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After a poor performance at York, Wrexham needed to show at Rushden that they were able to live with the better sides in The Conference, and they emphatically did so. While a fine goalkeeping display by Alan Marriott denied them all three points, they were vastly superior to a Rushden side which would have gone tp of the table if it had held onto its second half lead. More encouragingly, there was no repeat of the constant launching of long balls onto Jeff Louis' head. With Mackin's endeavour giving Kearney plenty of opportunity to regulate play through midfield, Wrexham looked like a decent side again.

The pattern was established early on, as Rushden set themselves up in the manner of an away side looking to dig in for a clean sheet rather than title contenders. Lee Phillips was isolated up front as his team mates launched long balls at him from deep in their own half, and was unable to challenge Steve Evans and Darran Kempson in the air.

Attendance: 1,805

Away fans: 377

Referee: Shaun Procter-green

Highlight: Kearney teeing up the goal with some schoolyard scrapping skills!

Key Moment: Alan Marriott's saves late in the first half kept Rushden in the game.

Little's Calls: Mackin returned and gave the midfield a lot more strength.

What did we learn?: If Rushden are a top of the table side we should be too.

Upside: A massive improvement on Thursday.

Downside: Not enough of a cutting edge meant we didn't kill them off.

Verdict: A big relief!

Listen to the Final Whistle podcast featuring Brian Little and Tom Kearney.

Relive the game with audio highlights from WSAFC

However, The Diamonds' tactics did make them hard to break down, especially for a side which appears to lack a real cutting edge as Wrexham do, and Louis was once again ineffective. He did get on the end of the one real chance Wrexham carved out in the opening half hour though, volleying wide from fifteen yards after Shaun Whalley kept a long ball in for Simon Brown to whip in a first time cross.

Brown was enjoying his best performance for Wrexham to date; he has always looked neat in his work, but this was the first time he wasn't peripheral for long periods, and he nearly snatched his first goal of the season when Marriott raced out of the box to head a long ball away but only picked out the winger twenty five yards out. There was nothing wrong with Brown's volley towards the open goal, but the keeper did well to scramble back towards his goal and palm the ball round the post.

Marriott had to excel again in injury time when a Kearney free kick picked out Steve Evans at the far post, six yards out, but his powerful header was spectacularly tipped over, and the second half began in a familiar manner, Marriott tipping over and excellent dipping twenty five yarder from Kearney.

The only decent effort Rusdhen had managed in the whole first half was a shot by Rob Wolleaston from the edge of the box which he pulled wide of the right post, but they were to improve going forwards after boss Garry Hill made an overdue substitution.

Teenage striker Sam Smith had come off the bench in midweek to score one and set up the other in a 2-0 win over Ebbsfleet. It hadn't been enough to earn him a starting place but his introduction as a second striker not only offered Phillips some support up front, but introduced a new challenge to Wrexham's centre backs. Big and

pacy, Smith troubled Evans in particular with hs running, and he gave Rushden the lead against the run of play when Simon Spender made a hash of an interception, knocking the ball against Andy Burgess who hit the goal line and pulled the ball back for Smith to tap into the empty net.

Wrexham responded gamely, Aiston scarmbling past two men on the edge of the box but scuffing his shot straight at the keeper. The decisive change came when Louis and Aiston were withdrawn for Wes Baynes and Neil Taylor, who in tucking in from the flanks gave Wrexham further opportunity to get a grip on midfield. Indeed, they linked up well to carve out a chance, Baynes feeding Taylor whose twenty yard shot was well held, before Wrexham snatched a deserved equaliser.

The goal began with that rarity, a contested drop ball. Kearney won it and soemhow managed to turn away from the three defenders around him and lash in a shot which was blocked into the path of Brown, clear on goal. he unselfishly drew the keeper and squared for Whalley to jab the ball into the open goal.

There was one more scare to survive as Smith outran Evans but shot into Ward's arms from a tight angle when a drag back would have presented Curtis Woodhouse with a simple finish, but it was Wrexham who pressed more convincingly for a winner, without troubling Marriott. While getting just a point after dominating might be a disappointment, the fact is that after last Thursday this performance will have restored confidence in Wrexham's promotion credentials.