A first half Jamie Tolley strike was enough to secure Wrexham a place in tomorrow’s FA Cup third round draw for the first time in five seasons. The midfielder’s excellent first half volley saw off League One Brentford to set up a possible meeting with Premier League opposition.
The Blue Square Bet Premier leaders enhanced their reputation of being a club that is rapidly progressing towards a return to the Football League by fully deserving their place in round three. Over 700 fans who made the journey east watched Wrexham dominant in a first half that could have put the Non-League club out of sight. Influential midfielder Jay Harris had the Dragons first clear opportunity but could not prevent his shot from flying over the bar from the edge of the penalty area.
Richard Lee in the Brentford goal was by far the busier goalkeeper, he did well to deny Adrian Cieslewicz and then saw Lee Fowler blaze a shot high over the cross bar as the visitors pressed for a deserved breakthrough. With half an hour gone, Wrexham grabbed the lead thanks to Tolley’s wonderful strike. A Wrexham corner was only half cleared before Tolley lashed a right-foot volley past Lee to put the visitors ahead after a dominant opening.
The Dragons’ extra man in midfielder was clearly having its desired effect and with pace on both flanks, Brentford were unable to mount a serious threat on an unopposed Wrexham goal. The second best Bees, finally began to get a foothold on proceedings and but for a superb save from Joslain Mayebi the League One side would have snatched an unlikely equaliser. Sam Saunders free kick looked destined for the top corner before Mayebi clawed the ball away to preserve the visitor’s advantage.
With Bees boss Uwe Rosler ready to berate his troops during half time, Wrexham almost added to Rosler's infuriation by doubling their lead. Lee did well to hold onto a goal bound Tolley header, before the dangerous Cieslewicz drove a shot over the cross bar after good, persistent work by Danny Wright. The half time whistle was greeted with a chorus of boos as Brentford trudged off knowing they would have to improve in the second half.
The Non-League side began the second half in the same vain in which they ended the first, as Brentford struggled to instantly impose themselves on events. A free kick fizzed across the six-yard box before the goal scorer Tolley fired a shot over the bar to send a warning sign to their League One opponents.
Winger Nathaniel Knight-Percival came within inches of increasing the lead when his acrobatic effort bounced agonisingly wide after a Neil Ashton corner had been cleverly headed into his path. The attack-minded Bees were beginning to present the visitors with opportunities to kill the game off. Cieslewicz pounced on a Craig Woodman mistake and raced clear, but his shot flew past the far post to give the impression that the Dragons may live to rue those missed chances.
Sure enough, Brentford began to improve and assert severe pressure on their retreating opponents. Gary Alexander drove a shot just wide after skilfully manoeuvring himself into space and, to further unease the Blue Square Premier club, another close shave saw Saunders’ curling effort deflect narrowly off target. The match was now being played entirely in Wrexham’s final third as the visitors struggled to cope with the Londoners Ariel bombardment. Alexander headed straight at Mayebi following an inviting Shaleum Logan cross before Mayebi distinguished himself again moments later to keep out substitute Niall Mcginn’s cross shot.
As the match entered the final 15 minutes Wrexham’s rearguard act was proving effective as they literally put their bodies on the line in true FA Cup fashion. Leon Legge’s powerful header was well blocked, a shot from the edge of the box was heroically charged down, before more incredible defending saw Mcginn’s drive thwarted by another lunging act of desperation to protect Wrexham’s slender lead.
A quite brilliant defensive display has given Wrexham a hard fought place in the third round draw. The final half an hour saw Brentford throw everything at the Dragons, but in the end they came up short as the Welsh club courageously, grounded out a result that could set up another potential scalp for the Non League side.
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