Wrexham v

Chester City

Sunday 18 February 2006

 

Kick Off @ 12:00



The Match

It goes without saying that a derby game is always a must win one but it is getting to the point that we have to start winning soon in order to climb out of the relegation zone. Both teams are in complete contrast to last season when Chester arrived at the Racecourse bottom of the table but, for the first time in a long while, the boot is firmly on the other foot.

Chester still managed to pull away from trouble but this is a big week for Wrexham with the home derbies against Chester and Shrewsbury coming either side of the crucial six pointer at Grimsby on Tuesday night.

The Blues

Mark WrightChester arrive into the game on the back of a 1-0 win over Accrington - their first in 3 games - but they have not played for over a fortnight after their home match against Hereford last weekend fell victim to the weather.

 

This has left Chester in 12th place with a return of 41 points from 30 games but 10 points adrift of a play off position before this weekend's games.

 

Chester's away record is better than their home form and they are currently ranked 7th overall on away performances with 6 wins from 15 games. Chester are unbeaten on their travels since the end of November and since then they have recorded wins at Peterborough, Notts County, Grimsby and Accrington in their last outing plus a draw at Bristol Rovers.

 

Chester's two top goal scorers are no longer at the club with former Wrexham striker Jon Walters (10 goals) departing to Ipswich and Greg Blundell (9) moving to Doncaster on the last day of the transfer window.

 

Manager Mark Wright, who is now in his second spell in charge of Chester, has brought in fresh faces during the transfer window with Alex Meechan joining on loan from Forest Green but Carlisle have knocked back Wright's attempts to sign striker Derek Homes on loan until the end of the season.

 

The other noticeable departure in the transfer window was Stephen Vaughan, son of Chester's Chairman, with the utility player moving to Boston following a loan spell at Rochdale earlier on last month.

Past Encounters

Last 5 Meetings

Aug 06: Chester 1 Wrexham 2
Apr 06: Chester 2 Wrexham 1
Mar 06: Wrexham 2 Chester 1
Dec 04: Chester 1 Wrexham 2
Dec 97: Chester 0 Wrexham 2

Chester have to go back twenty years for their last win at the Racecourse when they won 2-1 in a third round FA Cup tie in January 1987.

 

There has only been two games played at Wrexham since then with nine men Chester securing a 2-2 draw in February 1995 and Wrexham winning last season's encounter 2-1 courtesy of goals from Danny Williams and Mark Jones.

 

Mark Jones was on target in the original game at Chester back in August when he scored in the second half after Neil Roberts opened the scoring from the spot for a 2-1 win. Both teams finished the game with ten men after Ravehill was sent off midway through the first half for Chester and Steve Evans joined him late on for a second bookable offence.

 

Wrexham lead the head-to-head in the league with 29 wins to Chester's 26 and their have been 18 draws in the 73 games played.

League Form Guide

Team Last 5 Games League Position Form Position Last Win
Wrexham DDLLL 23rd 24th 10 games
Chester WLDDW 12th 16th Last game

Team News

Wrexham Team News: Mark Jones joins the suspended Ryan Valentine on the sidelines after picking his fifth booking of the season at Posh last weekend but Chris Llewellyn is back following his one game ban. The paperwork for Charlton striker Mike Carvill has been sorted but midfielder Jeff Whitley will have to wait for the Grimsby game on Tuesday for his first game. Shaun Pejic and Lee Roche are still ruled out with hamstring and groin injuries respectively and Matt Crowell will be out for a while after having surgery on a knee injury. Levi Mackin is also suspended after picking up a red card for the reserves.

Chester Team News:
Chester are likely to have Everton youngster Alan Kearney on the bench but Jamie Hand starts a two-match ban. Central defender Ashley Westwood is still on the sidelines with a hamstring injury and midfielder Laurence Wilson (ankle) is also struggling.

Other Games

League 2 Fixtures:

Friday:
Walsall v Lincoln City

Saturday:
Accrington Stanley v Stockport
Boston United v Shrewsbury
Bristol Rovers v MK Dons
Bury v Wycombe
Hereford v Barnet
Macclesfield v Peterborough
Mansfield v Grimsby
Notts County v Rochdale
Swindon v Darlington
Torquay v Hartlepool

Sunday:
Wrexham v Chester

All teams get a head start on Wrexham with bottom placed Torquay facing a difficult task at home to Hartlepool - the league's form team with 13 wins out of the last 15 games.

Macclesfield are one place above us in the table and they will fancy their chances at home to Peterborough who won their first game in two months against us last week.

Boston occupy the fourth from bottom spot and they are are also at home to Shrewsbury and fifth bottom Accrington play Stockport on home soil as well.

Grimsby, with two wins on the bounce, are starting to put daylight between them and the other teams down the bottom and the Mariners travel to Mansfield who are not yet out of danger in 16th position.

Venue Guide

Address: Racecourse Ground, Mold Road, Wrexham, LL11 2AH

Telephone Number: 01978 262129

Fax Number: 01978 357821

Web Site: www.wrexhamafc.co.uk

Chester Websites

How to get there?

By Car: Head down the A483 and leave at the junction with the A541 and take the first left at the roundabout and straight over the next roundabout and the ground is ahead of you on your left.

By Train: Wrexham General is next to the ground and there is a service every two hours between Chester and Shrewsbury. There is also an hourly service between Wrexham and Liverpool. Click here for the Rail Track Online Timetable or call national enquiries on 08457 484950.

When you are there
Car Parking: NEWI College just before the ground and a local car park just before the Shell Garage on the opposite side of the road and both cost around £2.00. Free parking is available on the retail parks by turning left at the second roundabout but do not park in ALDI or you will get clamped! Avoid B&Q as they have a maximum stay of two hours and issue parking tickets for £125 and the new Central Retail park just passed the train station operates a time restriction policy.

Beer and Grub: Expect the police to have closed many of these outlets before kick off. The Turf is right next to the Kop but it gets very busy in the hour leading up to kick off, so arrive early. The Official Supporters Club has use of the Centenary Club on matchdays and this is located behind the Sainsburys Stand with the entrance off the club car park. The Plas Coch Retail Park has a pub and is normally a favourite for away supporters. The Railway is located down the side road along the Remploy factory at the opposite end of Crispin Lane to the ground. There are plenty of pubs in the town centre and the closet to the ground is a Wetherspoons Pub by following Mold Road into the town centre and is found on your left hand side. If you continue into the town centre McDonalds will be on your left and the next pub you reach is The Horse and Jockey and opposite that under the archway is a good chip shop. There are more pubs on High Street and to find them continue pass the Horse and Jockey, passing Burger King on your left, and High Street is the junction with Burtons.

Cash Machines: The Shell Garage on Mold Road with further machines at Sainsburys and Boots on the Plas Coch Retail Park. If you are heading into the town centre you will pass a number of banks on your way to the pubs.

How much to get in?

This match is all ticket and none can be purchased on the day of the game.

Disabled Facilities

Wrexham have 45 disabled places available at the front of the Pryce Griffiths Stand. There are 22 parking spaces and two disabled toilets with dedicated refreshment kiosks. Admission is £10 for the disabled supporter (£5 concessions) with the helper admitted free. Please contact Tony Millington at The Racecourse on 01978 262129.

Weather Forecast

Cloudy with temperatures reaching 8 degrees Celsius and a 7 mph south easterly wind.