Thanks again to Rory Sheehan who will be providing match reports and feature articles
Wrexham 0 Eastwood Town 0
Unibond Premier side Eastwood Town fully deserved the replay they earned at the Racecourse Ground against a below-par Wrexham in this FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round tie. The Nottinghamshire part-timers made a mockery of the two division difference between themselves and Wrexham with a fully committed gutsy performance.
With Joe Allen returning to Swansea, captain Neil Taylor was surprisingly moved into midfield and Shaun Whalley returned to the side as did Steve Evans and Silvio Spann. Simon Brown was back on the bench.
In truth, the conditions worked in Eastwood’s favour early on. A strong, high swirling wind meant the ball held up in the air when Wrexham punted the ball forward, though Whalley headed over early on. The visitors then began to settle and were impressive in possession, useful going forward.
Ex-England youth international and Notts Forest player Ross Gardner, and Anton Foster carried a threat in their attack which kept Wrexham’s defence on their toes. With 20 minutes gone Gavin Ward was called into serious action when he blocked two close-range headers from Ian Holmes in quick succession.
At the other end Eastwood’s on-loan Republic of Ireland U-21 international goalkeeper Shane Redmond dealt comfortably with anything Wrexham threw at him which didn’t amount to too much, Proctor and Marc Williams being starved of significant service.
The makeshift midfield of Taylor and Mackin struggled to impose itself and there was a spell when nothing seemed to go right for Taylor as Eastwood dominated the battle. Chances were few and far between at either end and a blank stalemate at half-time was a fair reflection of the game.
Wrexham began the second-half purposefully with an increased tempo and got at Eastwood but it soon fizzled out. They lacked creativity, imagination and steel as the home crowd grew restless. Sam Aiston and Simon Brown were introduced in place or Proctor and Whalley but the subs’ failed to make any impact at all, if not weakening the side further.
Ward again kept Wrexham in the tie when Gardner was played through and seemed certain to score but the goalkeeper pulled off a fantastic save to shut him out. At the other end Marc Williams went close with a shot narrowly wide.
Saunders replaced Spann with Tom Kearney as a last throw of the dice but as with the other changes it failed to produce an impact with 10 minutes to go.
With their fitness and stamina flagging Eastwood were content to hold on in the closing stages and wind the clock down, as Wayne Diuk replaced Gardner.
The away side indulged in time-wasting at every opportunity but who could blame them? This was their day, their ‘cup final’ and amidst the grumbles of the home fans at the final whistle was the cheer from the 150 or so away fans. They’d sung their hearts out and their players had matched their great support. Credit to them all, they were able to celebrate the prospect of doing it all again at their place in the replay.
This was a dire game from a Wrexham perspective, the worst under the brief reign of Dean Saunders so far. This is the first minor setback of his fledgling managerial career and the replay, as soon as Tuesday night, at Eastwood’s place is an upset waiting to happen on the evidence of this game.
A place in the 1st Round proper, our traditional starting place in the FA Cup, is far from secure…
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