Brunt's Blunder Costs Wrexham
Cambridge came prepared for Wrexham, but ultimately two defensive lapses cost The Reds two points.
Ahead of an absolutely bonkers holiday schedule, Wrexham drop points at The Racecourse
The Wrecap:
Wrexham 2 - 2 Cambridge United
In front of co-chairman Reynolds and his guests Channing Tatum and Billie Joe Armstrong, Wrexham encountered a tougher fight than expected against Paul Mullin’s former squad as Cambridge United played exceptionally well for a team in their position. They threatened to score in just the first few moments of the game, but Wrexham responded with numerous corners and shots all within the first fifteen minutes. But Wrexham’s league-leading defense faltered at the twenty-minute mark when Shayne Lavery managed to draw the defensive line to the left flank, creating an open lane for a charging Elias Kachunga. Lavery made a perfect cross and Kachunga fired an excellent shot from distance to put Cambridge ahead. However, the lead wouldn’t last very long as Barnett made an equally top-notch cross to McClean who headed home the equalizer just seven minutes later.
In the second half, the teams once again seemed to match each other stride for stride. Phil injected fresh legs in the form of Mullin and Fletcher at 63’ and just three minutes later Fletcher scored after Ollie Rathbone made a sneaky tackle to win the ball near the far corner. All Wrexham had to do was keep the visitors at bay but, frustratingly, Lewis Brunt conceded a penalty in the 89th minute when he unnecessarily fouled Sullay Kaikai in the box. Dan Nlundulu took the shot well, sending Howard flying in the wrong direction to score the easy equalizer.
Wrexham still captured a point, but fell to third behind Birmingham and Wycombe as a result. It’s a shame because, on the whole, Wrexham deserved to win this game. True, Cambridge played better than anticipated but we controlled possession throughout the match, looked dangerous early and often, and Rathbone easily earned MotM regardless of the outcome thanks to some truly inspired strategic movement in midfield.
Read the full report from Wrexham here.
And watch the highlights here or below:
Match Facts:
Starting Lineup: Howard, Brunt, Cleworth, O’Connell, Barnett, James, Dobson (Mullin 63’) Rathbone, McClean, Lee, Palmer (Fletcher 63’)
Bench: Foster, Scarr, Revan, Cannon, Faal, Mullin, Fletcher
Goals:
WRX — McClean (27’), Fletcher (66’)
CAM — Kachunga (20’), Nlundulu (P- 89’)
Yellow Cards:
WRX — Lee (3’), McClean (41’), Brunt (88’)
CAM — Kachunga (45’), Smith (90+1’)
Women: Wrexham 4 - 3 Barry Town
The Wrexham Women are in must-win territory in the Adran Premier and they did just that on Sunday, taking home all three points in dramatic fashion. After Phoebe Davies scored her first league goal inside the first two minutes of the first half to open the scoring, Barry Town leveled it up by doing the same in the second half. But Wrexham weren’t deterred and three minutes later Liv Fuller put the Reds ahead again with an excellent, curling shot above a crowded box. Eight minutes after that Fuller earned an assist after navigating a back-and-forth battle close to the net, serving the ball up to Suckley while the keeper was on the ground. It seemed like Wrexham would be able to waltz off with the win, but Morgan came off her line in a poor attempt to reach the ball, leaving the goal open for Barry Town to pull within one. She’d have another poor defensive moment at 77’ when Ellie Preece blasted one by her to even the score in the closing stages.
But Wrexham were far from cooked. Rosie Hughes nearly headed home the fourth goal a minute later but was denied by the crossbar. Then at 90,’ Hughes had a chance again but as the defense prepared for her shot she slid the ball over to Fuller who scored the last-minute winner. The Reds remain in sixth but are just one point shy of Barry Town in the coveted fourth spot with four games left to play before the league split.
Read the full report from Wrexham here.
And watch the highlights here or below:
Match Facts:
Starting Lineup: Morgan, Clark, Allen, Davies, Fuller, Pritchard, Gibbard (Sharp 86’), Cairns, C. Jones, Suckley (Lightfoot 63’), Hughes.
Bench: Ankers, Lovett, Morris, Lightfoot, Sharp
Goals:
WRX — Davies (2’), Fuller (51’, 90’), Suckley (59’)
BAR — Murray (47’), Long (64’), Preece (79’)
Yellow Cards:
None
FA Youth Cup: Lincoln City U18s 4 - 2 Wrexham U18s
The Wrexham academy’s FA Youth Cup run came to an end last Wednesday, falling to Lincoln 4-2. The hosts hit The Reds early, scoring after just nine minutes. This ushered in a scrappy, end-to-end first half that ended with another Lincoln goal in stoppage time. It looked like it could be a demolition job as The Imps scored again early in the second half, but Tommy Clayton got us back in the game at the hour mark. As the game wound down, Keane Hazeldine scored a second as Wrexham looked to create a dramatic finale…but a late penalty decision handed Lincoln a 4-2 advantage that couldn’t be overcome in the final minutes of the match.
Still, this is the first time Wrexham’s academy side has been in the third round of the FA Youth Cup since 2005 - certainly a sign of the dramatic improvements being made in our youth program.
Read the full report from Wrexham here.
Match Facts:
Starting Lineup: Jones, Clayton, Purvis, Edwards, Kelly, Moore, McTweed (Rees 76’), Roberts (Nawaz 65’), Hazeldine, Connolly (Almeida 46’), Owen.
Bench: Owen (G/K), Nicholas, Slosarczyk, Chesworth, Rees, Nawaz, Almeida
Goals:
WRX — Clayton (60’), Hazeldine (82’)
LIN — Wifa (9’), Okoro (45+1’, P- 84’), Vanderpuye (54’),
Yellow Cards:
WRX — None
LIN — None
Current Tables
League One
Adran Premier
News from the Week:
Wrexham’s Crowded Winter
It’s been a relatively slow news week for Wrexham, so ahead of this week’s preview, I thought it’d be wise to ensure you were all up to speed on the challenge Wrexham are about to face: five matches in three weeks. After Bristol this Saturday, Wrexham will play four league games with just two days rest between each of them…and none of them will be lay-ups: Blackpool on 12/26, Wigan on 12/29, Barnsley on 1/1, and Peterborough on 1/4. Of the four, Barnsley will certainly be the toughest, so I would expect to see heavy squad rotation for that Wigan match. In fact, that may be the perfect time to rest McClean and play someone like Mendy (ahead of his rumored January departure) instead of having the captain face his former club.
These three weeks will be a real test. I would expect Foster to get at least one league appearance in that time, with plenty of cameo appearances from the reserves.
The Week Ahead
12/21 at Bristol Rovers
US: Paramount+, iFollow. UK: Skysports+
7:30am EST / 12:30pm BST
Wrexham plays an early match against 20th-place Bristol Rovers this Saturday, who are coming off three consecutive league losses in which they failed to score a single goal. Their only silver lining from that period is besting Barnsley in the FA Cup…which they did via penalties after both clubs failed to score in regular time. This bodes well for The Reds who are undefeated in their last six outings and scored at least once in each match. Bristol’s keeper, Joshua Griffiths, is quite solid, however. The league leader in Saves Per 90, he’s their top-ranked player at 35 in the league. In fact, despite their low standing overall, Bristol has kept six clean sheets. That’s the ninth-most in the league…and half of our league-leading 12.
Yes, Wrexham are no doubt the favorites once again this week…but look at what happened with Cambridge. Complacency needs to be fought off at all costs because The Reds desperately need to secure these three points before we enter the four-match gauntlet the following week.