Deano dismay as chances go begging

Mar 7 2010

Wales on Sunday

Wrexham 1-1 Ebbsfleet United

Dean Saunders has got problems at Wrexham that missing a few Wales games won’t sort out.

One-nil up and cruising thanks to a Andy Mangan effort, the Dragons were woeful in the second period and allowed Ebbsfleet back into it.

And Wales assistant Saunders, who stayed away from the national side’s 1-0 midweek loss to Sweden to concentrate on Wrexham, was not happy.

He kept his side in the dressing room for over half an hour but emerged to say: “I’m saying the same things each week and this should have been over at half-time. It’s déjà vu and it should have been done and dusted by half-time.

“Halfway through the second half we began to panic. You must be getting bored of things I’m saying. It’s a punch on a chin. And it’s a big one because we needed to win this one.”

It was a poor opening until Christian Smith produced a rare bit of quality with a long-ranger that clipped the bar from 25 yards on seven minutes.

And when Ebbsfleet failed to clear another Wrexham foray, Smith’s clipped ball found Mangan who took a touch and superbly fired past Lance Cronin.

Moses Ashikodi went close with a header immediately after restart as the game sprang into life, before Andy Fleming broke down the right to cross for Luke Holden to net, only for it to be ruled out for offside.

Mangan then had another chance to make it 2-0, but couldn’t slip the ball past Cronin when put through and Cronin was just about equal to Holden’s volley from a tight angle minutes later as the home side turned the screw.

But all the home side’s good work could have been for nothing as Ebbsfleet should have equalised right on the whistle. Sam Russell misjudged a cross which fell to Peter Holmes who somehow hit the side-netting with the goal gaping.

The visitors couldn’t be as bad in the second period but Smith was allowed to ghost in on 49 minutes only to blaze over.

After that they got better and at last started to push the Dragons the other way.

That did open up things on the break though and Mangan nearly carved out an opportunity for himself on 62 minutes but his effort was blocked.

But the equaliser eventually came on 69 minutes when a long ball found Ashikodi free on the far post, and although his first effort was woeful, he was allowed a second which squeezed past Russell.

But back came Wrexham, and Fleming stung Cronin’s palms with a fierce shot and Mangan just failed to convert a header. The striker should have netted the winner at the death, but placed Holden’s cross right at Cronin.

And the misery was complete when the striker went down in a heap during the last move of the match and was stretchered off after the whistle.

Wrexham: Russell, Spann, Assoumani, Westwood, Williams, Jones (Wolfenden 78), Fleming, Smith, Holden, Baynes, (McCluskey 60), Mangan. Subs: Taylor, Sinclair, Sakho