Hereford United 2

Gary Hooper 42' Theo Robinson 60'

Wrexham 0

 

Tuesday 22 April 2008

 

Kick Off @ 19:45

Wrexham
Starting XI:
12 Gavin Ward
04 Shaun Pejic
05 Steve Evans
15 Mike Williams
25 Neil Taylor
32 Wes Baynes 70'
18 Levi Mackin
22 Connall Murtagh 63'
20 Matty Done
09 Neil Roberts
21 Marc Williams 69'
Substitutes:
08 Danny Williams 63'
10 Michael Proctor 69'
13 Michael Jones (GK)
24 Gareth Evans
35 Robbie Garrett 70'
Stats:
9 Shots on Goal
6 Shots on Target
3 Shots off Target
57% Possession
12 Fouls Conceded
6 Corners
2 Yellow Cards
0 Red Cards

Hereford United
Starting XI:
01 Wayne Brown
02 Trent McClenahan
28 Dean Beckwith
06 Karl Broadhurst
04 Richard Rose
25 Sammy Igoe
08 Ben Smith
20 Toumani Diagouraga
11 Clint Easton
29 Gary Hooper
22 Theo Robinson
Substitutes:
10 Kris Taylor
12 Trevor Benjamin
18 Lee Collins
23 Simon Johnson
33 Ryan Esson (GK)
Stats:
7 Shots on Goal
3 Shots on Target
4 Shots off Target
43% Possession
18 Fouls Conceded
8 Corners
0 Yellow Cards
0 Red Cards

Match Notes
Venue: Edgar Street
Attendance: 3,739
Half Time: Hereford 0 Wrexham 0
Referee: Keith Stroud

Match Incidents
42' Gary Hooper (Hereford)
44' Connall Murtagh (Wrexham)
60' Theo Robinson  (Hereford)
82' Danny WIlliams (Wrexham)

Match Reports

WSA: Final Whistle Podcast

BBC: Wrexham go out of Football League

Daily Post: End of an era for Wrexham

Evening Leader: Hereford United 2 - 0 Wrexham

Hereford United FC: Bulls overcome Wrexham to stay on course for automatic promotion.

TEAMtalk: Defeat by Bulls relegates Dragons

Wales on Sunday: Sad Wrexham crash out of League after 87 years

Wrexham FC: Hereford United 2 Wrexham 0 (Ft)

Wrexham MAD: Hereford United 2 Wrexham 0

League Two Results
Hereford 2 Wrexham 0

League Two Table
    PLD GD PTS
1 MK Dons (P) 44 44 93
2 Peterborough (P) 44 40 89
3 Hereford 44 26 82
4 Rochdale 44 23 78
5 Stockport 43 18 78
6 Darlington 44 26 75
7 Wycombe 44 14 75
8 Chesterfield 44 21 68
9 Bradford 44 4 62
10 Morecambe 44 -3 59
11 Brentford 44 -14 59
12 Rotherham 44 2 58
13 Barnet 44 -7 57
14 Bury 44 -5 55
15 Grimsby 44 -6 55
16 Lincoln City 44 -15 55
17 Shrewsbury 44 -9 48
18 Accrington 44 -34 48
19 Macclesfield 44 -18 46
20 Chester 43 -17 44
21 Notts County 44 -17 44
22 Dag & Red 44 -24 43
23 Mansfield 44 -17 42
24 Wrexham (R) 44 -32 37

Last Two Games

Sat 26 Apr: Accrington (h)

Sat 03 May: Lincoln (a)

Match Report
Wrexham’s 87 year reign as a Football League club ended without a fight at Edgar Street as Hereford cruised to a 2-0 victory to send Wrexham down to the Blue Square Premier.

True, the damage had long been done but could the near travelling 500 support at least be given some effort from the men on the pitch as well as the people controlling affairs from the sidelines?

The answer to both is yes but the youthful looking Wrexham side had no answer after Hereford opened the scoring with three minutes of the first half left when Gary Hooper took advantage of more questionable defending.

The one glimmer of hope came on the hour mark when Marc Williams had a shot saved by Wayne Brown but moments later the home side were at the other end of the field with Theo Robinson putting the final nail in our Football League coffin.

Brian Little made the one change from the weekend with Andy Flemming’s place in midfield taken by Conall Murtagh with Robbie Garrett making the subs bench.

With both sides requiring the three points for contrasting reasons, it was a lively start and Matty Done should have done better after skipping past three Hereford defenders before hitting a weak shot straight at Brown.

Hereford had a better chance minutes later when Theo Robinson sprung the offside trap and the Wrexham fans behind Ward’s goal went silent as the Bulls striker failed to hit the target.

With thirty minutes gone, Hereford began to control the game and over ran our youthful midfield but Neil Roberts almost opened the scoring in a rare attack when he failed to convert a deep cross from Neil Taylor at the far post.

With Wrexham conceding possession at every opportunity, it was no surprise that the opening goal for the home side came when Murtagh needlessly give the ball away.

Hereford quickly turned defence into attack with a high ball that Robinson flicked on for Cooper to chase and he twist and turned Mike Williams enough to create the space to fire a low shot past Ward from inside of the area.

The goal more or less summed our season up as we turned attack into defence and there was a sinking feeling on the away end as the ball struck the back of the net only three minutes before the half time break.

With Wrexham needing to win the game it was rather surprising that Danny Williams remained on the bench as Hereford almost doubled their advantage at the start of the second half when Robinson struck the foot of the near post after the Wrexham defence stood off and invited a shot on goal.

Our one glimmer of hope came when Marc Williams was picked out by Neil Roberts on the edge of the Hereford area and his shot was well blocked by Brown after he had skipped past two defenders.

But this hope was short lived as Hereford broke quickly at the other end and Theo Robinson just ran past a static defence to meet Hooper’s flick on and steer the ball past the exposed Ward.

Danny Williams was introduced within minutes of Hereford’s second goal but the game was now up for Wrexham as we hardly threatened in the final third of the game.

Michael Proctor and Robbie Garrett replaced Marc Williams and Wes Baynes respectively with twenty minutes left but it was Hereford who looked like the team who were going to get the next goal.

Hereford’s best move of the game should have resulted in a third when they completely cut open the Wrexham defence down the left and Pejic somehow managed to turn the low cross behind for a corner when an own goal looked odds on.

There was one final chance for Wrexham when Michael Proctor found space in the box but he should have done better than fire at Brown, although the Hereford keeper made sure he pulled off what looked like an acrobatic save for the cameras.

The final whistle was greeted with mixed emotions from the travelling fans that will have to get used to similar Edgar Street surroundings next season but let’s hope a lot of this season’s squad of players will not be wearing the red of Wrexham if we are to stand any chance of bouncing straight back up.

Match Reaction
Brian Little: “My role now is to be really ruthless because we have a team that has lost too many games. There is a nucleus of players who have become used to losing, so there is a big job ahead. It’s going to be hard but when everything has settled down and we know what money is available, we have to get the best players we can and produce a side that can win games. I’m gutted for the fans who have had a rough ride over the past couple of years. I have been to a lot of supporters’ meetings and they’re aware of what needs to be done.” [Source: Wrexham FC]