Final Score 2-1 Wednesday.

Opposition and fans: Fans were in good voice but I was surprised how ordinary the Wednesday side looked over the 90 minutes. They looked as if they could score goals but they equally looked suspect at the back especially when Wrexham ran at them at pace.

Officials: David Crick of Surrey did not have the best of games but he won the tackle of the match for blocking Paul Barrett’s shot early on in the first half when it was goalless! There was one laughable moment when it took him around two minutes to allow Grant Holt back on following 'treatment' (that lasted about five seconds!) to the frustration of Owls manager Chris Turner.

Man of the match: Sponsors chose Paul Edwards but I would have gone for Brian Carey because he was good in defence and looked to be one of our main attacking threats.

If you were Denis Smith: Frustrated with losing Shaun Pejic as this forced him to reorganise the defence with no other options with Steve Roberts and Craig Morgan injured.

Post match thoughts: Although it was a game that we could have got a point from it is clear that we are desperately lacking a striker with a physical presence up front as our main attacking threats came when Dennis Lawrence and Brian Carey pushed forward from the back.

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DETAILED MATCH REPORTS
BBCi: Wrexham 1 Sheffield Wednesday 2 - Minute-by-minute
Sheffield Wednesday FC: Lucky Thirteen
Sporting Life: Wrexham 1 Sheffield Wednesday 2 - Match Stats
Wrexham AFC: MATCH REPORT Wrexham 1 Sheff Wed 2
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OTHER MATCH REPORTS

Ananova: FT- Wrexham 1 Sheffield Wednesday 2

BBCi: Wrexham 1-2 Sheff Wed
cpd-Wrecsam (unofficial): Not the best start to the new year!
Nationwide Football: Wrexham 1, Sheffield Wednesday 2
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AUDIO REPORTS AND QUOTES

Red Passion Soccer Saturday Audio Report with Mark Williams

Listen to Denis Smith speaking to BBC Radio Wales (WindowsMedia Format)
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PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES

Denis Smith: "I’m disappointed, as I thought it was an entertaining game and I thought deserved something out of it. Perhaps a draw would have been a fair result. They have come and had a go at us, so give them some credit as well. It was a shame that Shaun Pejic had to go off injured, as with Craig and Steve already out, I have 75 minutes of the game remaining, so do I put on an 18-year-old or switch Jim back into defence. The reason I bought Jim into the side was to mark the lad who would was to go on and score their first goal! The second was a poor back pass, which was only cleared up to midfield, and they built up from there. Overall though it was a good game and Sheffield Wednesday came here to play, which entertained the crowd. Others have come here and not wanted to play, so I have no complaints. If we continue to play like that, then we will do well and anyone who has been here today can’t say we didn’t perform well. People who have paid their money today have had value for it.” [Source: Wrexham AFC]

Chris Turner: "When you're on one of these runs in football it becomes difficult. I don't think we deserved some of the results we've got and each week it goes by it ebbs at players' confidence and self-belief. We counter-attacked well and looked good in Wrexham's half. We missed a couple of chances in the first half and Mark Robins hit the post. They pushed us back in the second half and we were wondering if it would be another week like Tranmere. But the players dug in, worked very hard and had the break that we haven't had for a number of weeks. We've been playing reasonably well of late and January is going to be a big month for us, with three home games. This was one of the hardest [matches this month] and we've won away from home. Hopefully we can set ourselves up for a good push." [Source: Sheffield Wednesday FC]
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DIVISION TWO

Results

Oldham Athletic

Vernon 54'

1-1

Brentford

May 13'

Kitamirike Sent Off 73'

4,990

 

Plymouth Argyle

Hodges 4'

Capaldi 11'

Lowndes 12' 18'

Friio 15' 36' 88'

7-0

Chesterfield

13,109

 

Queens Park Rangers

Gallen 24'

1-0

Rushden & Diamonds

14,141

 

Swindon Town

Mooney 15' 80'

2-1

Bournemouth

Hayter 5'

7,158

 

Wrexham

Carey 49'

1-2

Sheffield Wednesday

Ndumbu-Nsungu 39'

Quinn 65'

8,497

 

Wycombe Wanderers

Moore 5' 52' 90'

McSporran 28'

4-1

Grimsby Town

4,519

 

League Table

Pos   Team   P   W   D   L   F   A   GD   Pts
1   Plymouth Argyle   25   15   7   3   59   25   34   52
2   Queens Park Rangers   25   13   9   3   46   20   26   48
3   Bristol City   24   10   10   4   31   19   12   40
4   Barnsley   24   11   7   6   32   28   4   40
5   Brighton & Hove Albion   24   11   5   8   37   27   10   38
6   Swindon Town   25   10   7   8   35   31   4   37
7   Wrexham   24   11   4   9   30   26   4   37
8 Luton Town 24 10 7 7 37 35 2 37
9 Port Vale 23 10 6 7 32 30 2 36
10 Colchester United 24 10 6 8 27 31 -4 36
11 Hartlepool United 24 9 8 7 36 30 6 35
12 Rushden and Diamonds 25 10 5 10 41 37 4 35
13 Blackpool 23 10 3 10 29 33 -4 33
14 AFC Bournemouth 25 8 8 9 29 31 -2 32
15 Sheffield Wednesday 25 7 10 8 30 33 -3 31
16 Tranmere Rovers 24 7 9 8 26 34 -8 30
17 Grimsby Town 24 7 8 9 29 35 -6 29
18 Oldham Athletic 25 6 10 9 37 40 -3 28
19 Brentford 25 8 4 13 26 38 -12 28
20 Peterborough United 24 5 9 10 28 34 -6 24
21   Stockport County   24   4   10   10   30   40   -10   22
22   Notts County   24   5   6   13   22   39   -17   21
23   Chesterfield   25   4   9   12   19   37   -18   21
24   Wycombe Wanderers   25   4   7   14   28   43   -15   19
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