Torquay Utd 1-0 Wrexham

FORMER Wrexham keeper Kevin Dearden stood between his old side and a priceless result in a rearranged match at a chilly Plainmoor last night.

Torquay scored from their only shot on target, where 44-year-old Dearden denied Wrexham again and again as they slumped to their fourth successive league defeat.

Wrexham boss Denis Smith gave a first league start to Spanish striker Juan Ugarte with Hector Sam dropping to the bench.

Torquay were unchanged from the team that won at Port Vale on Saturday.

The home side made the early chances and, after three minutes, Martin Gritton sliced a shot wide from a good position on the edge of the Wrexham box.

Gritton turned provider after 12 minutes to set up a shot for Leon Constantine, but he missed the target with Wrexham's defenders nowhere near.

In the 15th minute Chris Llewellyn finished a neat move through the Wrexham midfield with a powerful shot from the edge of the box, but Dearden flung himself to his left to tip it behind for a corner.

Ugarte and Chris Armstrong began to cause problems for the home defence and it was Ugarte who brought another good save from the home keeper with a 25th-minute volley.

However a minute later it was Torquay who took the lead when Alex Russell put Tony Bedeau in with just the keeper to beat and Bedeau side-footed the ball into the corner of the net.

Gritton missed another great chance after 32 minutes as Wrexham struggled to get back into the game, but Armstrong kept the 48 travelling fans warmed with a header just off target from a Shaun Pejic cross.

Less than a minute of the second half had gone before Ugarte forced another great save from Dearden, this time making space for himself in the area and shooting low to the keeper's left, only for Dearden to palm it away.

Steve Roberts lasted only until the 47th minute before being replaced by Craig Morgan, whose first action was another long-range shot which Dearden did well to hold.

Armstrong missed a great chance in the 63rd minute when Ugarte found him with a cross from the right, but he couldn't connect properly with the volley.

However the visitors didn't have it all their own way, and Constantine dragged a shot across the face of Matt Baker's goal in the 69th minute.

Dearden denied the impressive Ugarte with his legs, but at the other end Torquay sub Adebayo Akinfenwa hit the post in the 71st minute, again running through on a Russell pass although this time there was more than a hint of offside.

Wrexham made a double substitution in the 73rd minute, with Sam replacing Armstrong and Matt Crowell replacing Marc Jones.

After 84 minutes Sam forced yet another great save from the Torquay keeper with a shot on the turn which was pushed away for a corner.

Wrexham continued to press forward until the final whistle but could not break through a solid home defence and could not beat the mighty Dearden.