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Match Report |
Wrexham’s quest for football league
safety will go to the final game of the season following the 1-0 defeat
at title chasing Walsall.
The only goal of the game came midway through the second half when
Walsall broke away down their right with Ishmel Demontagnac smashing
into the net after Anthony Williams denied Mark Wright with a good save.
Wrexham lacked any cutting edge throughout the game and we only looked
like scoring from set plays or long throws but when the chances did
come, we failed to test Walsall keeper Clayton Ince.
Wrexham named an unchanged side from the team that defeated Shrewsbury
in midweek but both sides took a while to get settled as chances were
rare in the opening fifteen minutes of the game.
The first chance fell to Wrexham from a Simon Spender long throw down
the right. Lee McEvilly managed to flick the ball on and Neil Roberts
was unlucky when his quick shot was deflected over for a corner.
From this, Llewellyn delivered the ball deep and the Walsall defence
were only able to clear to the edge of the area and Steve Evans went
close with a powerful shot that just cleared the cross bar.
The closest title chasing Walsall had come to scoring were from two long
range efforts but these failed to trouble Anthony Williams as both shots
cleared the cross bar.
Ishmel Demontagnac was the main outlet for Walsall with his pace down
the left but Simon Spender managed to keep him in check for the majority of
the game.
Demontagnac did escape the presence of Spender once in the first half but his cross was cut out
by Steve Evans at the expense of a corner. Mark Wright delivered the ball to
the far post and Trevor Benjamin headed wide after escaping the presence
of Danny Williams.
The last chance of the half came Wrexham’s way when Chris Llewellyn did
well to dispossess Tony Bedeau but his cross to the far post was headed
wide by Lee McEvilly.
Both sides did not make any changes during the half time break but Walsall
made an early substitution when Toney Bedeau was replaced by Craig Pead
six minutes into the second half.
By this point, McEvilly had his shot blocked by his own player as
Proctor got in the way but it was Walsall who put together the first
real move following the restart when Ishmel Demontagnac picked out
Martin Butler with a good ball and he laid off only for Mark Wright to
fire over the bar.
With 10 man Torquay still winning at Boston, disaster struck when
Walsall broke quickly down the right t score the opening goal just after
the hour mark.
Lee McEvilly was crowded out on the edge of the Walsall area as he
attempted to burst through three players and Walsall worked the ball
away through Mark Wright. Mark
Wright was played in down the right channel and he got past Steve Evans
far too easily but Anthony Williams did well to palm his shot away only
for Ishmel Demontagnac to arrive unmarked to smash the lose ball into
the net from twelve yards out.
The goal knocked the confidence out of Wrexham and Walsall should have
extended their lead further before the game ran out.
Former Wrexham striker Hector Sam replaced Trevor Benjamin soon after
the goal and it was Sam who should have put the game beyond Wrexham but
he headed wide after been left unmarked from a corner.
Matty Done was also on for Lee McEvilly by this point and this meant
Chris Llewellyn switched to the right flank for Michael Proctor to
partner Neil Roberts up front.
Done did find some space down the left but the Walsall defence were well
organised and repelled the attacks with the only real shot turning out
to be a comfortable save for Clayton Ince.
Clayton Ince only had one further job to do when he punched clear a
corner and Hector Sam should have put the game beyond Wrexham
with five minutes left.
Martin Butler sent Sam clean through on goal but Sam’s attempted dink
over Anthony Williams went horribly wrong with the ball going harmlessly
wide of the target.
With Boston equalising against Torquay, Wrexham just have to avoid
defeat against the Pilgrims next week to secure league safety. |
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Match Reaction |
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Brian Carey: "We never seem to be able to anything the
easy do we! Given the fixture next week, it was probably predicable that it
would go down to the wire. That's fate I suppose, but we will have a good
week's training and see if we can wrap things up next Saturday instead. We
have done great over the last few weeks and the lads are a little
disappointed that we haven't managed to do today what we had aimed for. They
can take heart from their performance though. We have been up beat all along
and I'm not going to change at this stage."
[Source:
Wrexham FC - click here for more]
Richard Money: "I thought the first half was scrappy.
We made a few changes to the side with an eye towards next season and looked
nervy and edgy. That said, we came out for the second half and played well;
we moved the ball a lot quicker against opposition who were well-organised
and difficult to break down and eventually got our reward. I've been saying
all year that I wanted us to go to Swindon on the last day still in with a
chance of winning the Title and now it is in our own hands."
[Source:
Walsall FC - click here for more] |
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Wrexham |
|
Starting XI:
| 33 |
Anthony Williams |
| 14 |
Simon Spender |
| 04 |
Shaun Pejic |
| 05 |
Steve Evans |
| 03 |
Ryan Valentine |
| 18 |
Michael Prcotor |
| 08 |
Danny Williams |
| 32 |
Jeff Whitley |
| 11 |
Chris Llewellyn |
| 23 |
Neil Roberts
90' |
| 09 |
Lee McEvilly
68' |
Subs:
| 10 |
Michael Carvill
68' |
| 13 |
Michael Jones (GK) |
| 15 |
Mike Williams |
| 20 |
Matty Done
90' |
| 26 |
Robbie Garrett |
Stats:
| Shots on Goal: |
12 |
| Shots on Target: |
3 |
| Shots off Target: |
9 |
| Possession: |
55% |
| Fouls Conceded: |
15 |
| Corners: |
3 |
| Yellow Cards: |
0 |
| Red Cards: |
0 |
|
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Match Notes |
| Venue |
Bescot Stadium |
| Attendance |
7,057 |
| Half Time |
Walsall 0 Wrexham 0 |
| Referee |
Clive Penton |
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Match Timeline |
|
 |
61' |
Ishmel Demontagnac
(Walsall) |
|
|
70'
70'