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Stockport County

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75'

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BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

By Mark Williams, Red Passion Online

Pre-match thoughts: After the Grimsby match was called off it was important to get a win to keep up with the pack.

Conditions: Pissed it down from start to finish. The pitch looked as if rugby was played on it every other week.

Sum up the performance in one sentence: We could have made it a lot easy for ourselves.

Turning point: Stockport hitting the bar in the last minute of the first half – a goal then could have shattered our confidence.

Main incidents and goals:

0-15 minutes: Stockport created the first opportunity when Dennis Lawrence failed to clear a left wing cross but Fraser McLachlan dragged his left footed drive wide from the edge of the D. From this point on for the next half an hour it was all Wrexham as they calved out chance after chance. The Stockport defence were all over the place, sometimes hopelessly claiming for offside in an attempt to make them look organised! A long ball from Dibble bounced over one player for Llewellyn to latch onto. He delivered a good ball across the face of goal but Sam did not stretch for the ball and the chance was lost. Then it was Sam’s turn to try is look down the left after he was played in by Steve Thomas. Sam looked up after breaking into the box but his pass to Carlos Edwards on the right had too much power and this forced Edwards wide. He did retrieve the situation but by the time he put in a left footed cross the Stockport defence reorganised and managed to clear the danger. Wrexham best chance was still to come and many Wrexham fans would argue that it fell to the wrong person in Chris Llewellyn. Another long ball forward from Dibble was again misjudged by Rob Clare as his backward header fell into the path of Llewellyn unmarked on the edge of the area. He did everything right – get the ball under control on his left foot, compose himself, line up the shot and then shoot – this was when it went all wrong, with all the Wrexham fans on their feet to celebrate their first goal, Llewellyn somehow managed to pull his shot well wide of the goal and Stockport had another let off. Score 0-0 (should have been 3-0 Wrexham)

15-30 minutes: Wrexham continued to press and still created chances to open the scoring. Hector Sam took advantage of a slip by Martin Pemberton and after Sam had worked an opening on the edge of the penalty area he played in Carlos Edwards but the winger uncharacteristically got the Llewellyn’s and dragged his shot wide on the goal. There was still more to come and as Carlos Edwards broke down the right his cross to the far post was destined for Hector Sam and Chris Llewellyn but a Stockport defender managed to get a toe end to the ball to clear the danger for a corner. From this Paul Barrett rifled in a shot that was blocked by a Stockport defender amidst claims for a penalty from the Wrexham fans. None was given and play continued. Paul Edwards then tried his look with a speculative third yard effort that James Spencer gathered at the second attempt. Stockport finally relieved some pressure on their goal and proved they had an attacking side to their game but Aaron Wilbraham was well off target with his shot. Dennis Lawrence ended up in the book for a classic ‘ball or man’ sliding challenge and there were no arguments from the Wrexham defender when he was shown the yellow card. Score 0-0 (should have been 4-0 Wrexham).

30-45 minutes: Stockport started to come more into the game and tested Andy Dibble on a couple of occasions. Dibble held onto a long shot before County had the best chance of the half with two minutes remaining. A free kick was swung in from the right and Dibble did well to keep out the initial low drive from Simon Lynch but the ball rebounded straight to Aaron Wilbraham six yards out. It was a gift for the striker but with the goal at his mercy he opted for power and struck the bar when it was easier to score. Dibble came to Wrexham’s rescue when he dived low to his right to turn the ball away for a corner. Brian Carey and Steve Thomas also ended in the book for similar challenges as Dennis Lawrence. This will prove more costly for Thomas as this was his fifth booking of the season. Half time 0-0 (should have been 4-1 Wrexham)

dibbs was probably the oldest on the pitch, was also the best by miles

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45-60 minutes: Dennis Lawrence went on one of his usual runs that defies his lanky frame. After receiving a one-two back from Jim Whitley, he fed in Hector Sam in the penalty area and his turn to the left beet his marker but Sam pulled his shot across the face of goal and there wasn’t even a Wrexham attacker at the far post to turn the ball in as the ball rolled out harmlessly for a goal kick. Morrison then had a decent effort saved by Andy Dibble before Chris Llewellyn was played in down the left channel with the ball over the top from playmaker Dennis Lawrence! Llewellyn was now in a race to the ball with keeper James Spencer but the goalie but although Llewellyn made contact with the ball, Spencer was able to clear the danger for a throw in at the second attempt. Score 0-0 (should have been 4-1 Wrexham)

60-75 minutes: Hector Sam went down rather theatrically twenty yards from goal and Wrexham were awarded a free kick but the strike from Steve Thomas hit the wall and sailed over the crossbar for a corner. Andy Welsh broke in from the right after Paul Edwards was caught out of position but Andy Dibble was at full stretch to deny the winger and the Wrexham defence backed up the keeper by getting to the lose ball first to clear the danger. Score 0-0 (should have been 4-1 Wrexham)

75-90 minutes: Aaron Wilbraham played Andy Welsh in down the right again but this time the cross had too much on it and it flashed across the face of Wrexham’s goal without a Stockport player getting the vital touch on it. Wrexham continued to look for the breakthrough and it finally came with two minutes left on the clock. Chris Llewellyn was set free down the left and as he broke into the box his clever pass to the far post cut out the goalkeeper and left Paul Barrett the opportunity to fire into the empty net, although from my position at the other end of the ground it looked to have taken a deflection off a Stockport player. With two minutes of injury time left you were never comfortable especially with Stuart Barlow on the pitch as he always seems to score against us. He did get an opportunity on the edge of the area and his goal bound shot was superbly tipped over by the out stretched dive of Andy Dibble to win the game for Wrexham. Final Score Stockport 0 Wrexham 1 (should have been 5-2 Wrexham but who cares!).

Opposition and fans: Very subdued and probably could not believe how crap their defence was. Defending as a unit certainly does not apply to Stockport.

Officials: Had a good game. No one could argue for the bookings and allowed for the conditions if there were any late challenges.

Man of the match: Andy Dibble – his saves kept Wrexham in the match after they missed a hatful of chances and his save in the dying seconds was simply world class.

If you were Denis Smith: Pleased with the win and clean sheet, but disappointed with the chances we missed, as they could have proved costly against better quality of opposition.

Post match thoughts: Good win that sets our selves up well for two home games on the trot. Let’s hope we don’t blow it like we always seem to do.

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

Ananova: FT- Stockport 0 Wrexham 1

Red Passion Soccer Saturday Audio Report with Mark Williams

Denis Smith: "It was a result we deserved but as time went on, I thought we had thrown it away. In the end though they forgot about 'Sniffer' Barrett. The big man (Andy Dibble) seems to be getting better and better. Ever since he's joined us, he's just continued to improve. His enthusiam for the game is superb. With that save he made at the end, I think he's left the ground a reasonably happy man!! We had more than a couple of good chances in the first half and you really have to be putting at least one of them away. I thought the midfield put in a tremendous amount of work and got through so much during the game. The back three have had a bit of stick, but this is their third clean sheet in four games. That's reasonably good!! We've been struggling all season to score goals, which you could see for yourself in the first half, but thats down to a little lack of confidence. In the end we kept going though, Chris Llewellyn had a good run for the goal and Hector has gone through right at the end which shows we were still battling." [Source: Wrexham AFC]

Results

Blackpool

Murphy 9'

Johnson 79'

2-1

Tranmere Rovers

Haworth 82'

8,340

Bournemouth

0-2

Plymouth Argyle

Wotton 22'

Norris 40'

8,901

Brentford United

May 63'

1-2

Bristol City

Lita 77' 82'

5,912

Brighton & Hove Albion

Carpenter 31'

Piercy 42' 63'

McPhee 49'

4-0

Wycombe Wanderers

Johnson Sent Off 16'

Rogers Sent Off 65'

6,141

Chesterfield

Robinson 48'

Hurst 75'

2-1

Peterborough United

Logan 13'

4,376

Colchester United

McGleish 12'

1-1

Luton Town

Mansell 28'

5,083

Grimsby Town

Jevons 9' 76'

Boulding 57'

Crane Sent Off 16'

3-3

Oldham Athletic

Johnson 19'

Cokksey 32'

Vernon 73'

6,172

Hartlepool United

Williams 72'

1-2

Barnsley

Betsy 45' 69'

6,520

Notts County

Heffernan 6' 28' 72' (p)

3-3

Queens Park Rangers

Palmer 3'

Richardson 10' (og)

Gallen 90'

7,702

Rushden & Diamonds

Lowe 23' 63'

2-0

Swindin Town

Fallon Sent Off 30'

4,845

Sheffield Wednesday

Robins 21'

Lee 30'

2-3

Port Vale

Littlejohn 25'

Paynter 54'

Brooker 89'

24,991

Stockport County

0-1

Wrexham

Barrett 88'

6,256

League Table