Wrexham Youth 1
Burnley Youth 0
Football League Youth Alliance (North West Conference)

Match Report

Stuart Webber’s side had to withstand a late onslaught to ensure that they maintained their six-point lead at the top of the table, whilst at the same time putting a major dent in Burnley’s own title ambitions.

On a sunny if blustery morning at Colliers Park, Wrexham began in lively fashion with Leon Clowes heading a Luke Carding near post centre marginally wide of the target after four minutes. The game then settled into something a midfield battle with both sides fiercely contesting every ball. The stalemate was nearly broken when Burnley captain Chris Lynch fired a thunderous free-kick against Tom Bainbridge’s right hand post on 34 minutes. The ball rebounded into the path of Alex Rae-Harvey but he could only blaze over from close range.

After another long distance shot from Lynch had flown past the upright, Wrexham gradually began to re-emerge as an attacking force and seven minutes before the interval Johnny Hunt’s flighted free-kick from just inside his own half saw Clarets keeper Danny McDonald fail to collect cleanly. The ball fell invitingly towards Jordan Kane and although the Dragons’ striker had his back to goal, his improvised flick looked to be goalbound until Lynch got back to clear the danger. Bainbridge then had to be alert to deny Lynch from a free-kick needlessly conceded on the edge of the Dragons penalty-area but the half-time whistle arrived with the game goalless.

The second period saw the visitors gain an increasing amount of possession inside the Wrexham half but only Dominic Mills’s shot really tested Bainbridge as the Dragons central defensive pairing of Kai Edwards and Leon Clowes stood strong. In many ways it was no surprise that the game’s only goal should come from a mistake. McDonald’s quick throw out to Dan Brown on 72 minutes resulted in the right-back stepping on the ball. That paved the way for Edwards to take possession and his incisive pass to George Stewart saw the Irishman stride past his marker before centring for Mark Head to calmly side-foot home from close range.

With both sides knowing the importance of victory, Burnley threw caution to the wind in an effort to level matters. A rare slip by Hunt allowed Michael Kay to cut back inside the defender and his right-foot shot brought another save from Bainbridge. Three minutes later the young keeper foiled Wes Fletcher before in the final minute of normal time Mills’s snap shot hit the post.

Wrexham came close to doubling their lead deep into injury time when Nick Rushton broke down the Burnley left. His centre found Head but he could only direct his shot straight at McDonald. A second goal then would have been flattering but there was no denying that the young Dragons deserved the three points, not least for their commitment against a physically far bigger Burnley side.

“We said to them beforehand, football is a physical game where at times you’re going to have to get hurt,” explained Webber. “I felt we let ourselves down a little bit against Carlisle earlier this month because we should have beaten them.

“So I said today, listen lads, there’s a bit of pressure on you because we know we have to win the game. Some of you are going to have to put your head where it hurts. And they did that. Rob Pearson’s gone back on with his arm all over the place, Jack Jones has had a tooth knocked out, but that’s part of the game. To win leagues, that’s what you have to do. We’ve asked that of them and they’ve gone and done it. Because they were willing to do that maybe the team’s that’s prepared to go the extra mile deserves that little bit of extra luck.”