By Mark Currie, Daily Post
02/12/02
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Wrexham 0-0 Hull WREXHAM dropped home points and also slipped two places in the third division to seventh, but even the perfectionist in manager Denis Smith didn't complain. Smith said "I can't complain. I can't fault the lads. They did everything bar score, but it was a good overall performance and it was a good entertaining game." Wrexham had the better chances to have won, but the Tigers had a star man in goal-keeper Paul Musselwhite. He fumbled the ball on times, but Musselwhite more than made up for that with match winning saves in both halves. The best of those in the first half was a flying, one-handed save that kept out Jim Whitley's goal-bound header. Musselwhite also made quickfire second-half stops from top scorer Andy Morrell and then another point-blank block from Lee Trundle. Wrexham stand in keeper Paul Whitfield also played his part with a spectacular save to deny Steve Melton. But the Red Dragons bellowed more fire than the Tigers and for long periods they were caged in their own half. Skipper Darren Ferguson kept the lamp burning in midfield, but every time Wrexham turned up the wick, Musselwhite snuffed out the flame. Whitley also worked hard and the twin threat of Morrell and Trundle also posed problems. Ironically, however, those two created Wrexham's real genuine chance just before the end but failed to make it count. Clever control by Trundle gave him space and time to play in Morrell, but he lost his footing on a saturated surface just as he was shaping up to shoot. Wrexham lost centre-back Brian Carey with an achilles injury early in the second half as he was replaced by Wales Under-21 international Shaun Pejic and as time ticked on Smith made two other late changes. The unpredictable Hector Sam came on for tearaway Trundle and, with barely a minute left of normal time, Lee Jones was thrown on for midfielder Paul Barrett. That gave Jones next to no time to get into the game and Wrexham are still struggling to make the Racecourse home sweet home. They've won only one of their last five league games in their own backyard and, as good as this performance was, squandering points at home could prove so costly in the final reckoning. Smith no intends making full use of a blank week with Wrexham being out of the FA Cup. They next play a week tomorrow in the LDV Vans Trophy in a Northern quarter-final at Carlisle, which will be the first of two trips to Cumbria in five days. |
IT'S
rare that Wrexham are involved in a 0-0 draw at the Race-course yet leave the
field to prolonged applause from their often fickle supporters, but there were
few complaints from the sidelines following a cracking contest on Saturday.
Visitors Hull City will not often find themselves under the sort of pressure they managed to withstand on an afternoon when the only element missing from a fire-breathing Dragons performance was an element of good fortune.
Denis Smith's side battered their opponents for long spells, a corner count of 13-0 in their favour illustrating the point, but City's determined display, allied to some fine saves from goalkeeper Paul Musselwhite, meant that visiting manager Peter Taylor was more than happy with his players.
"We showed a lot of character and we've got to do that a lot more. When you go away you have to have the right attitude, you have to be together and you need to be solid. I thought we did that today," he reflected.
So one-sided was the game that Hull were restricted to very few chances but the former England boss said his sole intention from the start had been to frustrate Wrexham.
"It didn't concern me that we only had two chances because that was the game-plan," he added. "We knew we had to defend and we had to stop the strength of Wrexham but we knew we were going to get chances. We know where we went wrong on the chances but they were two very good ones."
And Taylor revealed that he had done his homework on Wrexham, particularly regarding strikers Lee Trundle and Andy Morrell.
"Morrell and Trundle are a lethal partnership and our players should be delighted they kept a clean sheet," he said.
"I knew before the game that Wrexham have had the most shots in all the divisions so it shows you just what a good attacking side they are. We didn't want Darren Ferguson to get too much room with his passing ability so we decided to put Stuart Green on him and he did an excellent job. That's not his strength but he didn't have to tackle, he merely had to stand there."
"We knew we were going to be under pressure at certain times but if our passing had been a touch better in the second half we might have scored as well. Overall for me it's a fair result. We were away from home and we dug in there.
"I think both teams will be up there at the end of the season, certainly Wrexham, and we showed today we can match them. So we can take a lot out of the game."
From the home side's point of view, they probably won't play as well on other occasions yet will take three points instead of the one which has resulted in them losing yet more ground on the third division front-runners. But it certainly wasn't for the want of trying on an afternoon when the conditions conspired to thwart their best endeavours.
Incessant drizzle from the start made the surface slippery and the players on both sides took time to adjust to a skidding ball. But it was the home team who settled quicker, Morrell bringing the first of Musselwhite's saves after 10 minutes with a low shot.
However, the first really good opportunity fell to the visitors three minutes later when an off-balance Steve Roberts failed to deal adequately with a long punt forward and Steve Melton took advantage of a slip by the covering Dan Bennett to move on and drill the ball narrowly wide of Paul Whitfield's goal.
Thereafter, though, it was pretty much one-way traffic into the Hull half of the field and Morrell was again denied by Musselwhite after good work by Trundle to create the space.
Defender John Anderson made a timely intervention to deflect Brian Carey's effort for a corner and, remaining in the City penalty area, the Wrexham defender then saw another header glance behind off an upright.
The home side were relentless in their quest to break the deadlock, prompted by the guile of Ferguson and the foraging on both flanks of Paul and Carlos Edwards. Trundle went close and Jim Whitley's looping header forced Musselwhite into acrobatic action again before the half-time whistle brought some respite for the visitors.
Two minutes after the restart, the Hull keeper more than earned his money with three fine saves in quick succession, twice blocking shots from Morrell before beating away a vicious effort from Trundle at the foot of a post and it needed a superb tackle by Anderson to lift the ball off Ferguson's toe just as he threatened to pull the trigger.
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Dragons draw must-win encounter WREXHAM had to settle for a point from a game they desperately needed to win. But manager Denis Smith can take satisfaction from the fact that his side did just about everything bar beat Hull, who are also well fancied to get out of the third division this season. City's star man was goalkeeper Paul Musselwhite who made several match-winning saves as Wrexham ran up a corner count of 14-0 yet somehow just couldn't get one elusive goal. Wrexham skipper Darren Ferguson was involved in most of the early action. It was his free kick that so nearly got top scorer Andy Morrell into a scoring position in the fifth minute. Minutes later Ferguson was booked for a late tackle on Stuart Green before Morrell brought the first save of the game out of the competent Musselwhite. But the prowling Tigers should have made Wrexham pay for two mistakes in the 13th minute. Steve Roberts's wayward header let in Steve Melton and then Dan Bennett slipped on the greasy surface as he tried to tackle him before Melton screwed a good chance wide. Another mistake, this time by Hull's John Anderson, gave Paul Edwards a clear run on goal and he took it before passing inside to Jim Whitley, but he dragged his shot wide. There were signs of Wrexham beginning to turn the screw and clever play by Lee Trundle then came close to prising open Hull's defence for Morrell again, but Musselwhite dashed out to claim the ball. Wrexham kept the pressure on and following a cross by Trundle, Brian Carey headed against the outside of a post and for a while the Tigers were caged in their own half, conceding six corners in just under half an hour. Musselwhite made a vital one-handed save to keep out Whitley's flying header but Wrexham just couldn't convert pressure into an all-important goal. Wrexham kept plugging away, driving forward forcing City to defend and the visitors always had a competent last line of defence in their goalkeeper. But at half time it was still 0-0 with everything to play for after the break. The marauding Morrell wasted no time after the restart, forcing Musselwhite into a quickfire double save. Hull's goal-keeper also did well to keep out a block-buster from Trundle from yet another corner before Wrexham missed a gilt-edged chance. Trundle spun away from a defender and set up Ferguson but he was dispossessed just as he was about to shoot. Referee George Bain then angered Wrexham fans for not booking Justin Whittle after he had taken Trundle out from behind. Only a superb one-handed save by Wrexham's stand-in goalkeeper, Paul Whitfield, then denied Melton from giving the Tigers the lead on the hour as the game came to the boil. Hull were clearly prepared to go at Wrexham and, as time ticked on, the first breakthrough began to look all the more important. Wrexham relentlessly poured forward as Hull kept conceding corner after corner but it just would not go in for the Red Dragons. Livewire Trundle almost got Morrell in for what would have been the winner but Wrexham's leading scorer lost his footing at the crucial last moment. Wrexham's disappointment at not winning was there for all to see but manager Denis Smith was full of praise for his players at the end after a competitive match. The point keeps Wrexham in the promotion pack but, as Smith rightly says, there's still a long way to go yet. |
With the corner count mounting, there was a growing sense of frustration around the stadium and Wrexham were nearly caught napping by a swift counter-attack that left Melton with only Whitfield to beat.
But the young goalkeeper was equal to the challenge, making a smart reaction save to his left.
It was something of a rare excursion into the Wrexham half of the field, although there were signs that Hull's confidence was improving, but the majority of meaningful chances continued to come at the opposite end.
Paul Edwards dribbled his way into an inviting position but, inexplicably, chose to pass instead of going it alone, Shaun Pejic headed an inviting cross too high and when Trundle's quick thinking gave Morrell an opening, the striker lost his footing at the vital moment.
With the clock ticking down, Race-course boss Smith sent on strikers Hector Sam and Lee Jones in a bid to win the game but the best opportunity of a frantic final few minutes fell to Whitley, not the most prolific of goalscorers, and his tame effort gave the Hull keeper his easiest save of a busy afternoon.
Referee George Cain, whose eighth-minute booking of Ferguson triggered a one-match ban for the Wrexham captain, made one or two dubious decisions during the game but, overall, it was his laissez-faire approach that encouraged both sides to keep the action flowing in what were not the best of conditions and made a huge contribution to an exciting and entertaining afternoon.
