Wrexham 3-1 Barnet

WREXHAM loan signing Robbie Foy sealed a welcome triumph for the Dragons with a sweetly-struck 25-yard strike.

Foy's effort ended Barnet's hopes of a comeback after the Bees had reduced a two-goal Dragons' cushion created by first-half strikes from Mark Jones and Paul Warhurst.

Bees boss Paul Fairclough reflected that Foy's strike was worthy of winning any contest and Wrexham counterpart Denis Smith drew a similar conclusion.

"Robbie did well and I was pleased with his general performance - his work rate, touches and movement were excellent," said Smith.

"We have seen him score goals like that in training and we were just waiting for him to do it in a game. Now he's done it once hopefully he can go on and do it again."

Smith was forced into some extensive rejigging before kick-off after Lee McEvilly (ankle) was ruled out and defender Dave Bayliss began a three-match suspension following his sending off in Saturday's 2-2 draw with Bury.

The double blow further depleted a Wrexham squad already ravaged by injuries and bans and brought to eight the number of missing Dragons for the visit of Conference champions Barnet.

But while Smith was forced to call up three youth team players to his substitutes' bench - Matty Done, Mark Harris and Jamie Reed - Fairclough was able to name a team unchanged from the one beaten at home by Grimsby two days earlier.

Despite their problems, Jones' strike got Wrexham off to a flier, the midfielder tapping into an empty net on 32 seconds after latching onto the rebound from Jon Walters' parried shot.

But it was an advantage Wrexham looked like conceding almost immediately with the Dragons thwarting Anthony Charles in their own box.

Determined not to be undone by the early setback, Barnet continued to drive forward and Wrexham goalkeeper Michael Ingham had to hold on to Giuliano Grazioli's shot on the turn before Simon King fired over.

Wrexham began to find their feet and both Jones and Foy were given a clear sight of goal in quick succession, but neither the midfielder nor the forward were able to test Barnet stopper Scott Tynan.

The Dragons were now matching the visitors for attacking endeavour and both Walters and defender Alex Smith went close before Grazioli fired wide on 24 minutes for Barnet.

Moments later Grazioli, operating as a lone forward, was again involved, this time firing straight at Ingham. Then Darren Ferguson thought he had broken clear for the Dragons, only to get the ball trapped under his feet.

With Smith's team now dominating, midfielder Danny Williams saw a header from a corner flash over after Walters and Ferguson had just failed to connect with Foy's cross.

So it was no surprise when Warhurst put the Dragons two up, firing home after 32 minutes when Foy's effort had been blocked following a Ferguson corner.

But in the half's closing stages, and totally against the run of play, Barnet were given a lifeline when right-back Ian Hendon converted a spot kick after Dennis Lawrence was nutmegged by Dean Sinclair before hauling down the midfielder.

Foy, though, was to settle the contest on 59 minutes after combining with Jones, with Sinclair and Richard Graham sending shots close to Ingham's goal.

The Dragons visibly dropped a gear after restoring their two-goal advantage, but on one of the few occasions they were tested Lawrence was lucky to see the ball fly straight into Ingham's arms and not into his own net after intercepting a cross from the left.