Ian Evatt returned to Chesterfield's defence this afternoon after suspension, to be partnered by Alan O'Hare in the continued absence of Steve Blatherwick. Mark Innes lined up on the left of midfield, while DeBolla partnered Folan up front.
Line-up:
MUGGLETON
BALIEY EVATT O'HARE NICHOLSON
ALLOTT NIVEN HUDSON INNES
DeBOLLA FOLAN
Subs: Richmond (gk), N'Toya, Allison, Davies, Dawson.
Hudson shot wide on 3 after Nicholson's free kick was deflected to the edge of the area and a DeBolla shot was charged down two minutes later, but the game lapsed into a long, quiet period after that. Wrexham seemed determined to keep what they went into the game with and got plenty of men behind the ball, while The Spireites lacked the imagination to pull the packed defence apart.
Crowell's shot on 16 was held by Muggleton. The Red Dragons had a good five minutes, with Edwards' cross behind glanced out by Niven's head for the game's first corner and Muggleton came out to collect as Llewelwyn chased Jones's through ball into the box. By and large, though, Chesterfield continued to hold the balance of possession. Around the 28th minute a late challenge on Niven by Williams was followed by a clumsy one on Innes in the penalty area by Lawrence; no foul, so no pen, but Innes stayed down and was eventually carried off and replaced by Gareth Davies, in the 32nd minute.
Within a minute Williams was booked for a foul on Allott, who, after a quiet start, was looking the Spireite most likely to stamp any influence on the game. Six minutes later Chesterfield took the lead, without ever really having threatened the goal. A Nicholson free kick from just inside their half was met by Evatt near the corner of the six yard box; uncertainty from the keeper and Evatt's sheer power combined to see the ball headed home.
The goal was exactly what the game needed. Wrexham would now be compelled to abandon defence, come out a bit and leave gaps at the back for us to exploit. To their credit, they certainly did the first bit! Five seconds before the end of normal first-half time Edwards looked forward with the ball; Hudson should have closed him down, but didn't, and the cross went in towards Ugarte who rose, largely unchallenged, to head home from about ten yards. Thirty-five seconds later Ugarte was found by a pass in the middle of our half, completely unattended and clearly onside. He turned, took it on a few paces and belted the thing past Muggleton to give Wrexham a lead that was no more deserved than the one that we held briefly. There was still time for Ugarte to be booked and Hudson and DeBolla to flash efforts over the bar before half time.
Halftime: 2-1 to them.
Wrexham took off their keeper at half time - given that he only had one thing to do in the first period and cocked that up, it cannot have been caused through over-exertion! Niven came through on 47 but shot over, and he and Hudson exchanged a tidy 1-2 before his cross drifted out. N'Toya replaced Hudson on 57: the midfielder left to a chorus of jeers from various parts of the ground. The idea is that supporters pay their money, so supporters are allowed to express their opinion. When they express it like that, though, are they entitled to be called "supporters?" A supporter is a person who contributes to the fulfilment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose; who champions a cause or who gives backing to something. A supporter is also something an athlete wears around his genitals. There are clearly many different types of supporter, and all offer support in their own way. One guy up in the stand, having called for the manager's dismissal, got into a fearful exchange of views with another and was shouted down by many more. These, sadly, were the highlights for some, as Chesterfield sought to get back into the game.
Within a minute of Hudson going off, they scored another. Llewelwyn chased the ball down the right and pulled it back to Edwards; he found Ugarte who showed composure to finish and record his hat-trick. Five minutes later Ugarte was allowed through a static defence to fire home his fourth from inside the box. The Basque forward thus became the first player to score four for the visitors at Saltergate since Billy Ashcroft, probably, for, erm, Wrexham!
Chesterfield won their first corner on 65 and enjoyed a flurry of them; from one, O'Hare had a header headed off the line. N'Toya was booked for a poor challenge on Morgan, in the 66th minute: two minutes later Morgan lifted his foot as Tcham went into the box, and the sub went over. Nicholson stepped up to bury the pen, leaving Chesterfield twenty minutes to get the two back.
Evatt hit the bar on 78 but Wrexham played out the rest of the game well, protecting their young keeper and their two-goal lead. The Chief came on for the last seven minutes, replacing DeBolla, but his leadership was perhaps introduced rather too late for Chesterfield. The final whistle was met with the inevitable expressions of disappointment, but many of those who might have booed the lads off had left with twenty-five minutes on the clock.
One good Wrexham goal - the third one - was accompanied by three avoidable and poor ones for us to concede. This in itself was not enough for us to lose, for Wrexham appeared to lack confidence and could easily have conceded more than we did! It did not happen for DeBolla and Folan, as a partnership: Folan didn't get a great deal of change out of the giant Lawrence, so DeBolla didn't see any of the knockdowns he hoped for. The midfield as a unit was poor - Niven is a great box-to-box man who breaks things up and wins the ball, but he needs someone alongside him to do the passing. Hudson did that last season but - for whatever reason you want to choose - his confidence is shot to pieces. Allott came into the middle after Hudson's withdrawal and things improved; he won the ball with some fine tackles and used it well, by and large. Little happened up our flanks throughout the game, although N'Toya livened up the left briefly after his introduction. In the race to point the finger people will blame the defence, but they are having to do a lot more work at the moment.
Some will point to the loss of the loan men: for sure, the loss of JCR (and absence through injury of NAS) has deprived us of a means to turn defence into attack with speed, and Clingan's return has robbed us of a tackler and a passer. Still, the other nine are nine of the eleven on duty today, and it is a mystery where their drive and passion went this afternoon.
SB
MATCH FACTS:
CHESTERFIELD 2 - 4 WREXHAM
Goal Attempts 15:7 Goal Attempts
On Target 8:6 On Target
Crosses 10:7 Crosses
Corners 8:2 Corners
Offside 1:7 Offside
Fouls 14:13 Fouls
Free kicks 21:16 Free kicks
Yellow cards 1:2 Yellow cards
% Possession 52:48 Possession %
