Wrexham 2, Peterborough United 0
15 December 2003
By Mark Currie, Daily Post
CAUGHT between a rock and a hard place, Peterborough United manager Barry Fry believed striker Leon McKenzie might have made the difference at a windswept Racecourse on Saturday.
Barry Fry |
We never looked like scoring from start to finish and we could have been here three days and not done so
|
Unfortunately for Wrexham's visitors, the London Road club's leading scorer had
joined First Division Norwich City the previous day in a deal that will
eventually be worth in excess of £600,000.
And after a defeat which pushed his side into the bottom four, Fry the owner -
he is now the majority shareholder of the club - may yet have cause to reflect
that an undoubtedly good business deal was not necessarily in the longer term
interests of Fry the manager.
"I don't think one player makes a team but he (McKenzie) certainly makes a
difference," he said.
"I can't remember a shot we had in the 94 minutes played and we didn't have an
effort on goal.
"We never looked like scoring from start to finish and we could have been here
three days and not done so."
Fry hinted that Norwich's down-payment would not be in the bank for long, and
forecast a busy week ahead as he seeks to replace McKenzie.
But as his Wrexham counterpart Denis Smith said last week, good strikers are
hard to come by. And they certainly don't come cheap.
Where the two managers were in agreement was over the paucity of the football on
offer during the opening 45 minutes in difficult, blustery conditions.
"It was a poor first half and I was hoping the second would be the same," said
Fry. "But Wrexham had to improve and they did."
Denis Smith |
I don't think what happened in the first half will ever replace football but the second half was a lot better
|
Smith summed it up thus: "I don't
think what happened in the first half will ever replace football but the second
half was a lot better."
Certainly the fans could have been forgiven for wondering whether they had made
the right call in giving Christmas shopping a miss, but at least they could
console themselves with the knowledge that they had avoided the crowds.
And if goalscoring chances were few and far between, there were enough errors
from both sets of players to keep their vocal chords busy.
Nevertheless goalkeepers Andy Dibble and Mark Tyler were not merely spectators,
the United man comfortably holding a fifth-minute effort from Lee Jones before
Wrexham's stopper went down at Richard Logan's feet soon afterwards when he
nipped in.
Longer-range efforts from Steve Thomson and Gareth Jelleyman also caused few
problems for Dibble and strikers Chris Llewellyn and Logan might have done
better with headers in the opposition penalty areas.
After an interval pep-talk later described by Smith as just short of blistering,
Wrexham had the opportunities to have sealed a much-needed home win within five
minutes of the restart.
With the wind at their backs the Dragons enjoyed a promising spell of pressure
which, for the first time, rattled their opponents' previously composed
defensive posture.
A partially-cleared Steve Thomas corner fell nicely for Paul Barrett 20 yards
out and his first-time volley was not that far over the crossbar. Then a superb
lay-off from the hard-working Llewellyn put Jones beyond his marker but he drove
his shot wide.
When Carlos Edwards and Jones again contrived an opening, Llewellyn's valiant
attempt to convert a diving header was in vain.
The increased tempo woke up the supporters and another slick passing movement
between Jones and Carlos Edwards seemed tailor-made for Barrett to break the
deadlock until David Farrell came to United's rescue with a last-ditch
intervention at the expense of a corner.
But a 67th minute free- kick finally unlocked the visitors' defence, Jim Whitley
floating the ball into a crowded penalty area where Brian Carey rose high-est to
send a looping header past Tyler.
MATCH STATS |
WREXHAM: Dibble; Pejic, Carey, Lawrence; C Edwards, Whitley, Thomas (Crowell 76), Barrett, P Edwards; L Jones (Sam 70) Llewellyn. Subs: Whitfield, M Jones, McNulty. |
PETERBOROUGH: Tyler; Gill, Burton, Arber, Jelleyman; Farrell (Rea 85) Newton, Woodhouse, Thomson; Logan (Legg 78), Clarke (Fotiadis 63). Subs: Kanu, Scott. BOOKINGS: Gill, Woodhouse, Jelleyman, Thomson. |
REFEREE: David Pugh (Merseyside) |
ATT: 3,033 |
United, who came to North Wales
boasting the best away record in the division, briefly threatened to step up a
gear and showed more ambition going forward, but a second Dragons goal within
eight minutes soon put a stop to that.
It was an all-Trinidad affair with Carlos Edwards looking up to spot Hector Sam,
a 70th-minute replacement for Jones, on the shoulder of the last defender.
He clipped the ball into space and Sam won the race, lifting it over the
advancing Tyler and into the empty net. It was no more than the home side
deserved for the improved second-half showing and they might well have
added to Peterborough's discomfort.
But Sam, whose capacity to delight is matched only by his ability to infuriate,
spoiled a superb solo run to the by-line by attempting to beat the United keeper
from an impossible angle instead of looking up to play in the unmarked
Llewellyn, who had run 20 yards for the opportunity to break his own long
drought.
The former Norwich City man is certainly some way from becoming a Race-course
idol but Smith, in common with several other observers, had no hesitation in
giving him star billing alongside Carey.
The Racecourse boss said: "Chris was outstanding and he could have done with a
goal. All Hector had to do was to roll the ball across, but at least he came on,
scored a goal and got behind them again for the second chance."
And Smith had no doubt his side deserved the three points on their second-half
performance.
"We turned them a bit more and we attacked them. With the chances we created I
was a bit frustrated that we didn't score more than we did.
"But the good thing was that we scored from a set-play and got the other by
getting in behind them. Keeping a clean sheet and winning the game makes it an
ideal day for me."