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Match Report |
Life under Brian Little started with an encouraging performance with
goals in either half from Michael Proctor enough to secure a well earned point against
rivals Chester at the Racecourse.
Wrexham trailed twice against City but Brian Little has at least
installed some resilience in the Wrexham side that would have
capitulated in previous weeks when falling behind in a game.
It took two quality finishes from Michael Proctor to secure the points
for a new look Wrexham team with Brian Little opting for experience
rather than the youth favoured by his predecessor, Brian Carey.
Brian Little did spring a surprise by handing a debut for Wes Baynes at
right wing back with Neil Taylor the only other Wrexham player under 21
on the opposite flank.
Elsewhere, experience was the key with Anthony Williams continuing in
goal with a back three of Steve Evans, Shaun Pejic and Richard Hope.
There was a surprise in midfield with Neil Roberts lining up alongside
Chris Llewellyn and recent signing, Sam Aiston, who made an impressive
debut whilst Eifion Williams and Michael Proctor played up front.
In what was an entertaining start to the game, debutant Wes Baynes had
to be alert to track the run of Kevin Ellison and make a blocking tackle
on the Chester winger as Chester had made good progress down their right
flank with the Wrexham players struggling to keep their footing on the
slippery pitch.
The best Wrexham could offer in the opening stages was through ball for
Michael Proctor that was cut out by John Danby in the Chester goal but
we did at least weather the early storm without any further threat on
our goal.
Wrexham were then thwarted by a controversial offside flag on Michael
Proctor as the onside Eifion Williams raced through on goal but his
strike was blocked by Danby, but play had already been halted as
Williams broke into the box.
The game was then disrupted by lengthy stoppages with Richard Hope
struggling with his boot and Chester’s Tony Dinning went down twice in
quick succession and was eventually replaced by Tony Grant.
Wrexham fell a sleep as the game restarted with a Chester throw from
down the left flank when Ellison flicked the ball into the path of the
unmarked Kevin Roberts who fired in a twenty yard half volley that
dipped over a stranded Anthony Williams and into the roof of the net.
The goal came completely out of the blue just before the half hour mark
with neither team enjoying any dominance on the game at this point and the best
Wrexham could muster in reply was a long range shot from Sam Aiston that curled
wide of the target.
Wrexham got lucky moments later when Paul Butler was presented a free
header from a Richie Partridge corner but Wes Baynes was well positioned
at the far post to head clear from the line.
But, as Chester had scored their opener out of the blue, Wrexham grabbed
the equaliser in similar fashion when a superb pass from Neil Roberts sent Michael
Proctor through on goal and the front man kept his composure in the box
to fire low past Danby into the far corner of the net.
Unfortunately, Eifion Williams did not have the same composure of
Proctor as the first half entered five minutes of stoppage time when he
was presented with a similar opportunity but he fired high and wide from
inside of the box.
This miss proved to be costly as Chester regained their advantage in the
last minute of stoppage time when Wrexham failed to defend properly from
a set piece.
The initial ball from a corner was only partially cleared but when
Partridge swung in the ball from the wing, Paul Linwood stole a march
on the defence at the back post and Anthony Williams only managed to tip
the ball in via the post.
This was cruel luck on Wrexham and there were no further changes during
half time but Wrexham made a positive start following the restart when
Steve Evans saw his header from Neil Taylor’s corner cleared from the
line.
Chester were then forced into the second substitution of the afternoon when
Nathan Lowdnes failed to recover from a hard, but fair, challenge from
Neil Taylor but a slip by Baines on the hour mark allowed Paul McManus,
who had replaced Lowndes, a clear passage on goal but he over ran the
ball into Anthony Williams who made a rather comfortable save.
Chester were now beginning to run the game through midfield and Brian
little responded with a tactical substitution as Wrexham reverted to
4-4-2 with Matty Done replacing Shaun Pejic with Sam Aiston moving out
to the right wing.
Chester were then forced to make their third substitution of the
afternoon when their first replacement, Tony Grant, was replaced by
Simon Yeo after collecting an injury himself.
Wrexham had appeals for a penalty turned down when Steve Evans had a
header from Taylor’s corner blocked but Wrexham did not have to wait
long for a well deserved equaliser that Michael Proctor converted with
16 minutes left on the clock.
Wes Baines did well to switch the ball out to Matty Done down the left
and the winger finally delivered a quality ball to Michael Proctor who buried his volley at the back post in clinical fashion.
Brian Little made two final substitutions as the game wore on with
Robbie Garrett replacing Neil Roberts in midfield and later Simon
Spender replaced Sam Aiston who had made a valuable contribution in
midfield on his Wrexham debut.
There was still time for Wes Baines to collect his first booking for a
foul but the game died out as both teams settled for a point in an
entertaining derby match at the Racecourse. |
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Match Reaction |
| Brian Little: "All I can say from my point of
view is that I have picked a team, sent them out there and told them to
work hard. I asked them to work at a particular system, but told them at
half-time that if the scoreline stayed the same, then I would be
changing the system and that I wanted everyone to tune in quickly. We
have worked hard on the training ground for nine days; we have had more
practice matches than we probably needed. There appeared to be a little
bit of tiredness in the lads. I am aware that generally the sort of work
that we are doing is done pre-season but we do have to do it. We have to
try and perfect out system. We have also got to be aware of the fact
that we will probably be doing more work on the training ground that
others probably are at this time of the year. I was pleased with the
player's commitment, they got tired towards the end which was
understandable but ultimately they have worked hard and tried their best
to do things properly for the team. It was encouraging, from my point of
view I probably expected that, and I'd like to think that there are one
or two more things that we can improve on. I'll learn a lot of things
from people everyday. I seen a lot on the training ground, people have
impressed me on the training ground, hence the team selection, and I've
just been told outside that there were seven changes from the last team
and I honestly didn't know that. I knew it was young Wes' (Baynes) first
game and I am really pleased for him. Some of the players I had not
seen, indeed until Thursday we had seven players away on international
duty who might have been in the squad today but I just hadn't had chance
to see them. Young Neil (Taylor) at left-back, we needed a quick
left-back because of the threat of Ritchie Partridge. Irrespective of
whether I had seen him or not, I had to play him."
[Source:
Wrexham FC - click here for more] |
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