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Match Report |
Wrexham grabbed a vital three
points at rivals Chester with goals in either half from Paul Hall and
Michael Proctor securing a welcome three points.
The quality of these two strikes from Wrexham was the difference between
the two sides as Chester enjoyed more of the ball and missed enough
chances to have won the game twice over.
It was no surprise either that Gavin Ward was Wrexham’s man of the match
as the keeper, who only joined Wrexham from Chester in January,
frustrated his former employers from start to finish.
Phil Bolland, who joined at the same time as Ward from Chester, was
outstanding in the Wrexham defence and along with Mike Williams were the
other contenders for the man of the match award.
The three points for Wrexham was not enough to see us climb off the foot
of the table but the gap to Macclesfield and safety has now narrowed to
three points, but Wrexham still have three games in hand whilst we are
only one pint behind second bottom Mansfield with a game in hand over
the Stags.
Wrexham were dealt a blow before kick off after influential Danny Sonner
failed to come through a fitness test and there was one change to the
starting lineup with Paul Hall replacing Silvio Spann as Wrexham
continued with their 3-4-3 system.
Gavin Ward was called into action as early as the first minute when
Richard Hope was too slow to react to a through ball and this allowed
Chris Holroyd to fire a low shot to the far post that Ward did well to
turn behind for a corner.
This was the first of fourteen corners forced by Chester – compared to a
solitary one from Wrexham – and the Wrexham defence struggled to defend
the quality balls into the six yard box as Chester forced two more
before referee Andy D’Urso came to Wrexham’s rescue after spotting a
foul.
Wrexham struggled to create any chances from open play and had to wait
until the eighteen minutes for our first real shot on goal when Michael
Proctor’s low free kick forced Jon Danby into making a save at his near
post.
Chester were rather fortunate to be awarded another corner midway
through the first half but their luck ran out when the referee spotted
the slightest of knocks on Gavin Ward as he palmed Kevin Ellison’s cross
into his own net.
This proved to be a double whammy for Chester as Gavin Ward punted the
resulting free kick forward for Drewe Broughton to flick into the path
of Paul Hall who turned and fired the ball in past Danby from the edge
of the area – his first goal for Wrexham.
Wrexham could not really believe their luck and the goal did noticeably
zap the confidence out of the home side who last won on home soil on the
weekend before Christmas.
Both teams struggled to create any chances from open play as the game
drifted towards half time but Ellington did force another save out of
Ward as Hall went close to doubling our advantage with minutes of the
first half left.
Chester started strongly following the restart and Mark Hughes connected
well with a volley from the edge of the area but his effort was always
going wide of the near post.
Both teams exchanged shots at goal as Chester remained on stop and Ward
later denied Holroyd from close range, but only Ellington knows how he
failed to grab the equaliser on the hour mark.
The ball dropped to Ellington unmarked on the edge of the six yard box
and with only Ward to beat he fired the ball straight at the Wrexham
keeper who somehow managed to turn the ball over the bar.
A Chester goal looked odds on but when they did find the back of the
net, the lineman flagged for offside when Holroyd tapped in from close
range.
And just like the first half, Wrexham attacked immediately at the other
end of the pitch to grab a goal that virtually ended the game as a
contest.
Drewe Broughton missed a long throw from Carl Tremarco and Michael
Proctor was the first player to react inside of the area when he turned
to volley in an unstoppable shot past Danby.
The goal came completely against the run of play but it was the perfect
tonic for a Wrexham side that were conceding too many chances at the
back.
The game just died out after this with Chester making two substitutes
and Brian little using all his three to replace Hall, Broughton and
Proctor with Nicolson, Duffy and Aiston respectively.
Chester had opportunities to reduce the deficit but Bolland did well to
head clear from underneath his bar and Ward again denied Ellington with
ten minutes left as he turned his shot around the post for another
Chester corner.
Wrexham played out the remainder of the game, including five minutes of
injury time, without any further scares to secure the three points but
our performance will have to improve at Wycombe as a better quality team
will not let us off the hook like Chester did. |
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Match Reaction |
| Brian Little: "We rode our luck at times and
made more mistakes that I cared for, but we also showed a tremendous
battling spirit that made sure we came out of this game with the three
points. We didn't play overly well and were our own worst enemies,
making little mistakes in areas where should have been tighter. The
result is fantastic, because by not playing on Saturday, you know the
position from the day before, which puts a different slant on the game.
That can mean more pressure to win or as yesterday, when most of our
rivals didn't get a result, then you have an opportunity to get back at
them. It's another step in the right direction, we are now down to one
point off the team above us, but we still have a lot of catching up to
do. The result today was all important and if there was a difference
between the two sides, then it was that our two finishes were better
than theirs. But I have to say I don't think we didn't play very well
and I'm relieved at the result." [Source:
Wrexham FC - click here for more]
Simon Davies:
“It was annoying, both goals
came straight after we had put the ball into their net, but we have to
defend better in situations like that. We had some strong words with the
players at half-time, and they came out more positively in the second
half. We will now assess the situation and prepare for the midweek game
against Bradford City." [Source:
Daily Post] |
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