|
Match Report |
Wrexham got off to the best possible
start at Torquay as they looked to build on the FA Cup victory at
Scunthorpe on the weekend and secure the first away win in the league
since Chester in August.
Kevin Smith scored his second in as many games when he headed in with
seven minutes on the clock after Llewellyn was twice denied by Abbey but
a free kick early on in the second half by Jordan Robertson pegged
Wrexham back.
Wrexham kept the same team that defeated Scunthorpe on the weekend with
Torquay forced into making changes, as top goal scorer Jamie Ward was
forced to start on the bench due to injury.
Early Wrexham pressure almost paid off with Darren Ferguson playing in
dangerous set plays and the closet Wrexham came to scoring was when
Steve Evans headed over from one of these moves.
Wrexham were then rewarded for their early display with the opening goal
of the game in the seventh minute. Mike Williams found Chris Llewellyn
in the box with a good ball in and after the striker pulled away from
the defender, he fired in a shot that was parried by Abbey. Llewellyn
fired in the rebound that Abbey again saved but Smith was on hand to
head in for his second in as many games.
The Torquay crowd were very subdued as Wrexham continued to look
dangerous from set plays and Josh Johnson forced Wrexham’s third corner
of the night following good wing play in the tenth minute. This allowed
Wrexham to move the big men forward from the back and the Torquay
defence were nervous from the cross in but eventually managed to
scramble clear at the expense of a throw.
A superb move from Wrexham involving Llewellyn on the half way line set
Johnson away down the left. The Wrexham winger skinned his marker before
crossing in for Kevin Smith but a Torquay defender deflected his shot
behind for Wrexham’s fourth corner of the game.
Torquay were forced into make a change before the half hour mark with
Carl Motteram replacing Levin Hill in the twenty-eighth minute and the
home side started to come more into the game but lacked any real quality
in the final third to really trouble Wrexham.
Wrexham did play themselves into trouble when a poor back pass from Mark
Jones put a Torquay player clean through and he went down under the
challenge of the covering Wrexham defender. Many people were expecting a
free kick to Torquay but the linesman had flagged for offside despite
the ball being a back pass from Mark Jones!
Wrexham conceded a corner in injury time that Ingham considered coming
for but thought better of it to allow Steve Evans to head the ball away
and Mike Williams swept up on the touchline.
Wrexham were forced into a substitution at half time with Mark Jones
being replaced by Lee McEvilly. This resulted in Johnson switching to
the right and Llewellyn playing on the left wing, which allowed McEvilly
to take his place up front alongside Kevin Smith.
Torquay started the second half in a positive manor with Pejic forced
into heading clear as Andrews crossed in from the left in the early
exchanges and Steve Evans hacked clear the resulting throw.
Lee McEvilly was the first Wrexham player to try a shot in the second
half but after a couple of touches creating the space, McEvilly was off
target with his long range shot.
The homeside were on level terms six minutes following the restart after
Wrexham conceded a free kick when Pejic fouled Robertson. A great shot
direct from the set play by Jordan Robertson left Michael Ingham no
chance as the ball flew into the net via the crossbar in the 51st
minute.
Torquay were now making all the running and were playing the ball on the
deck, which was in complete contrast to their first half performance.
Wrexham, on the other hand, were looking to hit McEvilly at every
opportunity and this resulted in more pressure on the defence, as the
ball returned quickly back up field.
Steve Evans, who was limping from an earlier challenge, managed to
recover to clear a cross from Andrews on the left but the influential
centre half was visibly struggling with his knock.
In a rare Wrexham attack, Ferguson was able to pick out Llewellyn down
the left side of the area but when he laid the ball back to Mike
Williams, his cross in was too high and the opportunity escaped Wrexham.
Wrexham almost regained the lead when good play from Ferguson almost
sent Smith clear but he was forced wide and away from goal but managed
to earn a corner, which McEvilly headed goalwards but the home defence
were able to clear.
The Wrexham bench were furious when an awful challenge from Hockley on
Llewellyn brought the Wrexham winger down in full flight when he looked
to be in a dangerous position. Hockley picked up a booking for his
challenge and this proved to be his last slice of the action, as he was
replaced by Kyle Critchell in Torquay’s third and final substitution of
the game.
Torquay had a superb chance to take the lead when Steve Evans mistimed
the cross in and the balled dropped to substitute Cricthell but his
first involvement in the game ended with him shooting high and wide of
Ingham’s goal.
Ingham then went down injured when he came out to the collect the ball
but the flag had already been raised on the Torquay attackers after
Wrexham worked the offside trap well.
Good play from Lee McEvilly forced Wrexham another corner with fifteen
minutes left but the Torquay defence cleared when the ball was delivered
in from Ferguson.
Fine wing play from Llewellyn created an opportunity for McEvilly in the
box and his lack of match sharpness showed as he went for a side footed
effort instead of getting his body behind the shot.
Wrexham made a double substitution in the last ten minutes in order to
add fresh legs to their play with Juan Ugarte and Ryan Valentine
replacing Kevin Smith and Josh Johnson respectively.
With the game entering the final ten minutes the heavy conditions began
to take its toll on players with both teams finding it difficult to
create any clear cut opportunities and the only chance in the three
minutes of injury time came at the end when Ugarte slid a free kick off
the base of the post following a foul on McEvilly. |
|
Match Reaction |
|
Denis Smith: "Obviously I'm disappointed not to take all the points, but
maybe that was all we deserved in very difficult conditions. It was a great
strike by their lad and it deserved a point, but once we had taken the lead,
then you thought we might have gone onto grab a few more goals. I can't
complain though as it was a hard battling performance on a poor pitch."
[Source:
Wrexham FC - click here for more] |
|
|
Match Notes |
| Venue |
Plainmoor |
| Attendance |
1,588 |
| Half Time |
Torquay United 0 Wrexham 1 |
| Referee |
Steve Tanner (Somerset) |
|
|
Other Match Reports |
|
 Wrexham Dragons: Final Whistle
Podcast
BBC:
Torquay 1-1 Wrexham
Wrexham FC: Torquay 1 Wrexham 1 |
|
League 2 Results |
|
Barnet 0
Grimsby 1
Bury 1 Walsall 2
Chester 3 Boston United 1
Hereford 0 Peterborough 0
Lincoln City 1 Bristol Rovers 0
Macclesfield 1 Rochdale 0
Mansfield 2 Swindon 0
Milton Keynes Dons 2 Stockport 0
Notts County 0 Hartlepool 1
Torquay 1 Wrexham 1
Wycombe 1 Darlington 0 |
|
League 2 Table |
|
|
|
PLD
|
GD
|
PTS
|
|
1 |
Walsall |
20 |
24 |
47 |
|
2 |
Lincoln City |
20 |
16 |
38 |
|
3 |
Swindon |
20 |
9 |
37 |
|
4 |
Wycombe |
20 |
9 |
37 |
|
5 |
Milton Keynes Dons |
20 |
7 |
36 |
|
6 |
Peterborough |
20 |
6 |
35 |
|
7 |
Notts County |
20 |
4 |
31 |
| 8 |
Darlington |
20 |
3 |
30 |
| 9 |
Hartlepool |
20 |
3 |
29 |
| 10 |
Hereford |
20 |
0 |
28 |
| 11 |
Bristol Rovers |
20 |
-3 |
28 |
| 12 |
Shrewsbury |
19 |
8 |
26 |
| 13 |
Bury |
20 |
-2 |
26 |
| 14 |
Stockport |
20 |
-2 |
26 |
| 15 |
Chester |
20 |
-1 |
24 |
| 16 |
Mansfield |
20 |
-4 |
24 |
| 17 |
Wrexham |
19 |
-9 |
23 |
| 18 |
Grimsby |
20 |
-11 |
23 |
| 19 |
Accrington Stanley |
20 |
-4 |
21 |
| 20 |
Barnet |
20 |
-9 |
21 |
| 21 |
Rochdale |
20 |
-6 |
20 |
| 22 |
Torquay |
20 |
-9 |
19 |
|
23 |
Boston United |
20 |
-12 |
17 |
|
24 |
Macclesfield |
20 |
-17 |
10 |
|
|
Next Game |
|
Boston
United (a),
Coca Cola League 2
Saturday 09
December 2006, Kick Off @ 15:00 |
|
72'
28'
45'
28'
45'
72'