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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
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