Wrexham 4
Oldham Athletic 0

Saturday 21 October 2003 @ 19:45

MATCH STATS

Score and Scorers

Wrexham 4 Oldham Athletic 0
Lee Jones 32'    
Carlos Edwards 41'    
Dennis Lawrence 50'    
Lee Jones missed penalty 55'    
Mark Jones 89'    

Starting Line Ups

Wrexham Oldham Athletic
01 Andy Dibble 01 Les Pogliacomi
04 Steve Roberts 14 Michael Clegg
15 Craig Morgan 20 David Beharall
06 Dennis Lawrence 22 Daniel Hall 58'
07 Carlos Edwards 02 Dean Holden
02 Jim Whitley 10 John Eyre
10 Darren Ferguson 80' 08 John Sheridan 59'
14 Paul Edwards 07 Paul Murray
11 Chris Llewellyn 03 Darren Sheridan
23 Hector Sam 24 Christopher Killen 62'
08 Lee Jones 86' 09 Calvin Zola

Substitutes

Wrexham Oldham Athletic
03 Shaun Holmes 04 Ernest Cooksey 62'
13 Paul Whitfield (GK) 16 Matt O'Halloran 59'
17 Mark Jones 86' 17 Scott Vernon 58'
18 Shaun Pejic 18 Danny Boshell
19 Steve Thomas 27 Marc Tierney

Yellow and Red Cards

Wrexham Oldham Athletic

63'

Hector Sam - Foul on David Beharall

44'

Dean Holden - Foul on Hector Sam
54' John Eyre - Foul on Carlos Edwards
67' Matt O'Halloran - Dissent

Stat Attack

Wrexham Oldham Athletic
11 Shots on Goal 10
7 Shots on Target 2
7 Fouls Committed 17
3 Corners 6
1 Yellow Card 3
0 Red Card 0

Other Information

Venue: Racecourse Ground Attendance: 3,963
Referee: Matt Mathias - South Yorkshire Half Time: Wrexham 2 Oldham 0
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MATCH REPORT

WREXHAM THUMP LATICS FOR FOUR

By Mark Williams, Red Passion Online

Pre-match thoughts: After the draw on Saturday a win tonight was a must especially as Oldham were just above us in the table.

Conditions: It rained for the first 5 minutes but then held off.

Sum up the performance in one sentence: Slow start but soon as the first goal went in we never looked back.

Turning point: The two goals five minutes either side of half time killed Oldham off.

Main incidents and goals:

0-15 minutes: Oldham started in control with their midfield linking up well with their attackers. The Wrexham midfield were chasing shadows as Chris Llewellyn was playing too far up the pitch to have any impact on attack but also never came back to help out the defence. The best chance for the visitors fell to Wrexham old boy Chris Killen but his speculative overhead kick from just inside the area went narrowly over. The cross came from Clegg on the right and this was not the first time he got in behind Paul Edwards in the opening stages. Wrexham were playing mainly on the counter attack and from a quickly taken free kick by Darren Ferguson on the half way line Hector Sam was through on goal. He beat keeper Pogliacomi to the ball but the striker’s lob lacked any direction and in the end it turned out to be a good cross to Lee Jones but the Oldham defence managed to scramble the ball behind for a corner. Oldham broke the offside after 15 minutes with Chris Killen played in down the left channel of the area but he dragged his shot across the face of goal and it went out for a goal kick with Dibble again not tested. Score 0-0.

Wow that was easy, we stuffed them without playing that great ourselves.

Bish on the RP Messagebaord

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15-30 minutes: Oldham continued to play decent football but they failed to find the final ball that unlocked Wrexham’s defence. When they did find the ball to create the opportunity Calvin Zola was continually flagged offside and this must have come as a huge frustration to the Latics. The Wrexham defence dealt comfortably with everything that was thrown at them and again 18-year-old Craig Morgan defied his age with another accomplished display at the back. Score 0-0.

30-45 minutes: The final fifteen minutes of the half exploded with Wrexham taking the lead in the thirty first minute. A through ball was played by Darren Ferguson to Lee Jones down the left channel of the area and the striker was ahead of his man and turned the ball low left footed under the dive of Pogliacomi to give Wrexham the lead. I am not sure if it was a deserved lead but Wrexham were starting to edge themselves back into the game. The goal rocked the visitors who appeared to lose their shape for the remainder of the half with Wrexham starting to get some joy down their flanks. Despite this Oldham had the opportunity to equalise after Calvin Zola was unnecessarily fouled by Dennis Lawrence out on the right wing. John Sheridan swung in a good free kick that the Wrexham defence failed to deal with at the first attempt and as the ball was headed back cross the goal, the rebound was blocked by Oldham’s Daniel Hall! Zola then had an opportunist effort from thirty yards that was dealt with comfortably by Dibble. Wrexham then stormed up the field and grabbed a crucial second four minutes before half time. The ball was swung in harmlessly in by Darren Ferguson from the left and the Oldham defender was guilty of ball watching as Carlos Edwards stole in in front of him to head the ball into the roof of the net from close range. It could and possibly should have been 3-0 before the half time whistle went when Hector Sam burst through down the right. The Trinidadian was unlucky when his low right footed drive beat the keeper but struck the base of the post and rebounded to safety. Half time 2-0.

45-60 minutes: Oldham started the second half like they had a rocket up them from manager Iain Dowie. Good build up play again created a chance for Calvin Zola but the striker’s effort did not justify the approach play from the Latics. That was not the first time the striker had let Wrexham off the hook. The visitors went even closer to pulling a goal back when Paul Murray was played in down the left channel. Unlike Lee Jones in the first half the striker did not have the same finish when his shot struck the outside of the post and them it was a game of pinball as the ball rebounded across the area before Wrexham scrambled the ball clear. If Oldham were unlucky with their last attack they rode their luck moments later when Wrexham broke down the right through Carlos Edwards. His cross was only parried out back into the danger area by Pogliacomi only for an Oldham defender to deflect it back towards the empty goal but the ball went just wide for a corner. From Darren Ferguson’s inswinging corner Hector Sam made the worst ever attempt at a near post flick on by heading the ball back out towards the touch line! Carlos Edwards rescued the situation before laying it off back to Ferguson. The captain when swung it back in to the far post where Dennis Lawrence rose above the defenders to head the ball down. It looked as if Pogliacomi had saved it but the ball went through his legs and the ball was ruled by the linesman to have crossed the line before the keeper pulled the ball back. There were no complaints from the keeper as Lawrence celebrated his fourth goal of the season. With the game now over as a contest Wrexham had the opportunity to extend their lead when Chris Lewellyn was bundled over in the box. He was put clean through when Hector Sam somehow won a header against a player a lot taller than him! Lee Jones stepped up and for his third spot kick in succession he hit in the same corner but unfortunately for him Oldham had been watching the videos as Pogliacomi smothered his shot to deny the striker his second of the night. Score 3-0.

Mark Jones60-75 minutes: Oldham threw on the substitutes to attempt to rescue the situation switching their formation to three at the back. The game then fell into a bit if a lull but Wrexham fans were not bothered as we were 3-0 up at the time! Score 3-0.

75-90 minutes: Darren Ferguson was replaced by Steve Thomas with ten minutes to go. The midfielder came off to a standing ovation from the Wrexham faithful after he had set up all three goals to date. One final substitution by Denis Smith saw Mark Jones replace his namesake Lee with four minutes left but it was still time for the youngster to open his account for the Red Dragons. The ball was played into him in the centre where he turned the defenders with his first touch and with the defender pulling his shirt back the kid took another touch to compose himself before placing a beautiful shot that curled past Pogliacomi into the bottom corner from about 25 yards. The best goal of the night and what away to score your first league goal! Final Score 4-0.

Opposition and fans: Oldham are the best team on the eye to visit this season but they look like a team who lack the fire power to convert their chances. A good turn out from their fans but there were a lot less of them left in the ground when the final whistle went.

Officials: Personally I though he had a good game but the ironic cheers from the Oldham fans when they were awarded a decision means they will disagree with me. The penalty was a penalty and John Eyre could easily have been sent off for his crude foul on Carlos Edwards just before the penalty was awarded.

Man of the match: The sponsors gave it to Carlos Edwards and he put in a decent display with his tricks down the right but I would have gone for Darren Ferguson for his three assists before he was substituted.

If you were Denis Smith: I knew we would put a few past someone one day!

Post match thoughts: Was a bit nervous at the way Oldham started with their possession but the Wrexham defence are a lot more organised under Denis Smith. A confident boosting display and Mark Jones’ goal rounded the night off superbly.

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DETAILED MATCH REPORTS

BBCi: Wrexham 0 Oldham Athletic 0 - Minute-by-minute

Oldham Athletic FC: WREXHAM 4 - 0 LATICS
Sporting Life: Wrexham 0 Oldham Athletic 0 - Match Stats
Wrexham AFC: Reds Score Four for the second time in a week
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OTHER MATCH REPORTS

Ananova: FT- Wrexham 4 Oldham 0

BBCi: Wrexham 4-0 Oldham
JK Latics: Wheels Come Off as Robins Batter Blues
Natiownide Football: Wrexham 4, Oldham 0
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PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES

Denis Smith: "Early in the first half Oldham were as good as anyone we have seen. We were having to dig deep to keep in touch with them. It was a gamble keeping on playing the way we were in an attacking formation, but we defended well under pressure and came through."

Iain Dowie: "We can't keep playing pretty patterns without a reward. It's difficult to defend some of our defending. We were totally in control of the game early on and Wrexham didn't know how to handle us. A throughball caught us out and then we missed a simple cross that cost another goal. It was just madness, suicidal defending. I don't like my team capitulating in that fashion."
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DIVISION TWO

Results

Blackpool

Murphy 4' 62'

2-3

Rushden & Diamonds

Burgess 45'

Jack 46'

Kitson 55'

6,388

 

Bournemouth

S Fletcher 7' 45'

Stock 34' 62'

O'Connor 42'

Elliott 67'

6-3

Luton Town

Purches 10' (og)

Hughes 25'

Forbes 60'

5.234

 

Brentford

Hunt 8' (p) 87' (p)

Tabb 36'

May 78'

4-0

Brighton & Hove Albion

6,532

 

Chesterfield

Cade 53'

1-2

Hartlepool United

Evatt 26' (og)

Robinson 76'

3,411

 

Grimsby Town

Boulding 23' 63'

2-0

Notts County

4,274

 

Peterborough United

McKenzie 27' 41'

2-3

Barnsley

Betsy 35'

Rankin 47'

Carson 63'

3,909

 

Port Vale

Paynter 5'

McPhee 9'

Rowland Sent Off 50'

2-0

Queens Park Rangers

5,243

 

Sheffield Wednesday

v

Plymouth Argyle

19:45

WED

Stockport County

Goodwin 58' (p)

1-3

Colchester United

Fagan 26'

Andrews 34'

Vine 47'

3,683

 

Tranmere Rovers

Jones 90'

1-0

Swindon Town

6,675

 

Wrexham

L Jones 32'

C Edwards 41'

Lawrence 50'

M Jones 89'

4-0

Oldham Athletic

3,963

 

Wycombe Wanderers

Holligan 40' 70'

McSporran 90'

3-0

Bristol City

Doherty Sent Off 38'

Coles Sent Off 89'

4,613

 

League Table

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