| The defeat at Macclesfield last weekend was a
bitter pill to swallow but home has not been sweet so far for us and we
face another difficult task against the inform Barnet.
The Bees are unbeaten in their last eight games but the
surprising 1-1 home draw to bottom placed Mansfield last weekend ended
a run of four straight victories.
This has left Barnet occupying the final play off spot
with a return of nineteen points from their opening eleven games and
manager Paul Fairclough has attributed his sides recent good from partly
down to a change in approach to matchday discipline.
The club received an FA fine for their disciplinary
record last season and now only one nominated player can approach the
referee during the game - a move instigated by the players and is one step ahead of the FA who are
introducing a similar approach further down the football pyramid.
Fairclough, who guided the club back into the league
as Conference Champions in 2005, has had to rebuild his side after
thirteen players departed in the summer.
Nine players arrived as replacements with the majority
of them having something in common - young, hungry and from non league
with Fairclough hoping that their desire to prove themselves in the
Football League will be beneficial to the north London club.
But Fairclough has saved his main praise for former
Dons player Jason Puncheon who is in his second season with Barnet and
the the 21 year-old midfielder has already scored six times so far this
season.
Not surprisingly, he is top scorer for the Bees but is closely followed by former Arsenal trainee striker
Mark Birchall who is one behind with five.
Barnet are still having problems with their local
authority surrounding planning permission to redevelop their Underhill
Stadium.
The Bees may be forced to leave their home town as the
ground currently does not meet Football League minimum standards and
they have until the end of the season to rectify this.
Recent Encounters:
Our 2-1 win at Underhill was crucial in our relegation
survival and marked Brian Carey's first win in charge of Wrexham.
The now departed Lee McEvilly got both goals in the
second half after the Bees had held the half time lead courtesy of a
Oliver Allen strike.
The original match at the Racecourse ended in a draw
when a first half goal from Mark Jones was cancelled out by Tressor
Kandol in the second half.
Our last defeat to Barnet was back in 1993 but there
has only been ten games between the sides in the league with us winning five of these
compared to Barnet's three and the other two games ended in draws.
Team News:
Wrexham will be without Robbie Garrett after the on
loan Stoke midfielder received two yellow cards in the defeat to Macclesfield
last weekend and therefore serves a one game ban.
Danny Williams has been ruled out with his recent back
injury that forced him out of the same game but fellow defender Steve Evans is available
after international duty with Wales.
Winger Matty Done, who missed the Macclesfield game
with an ankle knock, has been back in training this week and has been
declared fit to play btr Ryan Valentine remains out with a groin strain
despite returning to training this week.
Manager Brian Carey has admitted that is squad is
currently not good enough and announced on Monday that moves will be
made to strengthen his squad but no player has arrived in time for this
weekend's game.
Barnet's on-loan Charlton midfielder Josh Wright is
back after missing two games playing for England U-19s.
Midfielder Neal Bishop and defender Joe Devera should start after
shaking off hamstring and foot problems.
Elsewhere in League Two:
The MK Dons have set the early pace in League Two and
currently hold a three point lead over second placed Darlington but the
Dons face a difficult task when they travel to fourth placed Hereford in
the League Two match of the day.
Meanwhile, Darlington travel to Bradford who have made a poor
start campaign and currently reside once place and point above us in the
table.
Mansfield continue to occupy bottom spot and play host
to local rivals and managerless Notts County whilst second bottom Lincoln, who
also parted company
with manager John Schofield last Monday, entertain Peterborough
United who are up to sixth position. |
