Lincoln City 0

 

Wrexham 3

Simon Spender 18' Scott Kerr 29' (og) Lee McEvilly 52'

Saturday 14 April 2007

 

Kick Off @ 15:00



Match Report

Wrexham jumped out of the relegation zone with what turned out to be a solid three-nil victory at promotion chasing Lincoln.

The added bonus of Boston loosing by the same score line at Hereford resulted in Wrexham climbing out of the bottom two on goal difference but this was by far a superior display to what has been served up in recent weeks.

Wrexham dominated the game from the start and for once the long ball tactics in recent weeks were left behind as Wrexham played all the football as Lincoln rarely threatened a shot at goal.

An early first half header from then impressive Spender set Wrexham on their way to victory and an own goal from Kerr had put us two goals up before the half hour break.

Lee McEvilly converted a decent cross from Spender in the second half to secure the three points and it was difficult to decide which team were in the play offs at the end as Wrexham showed class and endeavour throughout.

There was only one change from the team that lost to Notts County on Easter Monday with Danny Williams replacing Mark Jones in midfield but there was one tactical change as Chris Llewellyn played out on the right with Michael Proctor partnering Lee McEvilly upfront.

Wrexham started the game in a positive fashion and Jim Whitley tested keeper Alan Marriott in the opening minutes but the Wrexham midfielder was off target five minutes later when his next shot was in danger of striking the corner flag.

Chances were still at a premium as the game went fifteen minutes without any other noticeable efforts on goal but it was Wrexham who grabbed the crucial lead with seventeen minutes on the clock.

Simon Spender is normally left on the half way line when Wrexham win a corner but, on this occasion, the full back arrived unmarked in the box to loop home a header from Matty Done's corner into the near post for the opening goal of the game.

Wrexham continued to dominate proceedings with Michael Proctor denied a shot on goal after a Lincoln defender blocked his effort following good approach play from Llewellyn down the Wrexham right.

Wrexham were not to be denied an and we extended the lead just before the half hour mark although there was a bit of fortune involved in the second goal of the game.

The impressive Simon Spender was involved again as his long throw from the right appeared to miss everybody in the box and as Danny Williams challenged for the ball, Scott Kerr sliced the ball into his own net to give Wrexham a deserved two goal lead.

Lincoln tried to respond for the remaining fifteen minutes of the first half but Anthony Williams remained largely untested although Wrexham escaped when Proctor had to head clear from by our own line.

Despite this scare, Wrexham played out the remainder of the first half without any scares although the excessive five minutes of injury time resulted in many confused faces in the travelling support.

The only noticeable effort for Lincoln during this time came when they found space down their left but Wrexham escaped as the diving clearance from Williams rebounded off Steve Evans for a corner, which the Wrexham keeper collected commandingly on the edge of his six-yard box.

Lincoln took the opportunity to make two changes at the break but it was the unchanged Wrexham who again started positively and grabbed the crucial third goal of the game seven minutes following the restart.

Simon Spender was again involved in the third goal of the game when Llewellyn worked space for the full back down the right. Spender took advantage of this and delivered a s superb ball to McEvilly who made no mistake by powering his header passed Marriott inside of the near post.

Lincoln were clearly rocked by the goal and Wrexham enjoyed a lot of the possession of the ball and a combination of Done cutting inside, Proctor running the channels and Llewellyn always in space resulted in the home side being kept on the back foot.

A superb passage of football from Wrexham cut Lincoln up down the right and Llewellyn’s deep cross to Proctor was met first time by the on loan striker on the volley that Marriott did well to turn behind for a corner that ended with Steve Evans heading over at the back post.

Lincoln’s last throw of the dice resulted in top scorer Jamie Forrester departing the field but it was still Wrexham who were the only side that created anything from open play.

A quick burst from Jim Whitley from midfield resulted in him setting McEvilly clear in down the right channel but the Wrexham striker was off target as his effort went low and wide into the advertising hoardings.

Wrexham made a couple of changes towards the end of the game with Danny Williams, who tired as the game wore on, replaced by Levi Mackin and Matty Done leaving the field for Mike Williams.

There was still time for Josh Johnson to replace the hard working Proctor and although a couple of Lincoln shots towards the end brought a few cheers from the home side they were never in danger of troubling Anthony Williams as Wrexham played out for an emphatic three-nil victory.

Match Reaction

Brian Carey: "It is a relief for us, I'm thrilled to bits with the win, but we haven't done anything yet. It was a good start for us, as we did things we haven't done for a long time. Hopefully we can push on and it will give us the confidence and belief that has been lacking. It's never comfortable from where I'm standing, but we looked a good team today, but that's just today. We need to push on and the players can take a lot of heart from the game, I'm just delighted we got the win. We worked on a few things which came together, which as the management team we are happy with. Although I couldn't careless how they go in, just as long as they do. We have been goal shy of late, but I'm obviously pleased that they went in today. League positions will keep chopping and changing to the end, it doesn't matter who you play, they are all difficult games. Last weekend, losing twice in three days was a moment when heads could have gone down. We kept telling the players to believe in themselves and I think you can see they did. Having said that, we still have another four games to go, so we have to keep going." [Source: Wrexham AFC]

 

John Schofield: "Obviously it's not the result we were looking for, for all our possession we didn't create a lot of chances. We got undone by three set-pieces: a long throw, a short throw, and a corner-kick, which is very disappointing. We organised before the game, but we didn't react to the set-pieces. When the ball did go into the box, there was no real desire to get on the end of it. As a team, we weren't good enough, defending set-pieces is a team game. We've got to go forward and get behind teams, but fair play to Wrexham, they kept their shape well."  [Source: Lincolnshire Echo]

Lincoln City

Starting XI:

01 Alan Marriott
12 Nicky Eaden
02 Lee Beevers 46'
03 Paul Mayo
06 Paul Green
14 Ryan Amoo
11 Scott Kerr
17 Peter Homes 46'
24 Jeff Hughes
09 Mark Stallard
22 Jamie Forrester 76'

Subs:

05 Paul Morgan 46'
08 Dany N'Guessan 46'
10 Junior Mendes 76'
20 Owain Warlow
21 Robert Olejnik (GK)

Stats:

Shots on Goal: 7
Shots on Target: 1
Shots off Target: 6
Possession: 50%
Fouls Conceded: 12
Corners: 6
Yellow Cards: 3
Red Cards: 0

Wrexham

Starting XI:

33 Anthony Williams
14 Simon Spender
04 Shaun Pejic
05 Steve Evans
03 Ryan Valentine
11 Chris Llewellyn
08 Danny Williams 81'
32 Jeff Whitley
20 Matty Done 82'
18 Michael Proctor 86'
09 Lee McEvilly

Subs:

13 Michael Jones (GK)
15 Mike Williams 82'
16 Levi Mackin 81'
17 Josh Johnson 86'
21 Marc Williams

Stats:

Shots on Goal: 13
Shots on Target: 7
Shots off Target: 6
Possession: 50%
Fouls Conceded: 17
Corners: 6
Yellow Cards: 2
Red Cards: 0

Match Notes

Venue Sincil Bank
Attendance 4,279
Half Time Lincoln City 0 Wrexham 2
Referee Tony Bates (Staffordshire)

Match Timeline

18' Simon Spender (Wrexham)
29' Scott Kerr (Lincoln City)
43' Scott Kerr  (Lincoln City)
52' Lee McEvilly (Wrexham)
54' Jeff Hughes (Lincoln City)
65' Danny Williams (Wrexham)
71' Michael Proctor (Wrexham)
74' Paul Mayo (Lincoln City)

Other Match Reports

Wrexham Dragons: Final Whistle Podcast


BBC: Lincoln 0-3 Wrexham


Lincoln City FC: Lincoln City 0 Wrexham 3


TEAMtalk: Dragons stun high-flying Imps


Wales on Sunday: 'Stoke fire in Dragon bellies'


Wrexham AFC: Lincoln 0 Wrexham 3 (Ft)


Wrexham MAD: Lincoln City 0 Wrexham 3

League 2 Results

Accrington Stanley 4 Grimsby 1
Barnet 1 Bristol Rovers 1
Bury 0 Swindon 1
Hereford 3 Boston United 0
Lincoln City 0 Wrexham 3
Macclesfield 2 Stockport 0
Mansfield 1 Rochdale 2
Milton Keynes Dons 1 Darlington 0
Notts County 1 Walsall 2
Torquay 1 Peterborough 1
Wycombe 0 Hartlepool 0
Chester 0 Shrewsbury 0 (Sunday)

League 2 Table

   
PLD
GD
PTS
1 Hartlepool (Promoted) 43 28 87
2 Walsall (Promoted) 43 32 85
3 Swindon (Play Offs) 43 19 81
4 Milton Keynes Dons (P/Offs) 43 13 75
5 Lincoln City 43 9 69
6 Stockport 43 7 67
7 Shrewsbury 42 21 64
8 Wycombe 43 9 62
9 Bristol Rovers 42 4 62
10 Peterborough 43 6 60
11 Notts County 43 3 60
12 Rochdale 43 13 59
13 Darlington 43 -1 59
14 Barnet 43 -10 56
15 Hereford 43 -4 54
16 Grimsby 43 -21 54
17 Chester 43 -5 52
18 Mansfield 43 -4 50
19 Accrington Stanley 43 -9 47
20 Macclesfield 42 -15 47
21 Bury 43 -16 45
22 Wrexham 42 -25 42
23 Boston United 43 -28 42
24 Torquay (Relegated) 43 -26 33

Next Game

Torquay United (h), Coca Cola League 2

Saturday 21 April 2007, Kick Off @ 15:00