Bath City 0-2 Wrexham: Mark Currie’s verdict

Aug 31 2010

By Mark Currie - Daily Post

Wrexham manager Dean Saunders marked his 100th competitive game in charge of the Dragons with a first away win of the season at Twerton Park yesterday.

The Welsh side were excellent value for their success, goals from Andy Morrell and Christian Smith either side of the interval providing an end product to another hard-working and committed display.

Dean Keates and Jay Harris gave the Dragons a combative edge in the centre of the pitch, Marvin Andrews marshalled the back line with confidence and Morrell, despite his advancing years, gave the home defence a torrid time.

The Dragons side showed three changes from the weekend’s 1-1 draw with Barrow, Smith and Curtis Obeng replacing David Brown and Declan Walker respectively, while Kevin Gall started in place of Andy Mangan, who picked up an ankle injury at the Racecourse.

The home side, who drew 0-0 at Forest Green Rovers in the last outing, were without captain Lewis Hogg, who was shown a straight red card at The New Lawn and picked up a three-match ban.

Hector Mackie filled in and striker Darren Edwards was preferred ahead of Kaid Mohamed after coming on a substitute for the former Wrexham trialist on Saturday.

The match sprang into life after eight minutes when Smith won an aerial battle in midfield to put Harris in space, but his first-time shot failed to trouble home keeper Ryan Robinson.

Wrexham were caught out in the 10th minute when full back Sekani Jombati pushed on down the left before Lee Phillips played in Hector Mackie, whose shot was headed off the line by Neil Ashton.

And the Dragons survived another scare when Adam Connolly was given too much space for a 20-yarder that fizzed just wide, before they broke forward to win the game’s first corner that saw Andrews’ volley blocked by a City defender.

The home side were fortunate not to concede a penalty after 16 minutes when Ashton’s long throw was flicked on to Gall, who immediately appealed for handball when Jombati lunged in to block his shot.

But the Dragons got their noses in front 12 minutes later, a defensive lapse allowing Obeng’s long throw to reach Morrell on the six-yard line for a header that gave Robinson no chance.

It was the striker’s 99th league goal and he went close to making it three figures two minutes later, running in at the near post to meet Gall’s cross only to steer the ball the wrong side of the upright.

City, who had barely threatened following Wrexham’s goal, went close to an equaliser two minutes into the second period, Lee Phillips forcing a smart save from Shearer after Mackie for once got the better of Ashton on the right.

Playing up the slope, the visitors seemed to have gone off the boil, but a second goal arrived in the 57th minute and owed much to Morrell’s doggedness in chasing lost causes.

Running the ball into the corner flag, he was hauled over and when Keates delivered the free kick, it was Smith who headed into the net to claim his third goal of the campaign

Seven minutes later, another Keates set-piece should have produced the third, Smith again getting to the ball first but he was frustrated when his header struck team-mate Nat Knight-Percival and was hacked away.

The Dragons were well on top, Morrell causing all sorts of problems for the home defence and the midfield three dominated posession and broke up all of City’s attempts to get back in the game.

The hard-working Harris did well to pick out Knight-Percival’s run, only for the midfielder to scuff his shot horribly, instead of ending any lingering hopes of a comeback by the home side.

The former Histon man was popping up more frequently in advanced positions and he was unlucky not to turn in a Harris cross after some intelligent play from substitute Adrian Cieslewicz.

But City were not finished and should have pulled one back with 12 minutes remaining when Phillips drew Andrews away from the middle and crossed to substitute Jake Reid, who steered a free header high over Shearer’s crossbar.

The former Rangers defender, who had once again looked solid at the back, went down with cramp in the 80th minute and made way for Jamie Tolley and Wrexham suffered further disruption when Cieslewicz took a blow on the thigh and limped off to be replaced by Gareth Taylor, who put one header just over City's bar before Saunders’ men regrouped and closed down the match effectively enough to avoid any late dramas in their own penalty area.