Thanks again to Rory Sheehan who will be providing match reports and feature articles
Wrexham 2 Cambridge 0
The first home game at the Racecourse Ground in 2009 saw Wrexham entertain play-off rivals Cambridge United, as again the Setanta Sports TV cameras rolled into town for a Thursday night kick-off.
Adding spice to the occasion was the presence of ex-Wrexham defender Phil Bolland in the away side’s line-up, and their assistant manager Paul Carden on the touchline, who turned his back on a pre-contract agreement to join Wrexham last summer.
Neil Taylor returned at right-back and Nathan Fairhurst came back into central midfield to complete a very youthful four across the middle for Wrexham.
In truth neither side really got going and showed what they were capable of. Marc Williams and Jefferson Louis were starved of service and the prolific Scott Rendell of Cambridge did not make the impact expected given his reputation.
Importantly, when Wrexham got a break, they took it. Jon Brown cut inside from the right and their seemed to be little on, but his shot at goal took a deflection which was enough to deceive Cambridge goalkeeper Danny Potter. With 25 minutes gone Wrexham had the lead.
Minutes later Rendell had his best chance of the game when poor communication at the Wrexham gave him an opening. Luckily for Wrexham, with Ward beaten, his effort went just the wrong side of the post.
As half-time drew near a 50/50 challenge between Bolland and Andy Fleming saw tempers fray, not just on the field but in the stands. Somewhat harshly Bolland took all the abuse, but both players were shown yellow cards after the disagreements had been broken up. The officials seemed to be losing their grip on the game.
The second-half was much the same but with half an hour to go Wrexham doubled their advantage. A high ball in the area was brought down for Marc Williams whose pass to Jefferson Louis saw the striker convert from 6-yards out, and silence a few of his more vocal critics.
Cambridge offered plenty of aggression but nothing to suggest they were able to get back into the game. As the game progressed Wrexham became more comfortable and could have added to their lead.
Wayne Hatswell looked to have given away a penalty for a foul on Louis but the referee ignored the appeals and Jon Brown had a speculative long-range shot tipped onto the bar by Potter.
Dean Saunders then shook things up by taking off Taylor (who had picked up a knock) and putting on Silvio Spann as a makeshift right-back. Ryan Flynn made way for Sam Aiston.
With 5 minutes to go Cambridge’s pint-sized sub Felino Jardim headed over an open goal from about 5 yards out. It was surely the BSP miss of the season and summed up the away side’s night going forward.
This wasn’t a classic for the Setanta viewers, but the final whistle brought another precious 3 points for Wrexham and was an important win. Dean Saunders’ side showed real play-off credentials by beating one the side’s above them, giving everyone at the club the belief that we really can push on after 3 successive draws.
Buckley and District Reds AGM will be held on the 11th February 8pm at Buckley Cricket club - All welcome
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