Wrexham 1 Lincoln 0

Finally a win! This victory lifts us from the bottom of the table, and out of the relegation zone at this still early stage of the season. The confirmation that young Northern Ireland Under-21 international midfielder Robbie Garrett was back on loan from Stoke City had given everyone a boost beforehand.

He went straight into the side along with Neil Roberts as Matt Done and Simon Spender were put on the bench. Danny Williams moved back into the centre of defence, a position to which he is more suited and it showed during this game.

Playing 3-5-2, the use of three centre-backs also seemed to suit Richard Hope more as well, a system he was very familiar with at Shrewsbury.

The change at the back for Wrexham was barely tested during the first-half as we kept possession well following early pressure from the Imps. Garrett made a real difference in midfield with his ability to get around the pitch putting in effective challenges and playing incisive passes. His 100% determination and confidence to try things soon rubbed off on the rest of the side providing a spark that we’d been missing recently.

Youngsters Neil Taylor and Mike Carvill continued to impress as well.

Our best chance came after half an hour when Marc Williams was fouled in the area. Neil Roberts stepped up to take the resulting penalty, but his effort was saved by the keeper Marriott who dived correctly to his right. It was a penalty taken by a player still lacking confidence, but Roberts’s good performance for the rest of the game should help his self-belief.

At the time though, many Wrexham fans were wondering if it was going to be another one of those day’s as we’ve had little luck recently. We finished the half the better side in general, but many were awaiting a heavy spell of pressure from Lincoln.

Encouragingly we started the second-half strongly and this paid off when nice work between Neil Roberts and Marc Williams gave us an opening. It culminated with Marc taking the ball on his chest followed by a neat turn and curling shot to find the back of the net.

It was a well-worked goal and impressive strike that really lifted the crowd. With the crowd on their side for the first time in a while Wrexham grew in confidence and created more chances, many of which fell to Marc Williams. He’s now scored in consecutive games since injuries and suspensions have given him a chance in the first-team.

Our cause was helped by the dismissal of Lincoln’s Gary Croft after an hour for his second booking. Carvill had troubled him all afternoon and had been brought down by Croft a number of times.

Perversely when trailing and down to 10 men Lincoln poured forward in the last 20 minutes to try and take something form the game. Mark Jones even had to clear off the line at one stage! Done and Johnson were put on by Carey to try and take the pressure off and it worked.

The final whistle sounded to cheers rather than boo’s this week, as following a good team performance, fans and players celebrated a deserved 3 points.

Lincoln were poor and have now lost their last five games but who cares? A great way to celebrate the 200th birthday of the Racecourse! Brian Carey got everything spot on, and the win takes the pressure off him that had been mounting recently.

Well, at least until Tuesday when we face Chesterfield at home…

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Stockport 2 Wrexham 1

Another defeat, still bottom of the table and the anxiety that this season is going to turn out just like the last one is rising amongst most supporters.

To be fair Stockport are one of this division’s better teams in the division so it was always going to be a difficult game, made even more difficult by the increasing pressure on our lads at the moment.

Due to injuries and suspensions Brian Carey was again forced to try something different. Young Neil Taylor was given his league debut at left-back and Simon Spender was welcomed back at right-back.

Both were impressive throughout the game. Danny Williams returned to central midfield alongside Spann with Mark Jones also back but pushed up front in support of Marc Williams. Neil Roberts and Juan Ugarte were on the bench.

Wrexham made a decent start by matching County before taking the lead when Marc Williams headed home from Neil Taylor’s cross. Perhaps our luck was turning? Just a few minutes later a long-range effort from Anthony Elding gave County the equaliser and Anthony Williams no chance.

It was a good goal but we could have done better defensively, Richard Hope seemingly most at fault. By half-time Carey was forced to make another change as Spann went off injured to be replaced by Matty Crowell.

Early in the second-half both teams had reasonable claims for a penalty. First Mark Jones was denied for initially being honest enough to stay on his feet when fouled by Tierney. Soon after Simon Spender appeared to bring down County’s big striker McNeil in the penalty area.

Perhaps realising he was wrong not to give a penalty for the foul on Jonah the referee evened things up by not awarding one to County. After receiving treatment for cramp Taylor was unable to carry on and was replaced by Shaun Pejic.

With 25 minutes to go County won a corner which was headed home by Dominic Blizzard.

The moment we’ve waited for, for so long, came shortly after when the Basque goalscoring sensation Juan Ugarte entered the field in place of Matt Done. It could be a while until he proves he still has that magic touch though. A little off the pace he’s still not yet match fit but his return is encouraging. We created more chances but lacked the cutting edge to produce an equaliser and lost again.

This is still a difficult time to be a Wrexham fan, but I genuinely believe with a little more luck and creativity in front of goal things will change quickly. That could be provided by Ugarte when he’s match sharp, or Eifion Williams after a run of games. Slightly more concentration at the back and more confidence throughout the side would help too. I only hope that Carey is given the time (and support) by everyone for this to happen.

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Supporting Wrexham Fc