Wrexham |
Starting XI: |
12 |
Gareth Ward |
28 |
Phil Bolland |
05 |
Steve Evans |
06 |
Richard Hope |
02 |
Simon Spender |
34 |
Danny Sonner |
07 |
Mark Jones
72' |
09 |
Neil Roberts |
03 |
Ryan Valentine |
33 |
Paul Hall |
21 |
Marc Williams
81' |
Substitutes: |
01 |
Anthony Williams (GK) |
04 |
Shaun Pejic |
10 |
Michael Proctor |
19 |
Andrew Flemming
72' |
20 |
Matty Done
81' |
Stats: |
9 |
Shots on Goal |
5 |
Shots on Target |
4 |
Shots off Target |
54% |
Possession |
13 |
Fouls Conceded |
5 |
Corners |
0 |
Yellow Cards |
0 |
Red Cards |
|
Grimsby Town |
Starting XI: |
01 |
Phillip Barnes |
25 |
Robert Atkinson |
06 |
Nick Fenton
81' |
03 |
Tom Newey |
14 |
Sam Hird
46' |
17 |
Nick Hegarty |
08 |
Paul Bolland |
04 |
James Hunt
|
02 |
Jamie Clarke
61' |
19 |
Gary Jones |
09 |
Danny North
|
Substitutes: |
07 |
Peter Till
46' |
10 |
Ciaran Toner
61' |
13 |
Gary Montgomery (GK) |
15 |
Justin Whittle
81' |
20 |
Andy Taylor |
Stats: |
14 |
Shots on Goal |
8 |
Shots on Target |
6 |
Shots off Target |
46% |
Possession |
9 |
Fouls Conceded |
12 |
Corners |
1 |
Yellow Cards |
0 |
Red Cards |
|
Match Notes |
Venue: |
Blundell Park |
Attendance: |
4,084 |
Half Time: |
Grimsby 0 Wrexham 0 |
Referee: |
Graham Salisbury |
|
Match Incidents |
42' |
|
James Hunt (Grimsby) |
68' |
|
Danny North (Grimsby) |
|
Match Reports |
WSA: Final Whistle
Podcast
BBC:
Grimsby 1-0 Wrexham
Grimsby Town FC: Northy Slays The Dragons
TEAMtalk: Mariners down lowly Dragons
Wales
on Sunday: Dragons heading towards the abyss
Wrexham FC: Grimsby Town 1 Wrexham 0
Wrexham MAD: Grimsby Town 1 Wrexham 0 |
League Two Results |
Bradford 3 Notts County 0
Brentford 2 Chesterfield 1
Chester 0 Mansfield 1
Darlington 3 Bury 0
Grimsby 1 Wrexham 0
Lincoln City 1 Rotherham 3
Milton Keynes Dons 0 Barnet 1
Morecambe 1 Dag & Red 0
Peterborough 0 Macclesfield 1
Stockport 2 Accrington Stanley 0
Wycombe 0 Rochdale 1
Hereford v Shrewsbury (Sunday) |
League Two Table |
1 |
MK Dons |
26 |
27 |
57 |
2 |
Rotherham |
25 |
17 |
49 |
3 |
Hereford |
24 |
17 |
46 |
4 |
Darlington |
23 |
24 |
43 |
5 |
Chesterfield |
25 |
14 |
43 |
6 |
Peterborough |
25 |
13 |
43 |
7 |
Wycombe |
26 |
7 |
43 |
8 |
Morecambe |
25 |
6 |
42 |
9 |
Stockport |
26 |
3 |
39 |
10 |
Rochdale |
23 |
5 |
38 |
11 |
Chester |
25 |
2 |
36 |
12 |
Brentford |
26 |
-9 |
35 |
13 |
Shrewsbury |
25 |
2 |
34 |
14 |
Grimsby |
26 |
-7 |
33 |
15 |
Accrington Stanley |
26 |
-11 |
33 |
16 |
Barnet |
24 |
-5 |
32 |
17 |
Bradford |
24 |
-1 |
30 |
18 |
Macclesfield |
26 |
-13 |
26 |
19 |
Bury |
24 |
-7 |
24 |
20 |
Notts County |
25 |
-13 |
23 |
21 |
Lincoln City |
26 |
-17 |
22 |
22 |
Dag & Red |
25 |
-20 |
21 |
23 |
Mansfield |
24 |
-10 |
19 |
24 |
Wrexham |
24 |
-24 |
15 |
|
Next Five Games |
Sat 19 Jan: MK Dons (h) 15:00
Sat 26 Jan: Hereford (a) 15:00
Tue 29 Jan: Morecambe (a) 19:45
Sat 02 Feb: Darlington (h) 14:30
Sat 09 Feb: Peterborough (a) 15:00 |
|
Match Report |
Wrexham fell to an eighth successive defeat and
are now seven points adrift of safety at the bottom of League Two
following the one goal defeat at Grimsby.
It was a much improved performance from Wrexham and this was a game we
should have at least picked a point from but another mistake midway
through the second half gifted Grimsby all three points courtesy of a
goal from Danny North.
The first half performance saw Wrexham on top in terms of chances and
possession and it took a superb save from Barnes to deny debutant Paul
Hall early on as the experienced striker combined well with youngster
Marc Williams to trouble the Grimsby defence.
There were scares at the other end with Grimsby going close on a number
of occasions but it was a much more solid display from an organised
Wrexham defence and midfield.
Wrexham did tire off in the second half and you could sense the home
side coming back strong in the game but the manner of the goal was again
disappointing as Phil Bolland was caught ball watching as North went
onto notch his sixth of the season despite the best efforts of Steve
Evans on the goal line.
Brian Little gave league debuts to the four new signings this week with
Gareth Ward starting in goal and Phil Bolland formed a back three with
Steve Evans and Richard Hope who had recovered from his ankle injury.
Danny Sonner added the experience we required in midfield alongside Mark
Jones and Neil Roberts as Wrexham deployed five across the midfield with
Simon Spender and Ryan Valentine at wing backs.
Mark Jones did have the license to support the front two of Hall and
Williams but it was the home side who had the first chance of the game
when Gary Jones was left unmarked from a corner but he could only steer
his header wide of the target.
Wrexham responded in the twelfth minute and Paul Hall showed what we had
been missing up front as he turned and struck a fierce shot that was
destined for the top corner until Barnes somehow blocked his shot and it
was a Grimsby defender who reacted the quickest to clear the ball that
bounced back across the Grimsby goal.
Chances were few and far between in a tight opening to the game and it
took a header from Steve Evans to clear off his line in the twentieth
minute to keep the game goalless after Gavin Ward struggled with a cross
and Nick Hegarty looked certain to score until the intervention from
Evans.
Wrexham did up the pressure on the Grimsby defence around the half hour
mark and four good chances went begging as the frustrations began to
grow in the home stands.
A poor clearance from Barnes presented a good opportunity to Mark Jones
and his curling cross come shot to the back post just evaded the head of
Paul Hall.
Wrexham continued to press and Hall this timed turned provider when he
turned his marker inside out down the left and delivered a low cross to
the near post for striker partner Marc Williams to stab wide.
Marc Williams then returned the compliment moments later when he took
down a clearance in space on the half way line and delivered a
delightful through ball for Hall but the striker never looked composed
when running through and Atkinson managed to track his run to block his
shot away for a corner from inside of the area.
The corner caused more nervous moments in the Grimsby box when they
failed to clear the ball in from Mark Jones and this resulted in Marc
Williams having a shot cleared off the line and Richard Hope dragged the
rebound narrowly wide of the post.
This was a good spell of pressure from Wrexham and was the best football
we had played in a long time but it was Grimsby who almost went into
half time a goal to the good.
Steve Evans made a mess of his clearance with five minutes of the half
left and Jones could only divert the ball into the path of Paul Bolland
but his shot ricocheted off the bar and rebounded to safety.
It was no surprise that Grimsby made a change at half time when Sam Hird
was replaced by Peter Till and it was the home side that started the
second period the stronger of the two sides.
Grimsby did force a number of corners in the first half but Ward was
rarely troubled and chances were again at a premium in the second half
for both sides.
Gavin Ward showed all his experience when Peter North went through on
goal but the keeper just forced him wide by standing up to him and the
striker ran the ball out of play.
A delay in proceedings occurred on the hour mark when referee Graham
Salisbury limped off to be replaced by his assistant but Wrexham were
struggling to make any in roads in the second half.
The closest we came was in the sixty fifth minutes when Barnes had to
cut out a cross from Hall but Wrexham were undone by a simple long ball
from a free kick three minutes later as Grimsby grabbed the only goal of
the game.
Phil Bolland was caught ball watching as a routine free kick from the
Grimsby half was played forward and this allowed North to get a clear
run of goal.
Ward was quickly off his line but he was caught in no mans land as North
took advantage of the bouncing ball to lift it over the keeper and Steve
Evans was inches away of clearing the ball off the line but the linesman
was well positioned to flag for the goal.
There was more bad news for Wrexham three minutes later when Mark Jones
went down with a hamstring injury whilst chasing a Grimsby player and
was left in agony on the half way line as the home side broke up field.
It took a double save from Ward to prevent the home side from doubling
their advantage when he first denied Gary Jones with a low save and Ward
reacted quickly to block the rebound from North.
The break in play allowed Mark Jones to receive treatment and he left
the field on a stretcher to be replaced by youngster Andy Flemming who
was playing his first game under Brian Little.
There was a double substitution for Wrexham with ten minutes left with
Neil Roberts and Marc Williams were replaced by Michael Proctor and
Matty Done.
This forced a change in formation with Wrexham switching to 4-4-2 and
Steve Evans pushed up from the back with Paul Hall moving out to the
right wing.
Clear chances were again in short supply and apart from a positive run
from Matty Done, we never threatened the Grimsby back line.
Even with six minutes of injury time to be played, we never tested
Barnes in the Grimsby goal and when a late free kick missed the head of
Hope and drifted out the final whistle sounded soon after.
The players did look visibly dejected at the end, as it was game we
should have at least picked up a point from but the new signings have
added a noticeable shape to the team but it is points rather than
performances that will confirm our destiny come the end of the season. |
Match Reaction |
Brian Little: "It's so disappointing that we
still haven't come away with something, although it was a much better
performance. We have introduced a number of new lads and there was a
good spirit in the dressing room. We knew they'd try something different
in the second half, and at time to time they got the better of us. But
the display in the first half was more than competent. The early shot
from Paul [Hall] looked like it was going in and how the keeper managed
to keep it out I don't quite know. That would have made a difference for
us, we needed one of them to go in. The first half I was very pleased
and we have said in the dressing room that there is something to build
on, but still the points are the most important thing and we haven't got
any again. We are working hard and we are trying hard, and if we look at
the last four games then we have been going close. It's not easy for our
fans to swallow or me to take, but we will work again on things this
week like team formation and we will try to improve."
[Source:
Wrexham FC - click here for more] |
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