Wrexham Reserves 3
Preston North End Reserves 5
Central League (West Division)

Match Report

Despite twice taking the lead, a three-goal burst in the final 13 minutes of the game condemned the Dragons to a third defeat in four Pontin’s League outings this term and coach Joey Jones was far from impressed after his side had thrown away their chance of a first win of the season. “It was the equivalent of footballing suicide,” he said after the match. “You can’t make the mistakes we did, and not expect the players of the quality of Brett Ormerod and Neil Mellor to take advantage.”

It was certainly a tough evening’s work for a young Wrexham back line against the Preston strike force but they coped pretty well until the closing stages of the game. On a wet and miserable evening at the Racecourse it was the visitors the took the lead in the 10th minute when the ball broke for Mellor on the edge of the box and the former Liverpool man virtually passed the ball into the bottom right-hand corner giving Michael Jones no chance of saving.

Wes Baynes, who had started the game well and had already beaten the Preston left-back on a couple of occasions, did so again on 12 minutes. Despite stumbling he managed to get in a low cross and Josh Johnson’s shot produced a good save from keeper Chris Neal diving low down towards his right-hand post. But the Dragons weren’t to be denied for too much longer and duly equalised on 16 minutes when Baynes let fly from 25 yards. Neal couldn’t hold the ball in the treacherous conditions and fumbled it over his head and into the net.

The game continued to ebb and flow – with chances coming and going at both ends, Jones making a smart save to deny Mellor, whilst a Juan Ugarte 22-yard shot was well kept out by Neal. Andy Fleming’s inch-perfect pass on 27 minutes then fell nicely for Neil Roberts but the club captain’s fiercely-struck shot crashed against the post and Johnson, with the goal gaping, blasted the rebound over the bar from near the penalty spot. Mellor then had a close-range effort disallowed for offside – not that it stopped the enthusiastic tannoy announcer from confirming the ‘goal’ to everyone present!

The second half saw Wrexham start promisingly and they took the lead for the first time eight minutes after the restart. It came about as the culmination of a well-worked move through the middle of the park. Roberts found Levi Mackin who in turn fed Fleming, who then neatly flicked the ball to Ugarte on the overlap. The Basque’s initial right foot shot from the left was saved but from the rebound the ball somehow broke goalwards and Juan managed to the force it over the line at the near post.

Preston were back on level terms in the 68th minute when Ormerod had time and space 25 yards out and found the bottom left-hand corner of the net with a precise low drive that just evaded the reach of the diving Jones. The Dragons responded well and went straight up the field and regained the lead almost immediately. Baynes showed good skill and strength to burst through the middle, play a one-two with Roberts, before releasing Fleming. The midfielder, who was about 14 yards out from goal to the right and despite being put under pressure by a defender, found the net with a right-foot strike.
The Dragons looked set to record their first win of the campaign, but then came the passage of play that Joey described as “footballing suicide”. First Mellor’s 77th minute shot on the turn fizzed under the body of Jones to make it 3-3, then two minutes later Ormerod latched onto a long clearance and caught Jones off his line with a cracking lob that Pejic couldn’t keep out, despite a valiant attempt on the goal line.

And a third Preston goal in a five-minute spell killed off any hopes the Dragons had of salvaging something from the game when Chris Marriott’s under hit back pass was seized upon by Ormerod and the former Southampton striker skipped round Jones and centred for Simon Whaley to finish with ease. Wes Baynes brought a good save from Neal with a 25-yard effort in injury time but by then there was no way back and the Dragons were left to rue that madcap five-minutes spell that cost them the game.