Having weathered that tricky opening run of four matches against promotion contenders, this was supposed to be the start of a series of games against sides who we could dominate. By two o'clock the reality of life in The Conference was laid pretty bare for the terrific travelling army which swamped Altrincham on a sunny Bank Holiday Monday.
On paper Altrincham seemed like an ideal introduction to the sort of teams we were hoping to dominate this season. Having played much of their 4-0 defeat just two days ago with ten men, the part timers were not only in poor form, but would surely flag considering the fact that Wrexham had enjoyed two extra days recuperation time and their small squad was stretched to the limit by suspension and injury. Indeed, their aging but potent talisman, Colin Little, had gone into Satruday's game carrying a knock and was withdrawn early in the second half having been totally ineffective.
However, Altrincham were a compact side who had plenty of energy and made life very difficult when Wrexham had the ball, which admttedly was most of the time. That was perhaps the most worrying aspect of the game; with the admirable exception of Tom Kearney, Wrexham once again were bereft of creative ideas when confronted by a side with a bit of determination about them.
It looked like Wrexham would start on the front foot when, in the first fifteen seconds, Sam Aiston burst down the left and flashed a cross across the face of goal. However, they didn't build on that and were stunned by a goal after six minutes.
It was a poor goal to concede: after a couple of chances to get the ball clear were spurned, the ball fell to Anthony Danylyk on the edge of the box. His mis-hit shot into the ground looked harmless but as it looped wide of goal Chris Senior was more alert than the defence and flicked the ball past the helpless Gavin Ward.
The goal played into Altrincham's hands as they beavered around to frustrate Wrexham and protect their lead. Despite the efforts of Mackin and Kearney in midfield they could get little width into the game as Richard Battersby, a gangling right back drafted into the side after that 4-0 defeat, kept a tight rein on Aiston and Kyle
Substitutions:
Wrexham
S Brown for Aiston 46
Baynes for Spender 59
Taylor for Whalley 81
(UNUSED SUBS: A Williams, G Evans)
Altrincham
Denham for Senior 55
Johnson for Little 55
Street for Battersby 71
(UNUSED SUBS: Ralph, Elam)
Yellow Cards:
Wrexham
Kempson, Kearney, Baynes
Altrincham
Meechan
Red Cards:
-
Critchell's performance was as wasteful as his debut on Thursday was productive.
Meanwhile, up front Shaun Whalley struggled with limited service while ex-Dragon Mark McGregor gave a masterclass in how to handle a striker with a six inch height advantage in a magnificent man-marking job on Jeff Louis, whose frustration threatened to boil over.
There were moments of hope, but they were isolated efforts. Critchell showed his ability to lash in a powerful shot with a stinging twenty-five yarder which Stuart Coburn palmed over the bar. Kearney whipped the corner onto Darran Kempson's head but the centre back planted the ball firmly into Coburn's arms from six yards out.
Further chances were limited to those created by a couple of individual bursts through the home defence, but they were both squandered by Louis. Whalley set off on a dribble which ended in a cross which Louis headed weakly to the keeper before Aiston surged through the centre and laid the ball off to Louis with a clear sight of goal, but the burly striker got it all wrong as he tried to sweep the ball over the keeper and launched the ball over the stand.
Louis's moment of redemption was on its way, but there was an element of good fortune about it. A long ball was played down the left flank to him but he clearly shoved McGregor as he prepared himself to receive the ball. However, the referee didn't see the offence, although he could hardly miss McGregor's response, a wild hack which conceded a free kick and ought to have yielded a card. Kearney took full advantage of the opportunity, sweeping the ball to the edge of the six yard box where Louis rose in front of Coburn's ineffective jump to head the ball into the empty net.
Wrexham's fans hoped the goal would prove to be a turning point, but Wrexham failed to kick on from it, and Altrincham ought to have scored another goal from a pulled shot from the edge of the area by Danylyk shortly after the break; it fell to Little six yards out but he dragged his shot narrowly wide.
The rest of the half followed a clear pattern; Wrexham monopolised possession but really didn't look like breaking down a dogged Altrincham defence. Simon Brown had replaced Aiston at the break and Wes Baynes got his first decent run-out down the right, but to no avail. Having said that, Wrexham ought to have been given the opportunity to get a second when Whalley cut in from the flank and appeared to be clearly tripped by Greg Young, but the referee resisted the appeals of the players and two-thirds of the crowd for a penalty.
With twenty minutes left the one question to be answered was whether the part-timers would tire; they'd already let four goals in in the last twenty minutes of games this season. It looked like they might crack too as around that mark they allowed Wrexham two chances in the space of a minute. Both came from Louis headers: his first set up perhaps Wrexham's best chances of the game, but Whalley, with just the keeper to beat from the corner of the six yard box, made a total hash of trying to lob the ball over Coburn; then Louis' flick put Brown clear on goal, but the ball wouldn't sit down for him and he couldn't get his shot away.
That burst of activity signified nothing. The only moment of danger from that point came in the penultimate minute when Kearney and Baynes combined neatly down the right but the latter's driven cross flashed across the face of goal without anyone being able to get a touch. The referee found five added minutes from somewhere, but he could have added twenty; a draw was a fair reward for Altrincham's efforts and Wrexham were never going to deny them.
"It had been a flattering win, but Saunders' work in progress continues to get results even while he tinkers with it. If he gets the side exactly as he wants it, the Conference will have to watch out..."
