Blankety blank

by David Lovett

14/10/02

ONE point is no substitute for three. That stuck in a few gullets after Wrexham failed to beat lowly Leyton Orient whose away form is the worst in the Nationwide League.

I seriously doubt whether they'll ever get rolling like the Orient Express, but the Eastenders shunted Wrexham off the rails on Saturday.

Nil-nil, however, was just about right. Wrexham failed to score in a third division match for the first time this season. Orient failed to get their first away win because of Wrexham's man of the match - goalkeeper Andy Dibble.

The big south-Walian deservedly got Wrexham's man of the match award, but frankly he had nothing to beat. Wrexham were very poor. Orient, apart from the splendidly-named Jamal Campbell-Ryse, were about as inviting as a slow boat to China.

And yet the blankety-blank scoreline never really looked likely after only two minutes. Barely 60 seconds had gone when Dibble bravely went down at the size 12s of big Lee Thorpe as he thundered through. Then, at the other end, keeper Glen Morris sprinted out to meet Andy Morrell to first head the ball away before indulging in a spot of footy on the deck. Aye-aye, could be goals galore here. Fat chance.

Wrexham were forced to make changes at right and left-back and manager Denis Smith also made a change up front. Carlos Edwards began a three-match ban and Shaun Holmes is in Spain on European Championship qualifying duty with Northern Ireland. Don't mention that, though, to Mr Smith.

He wasn't told of Holmes' call-up until he'd actually gone and he is not amused.

An on-off loan deal did not happen so Jim Whitley was pulled out of midfield to fill in at right-back for Edwards and Paul Edwards, still not 100 percent fit, came in at left-back for Holmes. Smith also recalled striker Lee Jones for his first senior game since August 13, leaving out Hector Sam. Wrexham undoubtedly missed the pace and directness of Carlos Edwards and ironically they also missed the midfield guile of Whitley due to his emergency role. The nippy Jones made a bright start and his quick off the mark bursts gave Wrexham something to aim for.

It was Jones' pace and cross that so nearly gave the stretching Andy Morrell a 10th minute chance and Jonah, played in by Whitley, forced Morris into the first save of the game three minutes later.

The Whitley-Jones combination caused more havoc soon after and goal-hungry Morrell also went desperately close midway through the half. Darren Ferguson fed Jones whose cross had Morrell and Dean Smith rushing in for the same ball and it ended trickling just past the far post.

Campbell-Ryse, meanwhile, was coming to the boil. He forced Dibble into a save and Wrexham's keeper also did well as the dreadlocked Carl Hutchings played in C-R seconds later. But it was largely a laboured first-half and little wonder someone shouted: 'C'mon, Wrexham. Wake up!' It was the perfect cure for insomniacs.

Stephen Thomas hit a free-kick just before half-time that came off the defensive wall for a corner, but there was still no sign of a goal by half-time.

Jones went close two minutes into the second-half but Wrexham's passing was still erratic and there were sights and sounds of restlessness in the crowd. Edwards made a crucial tackle on Campbell-Ryse as Orient suddenly began to believe they could win.

Dibble had to beat away Kevin Nugent's header and then Thomas made way for Lee Trundle with 25 minutes left. Trundle, as always, had a go and suddenly he looked to be the spark Wrexham needed. Ten minutes later Smith pulled off Jones, who looked as if he had little left in the tank, and threw on Sam.

Dibble kept Wrexham afloat with another vital save from Thorpe and then Sam had two glorious chances to show Smith he'd made a mistake in leaving him out. The first came courtesy of a dreadful mistake by Justin Miller that left Sam with a clear run at goal. He did everything right, rounding Morris but shot into the side-netting. Sam also got clean through again seconds after but was funnelled off course by a robust challenge by Smith.

Wrexham tried to raise their game in the last 10 minutes as the ever-improving Shaun Pejic forced Morris into a save before youngster Mark Evans came on for Edwards. Evans came on at right-back with Whitley moving across for Edwards as the game moved into its last few minutes.

In the three minutes added-on, Orient forced three quick corners as Wrexham fan streamed for the exits. They'd seen enough. Hadn't we all.