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GRIMSBY BLITZED IN 172 SECONDS

By Mark Williams

Pre-match thoughts: After the news during the week of wages not being paid again it was good to be looking forward to a game of football rather than off-field matters. Despite Grimsby having a new manager this was a game we must win to have any realistic chance of a play off spot.

Conditions: Sunny with cloudy spells; not too cold and low wind meant it was good for football.

Tactics: No surprise as Wrexham reverted back to three midfielders with Hector Sam dropping to the bench for Darren Ferguson who was back from suspension. Dennis Lawrence also completed a ban and replaced the injured Steve Roberts whilst Craig Morgan replaced the suspended Brian Carey.

Sum up the performance in one sentence: Amazing in that two minute spell and comfortable through out.

Turning point: 0-0 after 34 minutes and 3-0 after 36, meant the game was beyond Grimsby.

Main incidents and goals:

0-15 minutes: Quiet start for Wrexham with Grimsby having some joy on the flanks. Wrexham dealt well with balls into the box and Grimsby resulted to long range efforts which appeared to be going deeper into the Kop with every effort! Chris Llewellyn had the best effort of the opening stages when he was played in down the left side of the area but his right footed shot lacked any real pace and the ball rebounded off keeper Andy Pettinger back onto Llewellyn and bounced out for a free kick. Grimsby were playing two players on Carlos Edwards and this meant Wrexham’s attacks were mainly coming down the left wings with Paul Edwards beating his man on a couple of occasions but he failed to pick out a Wrexham shirt with his crosses. On ten minutes Chris Armstrong was also played in down the left side of the area but his drive was well saved by Pettinger who dived low to his right to turn the ball way for a corner. The keeper did not deal well with resulting cross from Ferguson with his punch not clearing the penalty area but Grimsby managed to hook the ball away to safety. Score 0-0.

15-30 minutes: Grimsby were still finding it difficult to create any clear cut chances although Wrexham’s best efforts during this spell were not the best either. Chris Llewellyn would not of been proud of his shot when the ball broke to him off a Grimsby defender on the edge of his area with the ball eventually going out for a goal kick closer to the corner flag than the goal! Both teams had a even share of possession but with Matt Crowell in the side, Wrexham had good pace and movement off the Welsh under 21 international and the Red Dragons looked the side most likely to open the scoring. Score 0-0

30-45 minutes: Wrexham’s passing play up front was finally rewarded with the opening goal with 34 minutes on the clock. It was a well worked move started and finished by Matt Crowell when he picked up the ball midway in the Grimsby half. He played the ball up to Chris Armstrong who held up the ball on the edge of the area before laying it back for Crowell, who struck the ball first time with his left foot. It was such a good strike that you sensed it was a goal as soon as he hit it as the ball sailed over Pettinger, curling into the top corner giving the keeper no chance. Grimsby only had themselves to blame for the second goal after Des Hamilton lost possession to Darren Ferguson just inside their own half. Chris Llewellyn’s run took one defender away from Chris Armstrong and Darren Ferguson slipped the ball into open space for Armstrong to run onto. The striker used his experience to wait for Pettinger to commit himself and he simply poked the ball up to the keepers left from just outside the area. Two became three for Wrexham in under a minute when Grimsby were again punished for losing the ball in their own half. Phil Jevons lost the ball to Darren Ferguson on the right wing and he played a pass in behind the full back for Chris Llewellyn to latch onto. The striker looked up and picked out Chris Armstrong with a right footed ball low across the area for Armstrong to sweep home past Pettinger from about twelve yards out. Armstrong was now on course to break James Hayter’s record breaking hat trick but Grimsby did what Wrexham forgot to do at Bournemouth and kept the ball, although Armstrong put a header wide in the dying seconds of the half from a left wing cross by Paul Edwards. Half Time 3-0 Wrexham.

Really impressed with Crowell today, not only for his cracker of a goal but his workrate and quality of passing.

Rich Williams on the RP Messagebaord

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45-60 minutes: Both teams had opportunities in the opening stages of the second half with Grimsby going the closest of all when they struck the cross bar. First of all Chris Armstrong was played through by Ferguson but the linesman flagged for offside although Pettinger pulled off a good save. Within a minute Grimsby broke at the other end of the pitch with the Wrexham midfield caught too far forward. The ball fell to Andrew Campbell and his shot was similar too Matt Crowell’s goal but the luck was with Wrexham as the ball bounced off the underside of the bar with Andy Dibble just standing their in admiration of the shot and Wrexham cleared the danger. Chris Armstrong was again played through by Chris Llewellyn and this time the striker did look offside but unbelievably the linesman kept his flag down. Armstrong did not look to convincing as he bared down on the Grimsby goal, as if he thought the ref was going to blow up for offside, and in the end his hat trick chance was gone as Pettinger smothered the ball as Armstrong attempted to round him. Score 3-0 Wrexham.

60-75 minutes: There were little chances of note created and it was as if both teams agreed to keep the score at 3-0. Grimsby made substitutions to give them options up front but could not get behind the Wrexham defence. Their best chance fell to Welsh international Darren Barnard who saw his left foot shot well saved by Andy Dibble although the save was merely routine for the keeper, as he turned it away for a corner. Wrexham worked an opening for Chris Llewellyn on the edge of the area but he took too long to get his shot away and the Grimsby defence got a block in. With the game lacking any spark Chris Llewellyn was replaced by Hector Sam for the last twenty minutes. Score 3-0 Wrexham.

75-90 minutes: With Llewellyn no longer on the pitch no one was coming deep to receive the ball and the pattern to Wrexham’s game became disjointed. With Grimsby searching for a goal they finally left a man of Carlos Edwards and this allowed the Trinidadian to expose them down the right for probably the first time in the afternoon. Despite getting past his man on a couple of occasions his crosses were not accurate and Grimsby always cleared the danger before the ball went past the near post. Darren Barnard swung a free kick over for the visitors and Wrexham had one last chance when Paul Edwards won a corner after his shot was deflected from Hector Sam’s deep cross. Ferguson swung out the corner and Craig Morgan returned the ball back to the near post with his head but the ball went about a yard wide. Final Score 3-0 Wrexham.

Opposition and fans: Grimsby simply imploded during that two minute spell in the first half. I cannot see how they managed to score six against Barnsley last weekend as they had no cutting edge all afternoon. The small collection of fans made some noise but after the goals went in they were quiet for the rest of the afternoon.

Officials: The referee had a good game and you could not argue with Crowell’s yellow card although I did not see the incident when Morgan ended up in the book.

Man of the match: Matt Crowell for the second week running. His finish was superb but he also made a lot of ground during the match and was not frightened to put his foot in.

If you were Denis Smith: Pleased with the way the players responded after a difficult week. The clean sheet was also a bonus with two of our regular experienced defenders out as well.

Post match thoughts: My main gripe about Wrexham is that we never really build on the lead but you could not argue about that today! It was a comfortable display all round and a professional performance in the second half shut out the opposition.

Jump To: Match Stats, Match Report, Detailed Match Reports, Other Match Reports, Audio Reports and Quotes, Press Conference Quotes, Division 2 Results, League Table.

BBCi: Wrexham 3 Grimsby Town 0 - Minute-by-Minute

Red Passion Soccer Saturday Audio Report with Mark Williams

Denis Smith: "It was worth coming just for the goals. They were superb. I said at half-time if we could keep a clean sheet I would have a good weekend." [Source: Nationwide Football]

Results

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Wycombe Wanderers

7,311

Brighton & Hove Albion

v

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WED

Chesterfield

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Sheffield Wednesday

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Quinn Sent Off 90'

7,695

SUN

Colchester United

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Hartlepool United

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3,348

Notts County

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Plymouth Argyle

8,057

Queens Park Rangers

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Oldham Athletic

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Rushden & Diamonds

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Peterborough United

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4,855

Stockport County

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Williams 88'

2-0

Bristol City

5,050

Swindon Town

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Igoe 82'

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Brentford

7,649

Wrexham

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Armstrong 36' 36'

3-0

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3,127

League Table