Wrexham Comeback Reignites Title Race Hopes

Wrexham came from behind to seal a momentous 2-1 victory over Blue Square Bet Premier favourites Mansfield on a rousing April evening at the Racecourse.

The victory sees the Dragons jump back into third place in the league table, 7 points behind Mansfield and 8 behind league leaders Kidderminster.

The Stags had gone ahead through Matthew Green in the 53rd minute, but were pegged back 15 minutes later when Alan Marriott spilled Dean Keates’ free kick into his own net.

The winner arrived 12 minutes from time as Danny Wright latched on to substitute Glen Little’s perfectly-timed through ball to rifle the ball past Marriott at the near post and seal an unlikely, fortuitous, yet deserved victory for the Dragons.

They often say that football is a funny old game. Mansfield were cruising to a 13th consecutive league victory and were utterly rampant in the first 10 minutes of the second half. You would not have begrudged them the league title there and then as they looked every inch the league champions elect.

Wrexham were approaching an unprecedented 8 hours of football without a goal from open play, and staring down the barrel of a battle to preserve their status in the play-off zone.

But then again, football is indeed a funny old game. A comeback from Wrexham looked highly improbable after another dour first half display lacking in invention and ambition.

The first period gave little indication of the helter-skelter second that was to follow it. Both sets of players were fiery, but there was nothing tempestuous about the encounter. Adam Chapman figured prominently for the away side, who were set up the counter, looking to exploit the old legs in Wrexham’s rearguard.

Chris Westwood, unperturbed by Mansfield’s direct tactics, was forced off in just the 22nd minute due to injury, forcing manager Andy Morrell to shuffle the pack. Declan Walker was introduced with Stephen Wright filling in alongside the unflappable Martin Riley. The enforced change looked as if it would precipitate a crumble, but the makeshift back four held resolute until the start of the second half.

The away side had a goal disallowed in the 50th minute, before Chris Maxwell was forced into a fine save from that man Chapman. With Mansfield exerting a real purpose, it took just three more minutes for the deadlock to finally be broken when Green smashed home the rebound, after Maxwell had clawed away a Luke Jones header.

With Mansfield dominant and dictating play in the centre of the park, Wrexham struggled to build either pressure or momentum. Morrell sensed the urgency for change, introducing Dele Adebola for the ineffectual Brett Ormerod.

The impact was instant, yet the equaliser emerged in one of the most farcical way imaginable. A Dean Keates free kick, centrally placed and 20 yards away from goal, snuck through the wall and bounced just in front of Marriott, before spitting off the surface. The spin it produced from a pitch looking increasingly threadbare, bamboozled Marriott and left him wrong-footed.

All he could do was palm the ball into the side netting of his own goal. Cue not quite pandemonium or jubilation amongst the home crowd, but sheer disbelief at the way the equaliser had emerged.

Mansfield were shellshocked. Chapman forced an unconvincing punch out of Maxwell five minutes later, but they were forced back by a relentless tide of red shirts. Suddenly Wrexham players were first to every loose ball, winning the second challenge, making up ground; reinvigorated.

The introduction of Adebola was a masterstroke as he used his bulky frame to torment the Mansfield centre-halves John Dempster and Lee Beevers.

Morrell smelt victory and sought the composure and tenacity of Glen Little to unlock the Mansfield defence; the 37-year old duly obliged within 60 seconds of his introduction for the peripheral Adrian Cieslewicz.

Little snaked his way through a series of challenges before supplying the through ball for Danny Wright who finished with aplomb at the near post.

Wrexham were rampant, and should have had a third when Wright met an Adebola slide pass with a looping effort which smacked the underside of the bar and bounced on the line. Whether the ball was over or not is up for conjecture, but suffice to say the assistant referee, 20 yards behind the ball, was in no position to judge.

But the home side held firm, and had a final chance to add the gloss to the scoreline when Joe Clarke steamed through a crumbling Mansfield backline before Dean Keates lashed a shot over the bar from barely 10 yards out.

Glen Little will receive the plaudits for an outstanding match winning cameo, allied with match-saving ball retention of the highest quality. Surely, his most pronounced impact on the season?

The fan favourite has been used sparingly this season, but this cameo was the perfect riposte following the disappointment of being an unused substitute at Wembley.

For Wrexham, it stops the rot. Victory keeps the naysayers at bay and reignites their challenge for automatic promotion, whilst throwing quite the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons.

With five games to go, Wrexham head to Woking at the weekend and Mansfield to Barrow. All of a sudden, it’s everything to play for again after a frenetic evening at the Racecourse.