|
Match Report |
A Lee McEvilly goal just before the half
hour mark ended
Wrexham’s seven hour goal drought but the points were thrown away with
goals conceded at the end of each half to leave Wrexham back in the
League Two relegation zone.
Wrexham enjoyed the better chances in the first half with Mark Jones
instrumental in the play throughout but it was a poor back pass that allowed Lee
McEvilly to score Wrexham’s first goal since Simon Spender found the
back of the net at Darlington last month.
Tiredness set in towards the end of each half as Bolland was left
unmarked to head in the equaliser in the last minute of the first half
and the winning goal, this time three minutes into second half injury time,
left Wrexham leaving Blundell Park empty handed after Toner converted
with virtually the last kick of the match.
There was another change in formation for Wrexham and four changes to
the starting line up with Ryan Valentine and Mark Jones returning from
suspension, Lee Roche available after passing a late fitness test and a
debut for Mike Carvill.
Wrexham reverted back to the custom flat back four and the return of
Roche and Valentine meant there was no place for Spender and Mike
Williams in the starting eleven although then latter did make the bench.
It was a complete change ahead of them with Danny Williams and Robbie
Garrett in the centre of the park with Chris Llewellyn out on the left,
Mike Carvill on the right and Mark Jones playing behind Lee McEvilly who
was alone up front.
There was an early chance for Wrexham with Lee McEvilly flicking on
Valentine’s ball forward and Mark Jones fired over with a shot on the
outside of his right foot.
The game was still in the opening minutes when Wrexham put Grimsby under
further pressure when Barnes' kick struck Jones but the home
defence recovered to clear away the danger.
The Wrexham midfield were then caught up field with five minutes gone
and this allowed Bolland to progress unchecked to the edge of the
Wrexham area but Steve Evans managed to clear the danger.
Wrexham then had the best opportunity of the game so far when a long
diagonal ball from Evans picked pout Mike Carvill but after
showing good skill in controlling the ball, the former Charlton striker
saw his lob over Barnes bounce narrowly wide of the target.
Despite this energetic start, both goal keepers remained untested but
with twenty minutes gone more slack play from Wrexham almost led to
their undoing but the men in red managed to clear at the expense of the
game’s first corner that was emphatically cleared by Steve Evans.
Soon after Wrexham forced their first corner of the game when Mark Jones
picked out Chris Llewellyn with a quality run and pass but Llewellyn’s
cross from the left deflected behind with Barnes punching clear the set
play.
There was more danger for Wrexham when Grimsby broke down the wing
and the ball was delivered to the unmarked Paterson on the edge of the
six yard box but he got his header horribly wrong.
But with the game approaching the half hour mark, Lee McEvilly ended
Wrexham’s goal drought but he did require three bites at the cherry to
do so after racing through onto a poor back pass.
McEvilly saw his first effort blocked by Barnes and then his rebound
struck the post before McEvilly made sure with his third attempt from
close range for the opening goal of the game.
Wrexham were down to ten men for a while when Steve Evans went off
following a cut above the eye but during this spell Mark Jones ended up
in the book for a foul but when Jones himself was hacked down by Paterson,
the Grimsby player escaped the same fate with Valentine firing the resulting free kick wide
from thirty yards out.
Steve Evans eventually returned to the pitch in the blood shirt as
Grimsby made a surprise change with six minutes left when Gary Jones
replaced James Hunt to play up front alongside Paterson.
Just as Wrexham looked to be seeing out the remainder of the half they
conceded a frustrating equaliser just before half time when one of the
smallest players in the Grimsby line up, Paul Bolland, was allowed a
free header from a corner and he looped the ball above Ruddy from twelve
yards out.
Wrexham started the brighter of the two teams following the restart with
Mark Jones again the creative player for Wrexham but it was Grimsby who
had the first shot on target after Toner exchanged passes with Paterson
but Ruddy pulled off a good save.
Wrexham’s best chance of the second half came when Danny Williams played
in Chris Llewellyn but
Wrexham’s top scorer, who was having another quiet game out on the left, put his shot wide of the near post.
There was more inconsistency from referee Woolmer as Roche ended up in
the book for a foul on Paterson but Steele somehow escaped a caution for
the home side after he hacked down Jones from behind.
Wrexham had a fortunate escape when Valentine’s attempted clearance
rebounded off one of his own players and straight to Paterson but he
fired straight at Ruddy in the Wrexham goal.
Paterson should have put the home side ahead after he dispossessed Steve
Evans to break away to the area but the Grimsby striker fired narrowly
wide after cutting inside the last defender.
Steve
Evans had another escape as Paterson again got the better of him
but this time Gareth Evans managed to scramble the ball behind for a
corner. Wrexham failed to deal with the ball in and this resulted in a
melee at the back post but the defence held strong as the game remained
level in what was an entertaining start to the second half.
There were more nervous moments in the Wrexham defence but this time it
was of our own making when Ruddy dropped a whipped in cross from goal
scorer Bolland but the Wrexham keeper managed to recover and claim the
ball at the second attempt.
It was a case of butter fingers again for Ruddy as he dropped another
catch when a high lofted ball was delivered to the back post but the
Wrexham defence were alert to clear the danger amid appeals for a
penalty from the home support.
Chris Llewellyn then picked up a needless booking for volleying the ball
away after it was returned at him from the stands.
Wrexham had another lucky escape as the game approached the final ten
minutes when the lively Paterson found himself free inside of the area
but he lost his footing when about to shoot and this slip allowed the
defence to recover.
Lee McEvilly’s then made his final contribution to the game before being replaced by Cherno Samba
by collecting Wrexham’s fourth booking of the night after colliding
with Tom Newey.
Mark Jones was brought down outside the area but yet again the Grimsby
player escaped without a booking and the resulting free kick was laid
off by Llewellyn to Jones but his shot deflected behind off the wall.
Wrexham kept the tempo up for the final ten minutes with the fresh legs
of Samba at least keeping the Grimsby defence and just when Wrexham
looked like holding out for a valuable point, a winner was conceded in
the third and final minute of injury time when a header from Gary Jones
picked out Ciaran Toner who made no mistake from close range to send
Wrexham back into the bottom two. |
|
Match Reaction |
|
Brian Carey: "It was a similar finish to the Stockport
game and like then it's very hard to accept. I feel gutted at the moment,
but I know we have to take it on the chin and get ourselves up for Sunday's
match against Shrewsbury Town. We can at least point to a number of chances
we have created throughout the game. I went to watch Grimsby on Saturday and
we realised that we had to stop them playing, which I felt we did for much
of the first half. We set out our stall to stop them, but in the end it has
not worked. It was a cruel blow to concede so close to half time, but we
must do better. I have no complaints about the players and their attitude,
as they have performed well. We worked at it over the last few days in
training and the players took that on board, but we have switched off at
vital moments and it has cost us dear. Grimsby have been down here
themselves, but have shown with a run of four wins that confidence can come
back quickly to a team. We are certainly not getting the rub of the green,
but it is still up to us to turn things round and we can't afford to feel
sorry for ourselves." [Source: Wrexham FC] |
|
|
Other Match Reports |
|
Wrexham Dragons: Final Whistle
Podcast
BBC:
Grimsby 2-1 Wrexham
Grimsby Town FC: Town Snatch It At The Death
TEAMtalk:
Wrexham FC:
Grimsby Town 2 Wrexham 1
Wrexham MAD: Grimsby Town 2 Wrexham 1 |
|
League 2 Results |
|
Barnet 1
Swindon 0
Darlington 2 Accrington Stanley 1
Grimsby 2 Wrexham 1
Hartlepool 3 Macclesfield 2
Lincoln City 1 Hereford 4
Milton Keynes Dons 1 Mansfield 1
Peterborough 1 Boston United 1
Rochdale 2 Torquay 0
Shrewsbury 2 Notts County 0
Stockport 1 Walsall 1
Chester v Bury (Wednesday) |
|
League 2 Table |
|
|
|
PLD
|
GD
|
PTS
|
|
1 |
Hartlepool |
34 |
19 |
67 |
|
2 |
Walsall |
34 |
24 |
64 |
|
3 |
Lincoln City |
34 |
15 |
62 |
|
4 |
Swindon |
33 |
16 |
61 |
|
5 |
Milton Keynes Dons |
33 |
13 |
60 |
|
6 |
Stockport |
34 |
13 |
59 |
|
7 |
Wycombe |
33 |
12 |
54 |
| 8 |
Darlington |
34 |
2 |
49 |
| 9 |
Hereford |
33 |
-1 |
47 |
| 10 |
Notts County |
34 |
2 |
46 |
| 11 |
Shrewsbury |
30 |
16 |
44 |
| 12 |
Bristol Rovers |
32 |
-1 |
44 |
| 13 |
Peterborough |
34 |
-5 |
43 |
| 14 |
Chester |
31 |
1 |
42 |
| 15 |
Barnet |
33 |
-9 |
42 |
| 16 |
Grimsby |
34 |
-18 |
41 |
| 17 |
Mansfield |
33 |
-1 |
39 |
| 18 |
Rochdale |
32 |
6 |
38 |
| 19 |
Bury |
32 |
-8 |
37 |
| 20 |
Accrington Stanley |
33 |
-10 |
33 |
| 21 |
Macclesfield |
33 |
-12 |
33 |
| 22 |
Boston United |
34 |
-25 |
32 |
|
23 |
Wrexham |
33 |
-24 |
31 |
|
24 |
Torquay |
34 |
-25 |
25 |
|
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Next Game |
|
Shrewsbury
Town (h),
Coca Cola League 2
Sunday 25
February 2007, Kick Off @ 12:00 |
|
77'
39'
39'
77'