Thanks again to Rory Sheehan who will be providing match reports and feature articles
Barrow 1 Wrexham 1
Wrexham broke Barrow hearts on Boxing Day at Holker Street with a last-gasp goal securing a point that, in the end, failed to satisfy either side. It was a chance for ex-Wrexham defender Dave Bayliss to put one over his old club, in his role as joint-player/manager of the Bluebirds and his well-drilled side nearly did so.
The only change to Wrexham’s line-up was Nathan Fairhurst coming in for the absent Angelos Tsiaklis. Dean Saunders shuffled the pack on the bench with a welcome return for Simon Spender after a long-term injury, and loan signing from Liverpool, Scottish midfielder Ryan Flynn, finally fit for the squad.
Not fazed by the bumper crowd or the bobbly condition of the pitch Wrexham got to grips with the game straight away. Within the first 5 minutes Marc Williams had two golden opportunities to beat Barrow goalkeeper Alan Martin. The first was saved by Martin and the second lifted over him when Marc should really have scored.
Wrexham enjoyed the lion’s share of the possession and created plenty of openings while the part-timers looked to hit them on the break through the excellent Carlos Logan. He even had a penalty appeal turned down as he appeared to have his shirt grabbed by Sam Williamson.
On the half-hour Barrow were gifted the lead when a poor kick from Gavin Ward put pressure on the defence, letting Jason Walker through to fire home and make it 1-0. Wrexham looked to hit back before half-time through Fleming and Louis but Barrow dealt well with the pressure up to the interval.
Wrexham began the second-half as brightly as they had the first and it seemed only a matter of time before they equalised and went on to win the game. Barrow were resolute though and kept out the likes of Louis, Marc Williams and Jonathon Brown through good defending by Martin and Steve McNulty while Paul Brown carried the ball forward to give them some respite.
Saunders introduced Spender for Neil Taylor, and Ryan Flynn making his debut in place of Nathan Woolfe. Just minutes later Flynn spurned the opportunity to become an instant hero when he fired wide of an open goal after a Marc Williams shot was cleared off the line.
Barrow, through Walker and David Brown looked capable of extending their lead in their forays forward but generally Wrexham kept the ball and created chance after chance. Patrick Suffo replaced Fairhurst as Saunders looked to find that cutting edge to break Barrow’s resolve.
Unfortunately time was against Wrexham, with every player camped in the Barrow half, the home side repelled everything into injury time whilst bringing on subs’ to run the clock down – 3 minutes of injury time were signalled.
One last punt forward deep into time added on time saw Jefferson Louis control the ball on the turn and fire over Martin to rescue a point with the last kick of the game. It deflated the home crowd and gave Wrexham the very least they deserved for all the chances they created and possession they had.
Ultimately though Saunders will be fuming that, on a day when many of the play-off pack also dropped points, his Wrexham side missed an excellent opportunity to make up some ground. Barrow bosses Bayliss & Sheridan will also be sick that they conceded 3 points in the dying seconds after their side fought so hard.
Barrow is a difficult place to go to, and the performance was still streets ahead of anything that Saunders predecessor produced for these types of games, but he, the players, and Wrexham fans will be kicking themselves they didn’t take away more from it.
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