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Match Report |
Wrexham dominate from start to finish
PRE-MATCH THOUGHTS: This will be a real test for us. We have
dropped down the table after not playing last week and face the best
team in the division without a home win since Boxing Day.
CONDITIONS: Dry but not too cold
SUM UP OUR PERFORMANCE IN ONE SENTENCE: Best performance of the
season where we dominated from start to finish
TURNING POINT: Two goals in three minuets early on put Wycombe
out of the game.
MAIN INCIDENTS AND GOALS:
Wrexham started the game positively with Andy Holt finding plenty of
space down the left wing to deliver testing balls into the box. This put
Wycombe on the back foot early on and they failed to get out of their
own half, let alone create any chances of note. Juan Ugarte went close
for Wrexham after Andy Holt and league debutant Sam Williams combined to set up
the on loan striker but he fired over from the edge of the area.
 This positive start from Wrexham resulted in the opening goal after 12
minutes after Andy Holt forced a corner when his cross was headed behind
by the Wycombe defender. Matt Crowell, who only started as a replacement
for the injured Darren Ferguson, took the corner and delivered the ball
to the near post where Dennis Lawrence rose unchallenged to head the
ball in from six yards out.
Wrexham continued to press and Andy Holt went close with a shot from
inside of the area before Sam Williams scored on his league debut, three
minutes after Lawrence had put Wrexham ahead. Wrexham worked the ball
well down the right flank from where Crowell delivered a superb ball to
the far post where Sam Williams had to stretch to guide the ball inside
the far post with a well taken header from ten yards.
Wrexham lost the services of top scorer Mark Jones after eighteen
minutes and he was replaced by Levi Mackin, who himself had only just
returned from a lengthy lay off. During this spell Wycombe had their
first shot on goal when the ball fell to Mooney on the edge of the area
but his dipping shot was well caught by Ingham underneath his own bar.
Juan Ugarte went close for Wrexham on the half hour mark when a lose
header broke to him from thirty yards. Ugarte advanced forward before
driving a low shot that Matt Duke had to turn behind for a corner at his
near post.
 It was all Wrexham now and a sweeping move five minutes later should
have put the game beyond any doubt. Wrexham broke well down the left
where Andy Holt again had too much space to measure a cross in the box.
This resulted in a melee in the six yard box and Wycombe only managed to scramble
the ball behind for a corner with Williams and Ugarte fighting for the
lose ball.
Wrexham again continued to attack and Simon Spender should have put the
result beyond any doubt following good work by substitute Levi Mackin.
The ball eventually broke to Spender on the edge of the area but after
composing himself he fired over the bar.
Wycombe introduced two substitutes at the break and a change of
formation resulted in them having more of the ball in Wrexham half but
the visitors failed to test Ingham with any chances of note.
Wrexham lost Ugarte soon after the restart when he was left in a heap on
the ground and although the referee waived play on, he failed to book
the Wycombe player for the late foul. Marc Williams replaced the on loan
striker and his endless running kept the pressure on the Wycombe
defence.
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Midfield was where we won it,
never gave them a minute!
 |
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From Welsh Wizard
Have your say |
The second half had very few chances of note with Wrexham content at
keeping Wycombe at bay. Wrexham remained on top and despite Wycombe
having more of the ball, the defence, marshalled by Danny Williams was
well on top. The only save Ingham had to make of note was from a
dangerous cross form the left that the Wrexham stopper dealt with
comfortably.
At the other end of the pitch a run from Jim Whitley almost ended up in
an unlikely third goal. Whitley picked the ball on the touch line and
after jinking neatly passed his marker, he advanced past two players
before curling his shot that was destined for the far post before Duke
dived to his right to turn the ball behind for a corner.
The game petered out towards the end but with the hard work of the two
Williams’ up front the Wycombe defence were kept on their toes and had
to result to hacking the ball out to safety. At the other end the Wrexham
defence remained composed with the midfield three of Whitley, Mackin and
Crowell offering the required protection, biting into every tackle.
OPPOSITION: A very poor performance from a team that arrived at
the Racecourse top of the table. Their strikers were in the pockets of
the Wrexham defence all afternoon and Wycombe looked the shadow of the
team that comprehensively beat Wrexham at the Causeway Stadium in
September.
OFFICIALS: Another poor performance from a referee who appeared
to penalise Wrexham with every tackle. The foul count was 19-4 against
Wrexham although I cannot remember a bad tackle all afternoon.
MAN OF THE MATCH: This is a difficult one for once as all players
performed well all afternoon. For me Matt Crowell just edges Jim Whitley
with his two assists for the goals, in addition to the fact that
he fired into every tackle all afternoon.
IF YOU WERE DENIS SMITH: You cannot complain after that display
and despite the two injuries the belief in the side continued with Marc
Williams and Sam Williams working hard up front. |
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Match Reaction |
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Brian Carey: "It was excellent victory but we now need
to push on. We showed great determination today and surprisingly the early
kick off seemed to suit us. The early goal definitely helped us; they didn't
recover from that and that allowed us to push on and take control of the
game. Sam Williams did well for us. He's had a couple of difficult Welsh Cup
games for us and has taken a bit of stick from the opposition in those, but
he will come back better for the experience. He's done well for us on his
league debut and will be pleased with his contribution against a side that
have been at the top of the league all season. Dennis [Lawrence] turned in a
great header from a corner early on for the opener and that has given us
great confidence. Once again injuries haven't helped us. We've had to change
personnel once again but every one of the lads comes out of today's game
with great credit. We now need to push on and find some consistency to
enable us to try and climb up the table." [Source:
Wrexham AFC]
Sam Williams: "It was a tough game. I am very happy
with my first game and especially getting a goal, the first of many I hope.
With Wycombe being top of the league, we knew that they are a good team but
we set out to hustle them. Every game is different. My other two games [for
Wrexham] have been against non-league sides and they are always up for it on
those occasions and you tend to take a lot of kicks. It was a lot better
today. I was given more time to turn and get in the hole and that is what I
like. Matt [Crowell] put in a great ball for the goal and I just got my head
on it. At the end of the game, we had so many youngsters on the pitch. Levi
[Mackin] and Marc [Williams] played brilliantly when they came on,
especially Levi who pulled the strings in the centre. In the short time that
I've been here, I've already had a number of different strike partners. We
each need to play our own game and then try to make a connection with the
other striker. I've always watched League football, being a football fan
myself, and was aware what had gone on at Wrexham this season. We have got a
quality squad and I feel that we can definitely jump up the table."
[Source:
Wrexham AFC]
John Gorman: "Wrexham played exceptionally well. The
did to us what we have done to everyone else this season and they put us
under pressure. It was our worst performance of the season but don't rule us
out. It was a bad day for us and we will bounce back."
[Source:
Wycombe Wanderers FC] |
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Wycombe Wanderers |
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Starting XI:
| 31 |
Matt Duke |
| 12 |
Russell Martin
45' |
| 05 |
Roger Johnson |
| 06 |
Mike Williamson |
| 03 |
Clint Easton
45' |
| 07 |
Kevin Betsy |
| 08 |
Joe Burnell |
| 10 |
Matt Bloomfield
69' |
| 04 |
Stefan Oakes |
| 16 |
Tommy Mooney |
| 09 |
Jermaine Easter |
Subs:
| 11 |
Ian Stonebridge
69' |
| 21 |
Steve Williams (GK) |
| 22 |
Sergio Torres |
| 25 |
Dean Bowditch
45' |
| 26 |
Aidan Collins
45' |
Stats:
| Shots on Goal: |
2 |
| Shots on Target: |
1 |
| Shots off Target: |
1 |
| Possession: |
44% |
| Fouls Conceded: |
5 |
| Corners: |
4 |
| Yellow Cards: |
0 |
| Red Cards: |
0 |
|
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Match Notes |
| Venue |
Racecourse Ground |
| Attendance |
4,311 |
| Half Time |
Wrexham 2 Wycombe 0 |
| Referee |
D Whitestone (Northamptonshire) |
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Other Match Reports |
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BBC: Wrexham 2-0 Wycombe
TEAMtalk: On-fire dragons boost play-off hopes
Wales on Sunday: Reds over 'combe the top dogs
Wrexham AFC: Wrexham 2 Wycombe 0
Wrexham MAD: Wrexham 2 Wycombe Wanderers 0
Wycombe Wanderers FC: Wrexham get revenge |
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League 2 Results |
|
Barnet 1
Shrewsbury 0
Boston United 0 Darlington 0
Bristol Rovers 1 Bury 0
Carlisle 5 Chester 0 !!!
Mansfield 1 Macclesfield 1
Northampton 2 Rushden & Diamonds 0
Notts County 0 Grimsby 1
Oxford United 1 Rochdale 1
Peterborough 1 Cheltenham 0
Stockport 2 Lincoln City 3
Torquay 2 Leyton Orient 0
Wrexham 2 Wycombe 0 |
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League 2 Table |
|
Pos |
Team |
Pld |
GD |
Pts |
|
1 |
Carlisle United |
29 |
22 |
54 |
|
2 |
Wycombe Wanderers |
30 |
19 |
54 |
|
3 |
Grimsby Town |
29 |
18 |
54 |
|
4 |
Northampton Town |
29 |
20 |
51 |
|
5 |
Leyton Orient |
29 |
7 |
49 |
|
6 |
Peterborough United |
30 |
11 |
45 |
|
7 |
Darlington |
30 |
10 |
44 |
| 8 |
Bristol Rovers |
30 |
-6 |
44 |
| 9 |
Lincoln City |
31 |
3 |
42 |
| 10 |
Cheltenham Town |
29 |
1 |
42 |
| 11 |
Notts County |
30 |
-6 |
42 |
| 12 |
Wrexham |
29 |
10 |
41 |
| 13 |
Boston United |
30 |
-2 |
41 |
| 14 |
Rochdale |
29 |
1 |
39 |
| 15 |
Shrewsbury Town |
31 |
-2 |
37 |
| 16 |
Macclesfield Town |
31 |
-7 |
37 |
| 17 |
Chester City |
30 |
-3 |
36 |
| 18 |
Barnet |
30 |
-9 |
35 |
| 19 |
Oxford United |
31 |
-10 |
35 |
| 20 |
Mansfield Town |
31 |
-8 |
33 |
| 21 |
Torquay United |
31 |
-15 |
31 |
| 22 |
Bury |
28 |
-12 |
30 |
|
23 |
Rushden and Diamonds |
30 |
-20 |
26 |
|
24 |
Stockport County |
28 |
-23 |
23 |
|
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Next Game |
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Macclesfield Town (a),
Coca Cola League 2
Saturday 11
February 2006, Kick Off @ 15:00 |
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