Wrexham 0 v 0 Swansea CityReport by Clive, Gareth and David Hughes
A happy St David's day to all. The result didn't quite cap the day, but a good performance overall. Wrexham came to the Vetch with one of the best away records in the league, so things weren't going to be easy. The game was played in a mixture of heavy rain with a swirling wind and bright sunshine in fact just an ordinary football day in west Wales. A minutes silence was impeccable kept by the near 6,500 thousand crowd with slight noise from behind the North Bank which quickly stopped on the assumption that people realised that the show of respect had started.
Another debut in Neil Cutler and our 35 the player this season. Hylton replaced Howard and O'Leary replacing Evans. With the following line-up.
Cutler
O'Leary, Tate, Smith, Hylton.
Britton, Martinez, Mumford
Williams, Nugent, Richards.
A very hesitant start by both teams in driving rain saw Wrexham settle first and started to play some neat football with the Swans chasing shadows, things looked ominous, but to their credit the team pulled themselves into the game and Wrexhams dominance had lasted only 5 minutes. The longer the first half went on the team grew stronger and stronger but dangerous build ups floundered against a well organised Wrexham defence and also from players wanting one touch to many. Wrexham offered very little in attack but this may in part be due to Hector Sam only lasting a couple of minutes before being replaced after what looked like a hamstring injury. Both teams put effort into an entertaining first half with the Swans desperately looking for the goal their possession deserved but there was very little goalmouth action at either end. Cutler saw very little action, with Wrexham playing o! n the break whereas Dibble in the Wrexham goal had to be on his toes on more than one occasion, but never had to make a serious save. So half time came with, so near but yet so far. Yet another half time talk of would we be made to pay for not taking advantage of our dominance. Wrexham have always been recognised as a footballing team, but the first half also saw a few cynical challenges from behind, which were dealt very leniently by the referee.
Cutler came out during the half time interval for an early warm up.
Wrexham had the first chance of the second half, with Cutler pulling off a save from Jones but as in the first half the Swans soon got on top. Within 10 minutes of the restart Williams' legs seemed to have gone in the strength sapping conditions. A shame as most of our attacks came his way. The first from a through pass into space from Nugent which saw him move in on goal from the corner of the area, but allowed a defender time to tackle when a much sharper response was needed. Constant Swans pressure saw a flurry of hopeful crosses and corners but again no end result. One attack did find Dibble pick up the ball on the penalty area line as two players came down on him. The fans were incensed as it did look as if it could well have been just outside the area. On the hour Richards had the ball in centre field and with Williams in acres of space hesitated in giving him the pass and the chance was gone. If anyone who saw the rugby last week, this incident ranks up with the try tha! t never was, with the whole ground shouting for the pass. 
Richards did manage a snap shot on goal but within a minute saw replaced by Thomas, a very surprising substitution, as it was very clear to everyone that Williams had very little left to offer. Smith received a yellow for a debatable tackle from behind when he seemed to get the ball, but reflecting on what had been allowed by the referee in the first half was very harsh. Thomas seemed to have given us that much awaited goal when he raced clear on the left into the area sending a shot past Dibble towards the bottom right hand corner. With half the ground in the air shouting goal the ball rebounded off the post, hitting Carey and away for a corner. The Swans were now throwing everything at Wrexham but that elusive goal would not come. In the final seconds after 3 minutes of added time had been played we had a corner. Mumford ambled across to take it with the crowd shouting that the seconds were ticking away. The delivery ! met by a Smith header just past the post.
It was a very good team performance especially with many changes to the line-up.
Cutler had very little to do, but does seem an adequate replacement for Rog.
O'Leary had a very solid game at right back
Tate, a much better game of late. Very commanding, hardly put a foot wrong.
Smith again a solid performance
Hylton, seemed lost on many occasions and positioning let him down, but it was his first full game.
Martinez, not as influential of late, but did play an effectual holding role in front of the back four.
Britton, buzzed around but the conditions did not help his style of play.
Mumford, put in the effort but found the ball between his feet when more composure was needed.
Williams, effectual in the first half, but a spent force and a mere passenger in the second.
Nugent, battled well but overall a quiet game.
Richards, battled but didn't have the killer touch to build on his 2 goals against Cambridge.
Thomas on for Richards very late on.
Against a team going for promotion/play-offs, a draw is a very creditable result especially with their strong away record. In reality it was a game of 2 points lost, as we should have come away with all 3. This is not to get downhearted as this was yet another performance that shows how far we have come from the team earlier in the season. This performance was far superior to what would be expected for a team in our league position. If only the goals would return, we would soon move to safety, as it is we can look forward with confidence but still looking over our shoulders.
With a crowd of just under 6,500, with around 300 from Wrexham, coupled with reduced prices again on Tuesday, lets hope for another bumper crowd giving excellent support as today with just the addition of goals in the six pointer against Boston.
Wrexham 0 v 0 Swansea CityThe Famous Five
A welcome break in the torrential rain that had hit the area for the past day or so made sure that this game went ahead, and over 6,400 fans turned up on what was still a wet and cold St. David's Day to see this all Welsh derby.
The game was preceded by another immaculate one minute's silence from the very respectful Swans and Wrexham fans, this time in memory of the Swans legend Brian Evans who sadly passed away this week.
The playing surface was slippery as could be expected, with lighter rain still falling sporadically, but it was a game of pace and some excitement with only goals lacking.
New keeper Cutler was an obvious selection, and Leon Hylton was in the starting line-up. No sign of Lenny Johnrose though even though a few people around us thought he was having a poor game at left back.
Cutler
O'Leary - Smith - Tate - Hylton
Britton - Martinez - Mumford
Williams - Nugent - Richards
Subs: Phillips - Jenkins - Howard - Stiens - Thomas
An early conceded corner by Jason Smith saw Hector Sam stretchered off following the corner being taken with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. Without wishing injury on any player, any Swans fan that saw the mess he made of us at the Racecourse earlier in the season, would not have been sorry to see him leave the field, albeit that we are a far stronger force than we were back then.
Play was very end-to-end, but with few real chances being created. Nugent appeared to be pulled back to deep to have any real effect on times and found himself chasing the ball wide more often than he, or the fans would like. He was being shadowed by a giant on a defender, so his prowess in the air was stifled a little.
When we did attack, Williams down the right was putting in some good crosses, although his obvious loss of pace curtailed what could have been some very sharp attacking moves. Britton had a quieter first half than we have seen of late, although when he did get the ball, he displayed all the skill and fight that he has shown in almost every game. He is a very consistent and committed player.
A couple of shots at goal came to nothing during the first period, and although we were more than standing our own in midfield with Martinez and Mumford having good spells, we could not convert this into pressure where it mattered, and were forced to attempt at goal from too far out, as has been the case in many games.
Wrexham looked competent but no more, and we were a clear match for them. Tate and Smith were fairly solid in the centre of defence, ensuring that Morrell, particularly, was subdued.
Hylton at left back was not making much of an impression on either the game or the fans. His first touch was excellent, and he could trap a ball in his sleep. Unfortunately, he could probably also hit the Guildhall clock with a through ball, as his measure of weight on a pass is matched at the club only by O'Leary, a fact brought home again and again today. Neither full back looked comfortable in the first half, defending or going forward, and O'Leary particularly was guilty of poor positioning on more than one occasion.
Richards was looking lively up front, but again the Wrexham defence was not giving much away and clear chances were scarce. Mumford worked hard during this period, but with little real impact save for two long range misses on goal.
A blank scoreline at half time was acceptable, but most fans seemed to think that we could take three points from these promotion contenders. To do this, however, we had to find a way to penetrate their defence and cause a few more problems.
The reappearance of the Ice Babes at half time, brought the bank of professional photographers to their feet, and saw their trigger fingers move into overdrive. What a pleasure to see a group of men with such smiles on their faces, as they settled down to watch the second half of the match, probably packing their cameras away in the process thinking they had all the shots they'd ever need or want, already in the can.
The start of the second half saw Martinez take more of a controlling role in midfield, and Britton up the ante on his involvement in the game to the point where he started to dominate proceedings. Williams however had obviously found the walk to and from the dressing room, after 45 minutes of football, a bit tiring, and he was clearly struggling with his pace and control. Despite this he was still able to put in some excellent crosses much to the delight of his North bank fan club.
If we were to make any progress here it would have to be a substitution of Thomas for Williams with Richards moving wide right. When the substitution did eventually come, it was to most people's surprise that it was Richards that left the field for Thomas.
It was Thomas that could have stolen the three points at the end, but a slight miss hit on his shot saw the ball scrambled behind for a corner when we all thought is was heading for the corner of the net. His confidence must be rock bottom at the moment, and we can but hope what a goal would do to his game.
Cutler looked assured and comfortable in goal, but was troubled very little. He took crosses and anticipated play well, and passed on his opinions to team mates very forcefully when things didn't go to plan in front of him. He has a good kick, from hand or floor, straight down the middle.
Hylton showed a little more promise in the second half, and with Lenny Johnrose hopefully heading towards recovery, we can take each game as it comes with some confidence. We have an excellent squad, some very influential players, and a crowd that a top 3 placed club would be proud of.
Player Ratings:
Cutler - 7 - Assured debut, handled well and quick to spot early ball to start attacks.
O'Leary - 6 - Never looked comfortable
Smith - 6 - One or two errors but generally steady.
Tate - 8 - Outstanding once again and hardly gave the prolific Morrell a kick
Hylton - 6 - Isn't premiership standard, but improved second half and surely better to come.
Martinez - 7 - Controlled midfield second half.
Mumford - 6 - Lucky to be picked out of hat for Travel House Man of the Match
Britton - 8 - Brilliant, best player on show by miles
Williams - 7 - Like a conundrum wrapped in an enigma. Goes from the downright awful to brilliant again and again.
Nugent - 6 - Battled throughout and chances limited against 3 centre backs.
Richards - 6 - Ditto
Thomas - 6 - Miss-hit best chance of game.
Man of the match decision was split between Britton and Tate, and either would deserve the accolade. We disagreed, not for the first time, with the sponsor's choice, but after the smack in the face that Mumford received, and the way he carried on playing, he probably deserves the bottle that he got anyway.
Boston on Tuesday night will be a critical game, as we have a tough away trip to Torquay to contend with next Saturday.
If we continue playing as we are now, we could win any game, but we have to be clinical in front of goal, and that's what we lack at the moment.
Have a look at the away game.
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