By Mark Currie, Daily Post
05 December 2007
WREXHAM
climbed out of the relegation zone for the first time this season following only
their second away win of the campaign last night.
And it was nothing less than the Dragons deserved after outplaying opponents
Bury in front of their own fans to give manager Brian Little his first victory
after replacing Brian Carey three weeks ago.
Since then Wrexham have been unbeaten and they proved once again at Gigg Lane
that the experienced boss has already made great strides in improving his side’s
defensive capabilities to such an extent that keeper Anthony Williams was not
called upon to make a save worthy of the name.
In addition to the two flagged-up changes that saw Ryan Valentine and Eifion
Williams return to the Dragons line-up there was an unexpected start for Robbie
Garrett in midfield at the expense of Sam Aiston, who has gone down with the bug
that also ruled out Matty Done.
But the home side, whose fourth win in five at the weekend earned them a place
in the third round of the FA Cup, could not have anticipated Wrexham’s bright
start.
And they were grateful to some solid defensive blocking as both Wes Baynes and
Neil Roberts tried their luck from the edge of the penalty area.
Growing into the midfield role he has been handed under the new manager, Roberts
was at the heart of things for the Dragons as they drove forward with far more
purpose than had been the case at Rochdale at the weekend.
His tackling and link-up play was effective and he played his part in a slick
set-piece routine from which Baynes saw another on-target shot deflected behind.
Forward Michael Proctor, who was a lone striker at Spotland, certainly looked a
more lively proposition with Williams sharing the workload and Bury defenders
Ben Futcher and Paul Morgan had their work cut out to contain the pair in an
encouraging 20 minutes for the Dragons.
But they could not afford to be complacent and to emphasise the point, the home
side carved out two great chances within the space of a minute, both of which
were squandered by skipper Paul Scott who twice headed straight at keeper
Williams.
And the Wrexham stopper then played his part in a bizarre opening goal for the
visitors on 31 minutes.
His long kick down field looked to be covered by former Hartlepool keeper Jim
Provett, but the Bury man was deceived by the bounce and Williams capitalised on
his old team-mate’s error to plant a header into the empty net.
It proved a bitter-sweet moment for the striker, whose celebrations at his first
goal for the Dragons were cut short by the apparent hamstring injury he suffered
in scoring, and he limped off the field to be replaced by Marc Williams.
Bury – with Andy Parrish and David Buchanan urging them forward, tried to inject
more pace into their game – but their efforts were stifled by the hard-working
opposition, who diligently chased everything and gave no one time to settle on
the ball.
And Proctor went close to doubling Wrexham’s lead in the 49th minute, taking
advantage of another sloppy defensive error to bring a fine save from Provett,
who could only hold the striker’s shot at the second attempt.
Referee Scott Mathieson, who sent off two Dragons players in the Racecourse
clash between the two sides last season, was jeered even by home fans when he
booked Marc Williams for an illegal, but innocuous challenge on Morgan.
But it failed to subdue the young striker, who set up Garrett for a shot which
was turned behind by Colin Woodthorpe and the Dragons seemingly content to
defend their advantage and counter when possible.
Bury boss Chris Casper sent on striker Liam Hughes for defender Steve Haslam
just after the hour, switching from 3-5-2 to increase the options up front.
And as Wrexham were forced to concede territory Baynes made a strong enough
challenge to put off Andy Bishop, who would otherwise had a free header at the
far post, before raiding down the right to lift the pressure.
The teenager, who has been a revelation since his promotion from the youth team,
then picked out an unmarked Marc Williams, who had a great chance to put the
outcome beyond doubt, but he directed his downward header too close to Provett.
The home side’s response was to introduce another striker, Andy Mangan in place
of 38-year-old Woodthorpe, but their efforts to get back on terms became
increasingly frantic and disjointed as Wrexham’s defence held firm.