A WEEK in football is as long a time as it is in politics, as Wrexham have discovered since marking their Blue Square Premiership debut with a 5-0 victory on the opening day of the season.But in the eight days since a morale-boosting performance consigned Stevenage Borough to that heavy defeat, the Dragons have suffered something of a goal drought as well as paying a heavy price for sloppy defensive errors.Undone by a set-piece by York City on Thursday in a match they might have drawn or even won had they taken their chances, it was a similar story at Nene Park yesterday.After taking the game by the scruff of the neck and carving out several chances that kept home goalkeeper Alan Marriott busy, Wrexham found themselves trailing when the home side capitalised on a mistake to steal the lead.That on this occasion the visitors managed to haul themselves back into the game was some consolation, but it’s difficult to escape the conclusion that it was a case of two points dropped rather than one gained.At least manager Brian Little could claim with some justification that the performance yesterday was a huge improvement on that at KitKat Crescent – although that merely added to the sense of frustration. With defender Nat Brown failing to recover from the groin strain he picked up at York on Thursday evening, Wales international Steve Evans was given a first start of the season for the visitors.And midfielder Levi Mackin, back after a one-match ban, was recalled in place of Christian Smith, who surprisingly didn’t even make the bench.For Rushden, who had made a 100% start to the campaign to date, there were three changes from the line-up which overcame Ebbsfleet United on Tuesday night. Dean McDonald, Marcus Kelly and Phil Gulliver were all dropped to make way for Sagi Burton, Michael Corcoran and Rob Wolleaston on a red-letter day for Diamonds’ captain Andy Burgess, who was making his 250th appearance for the club.But it was the Dragons who made the more promising start, which would have pleased Little after the manager complained his players had looked sluggish during the early stages of their previous two outings.Crisp passing from Mackin and Simon Brown presented Jefferson Louis with a half-chance after five minutes, but the striker’s first-time volley failed to trouble Marriott.With Shaun Whalley also looking lively, the visitors continued to push on and Sam Aiston’s clever chip was heading for Louis’ head until Gareth Jelleyman came to the rescue for Diamonds at the expense of a corner.Wrexham’s movement and passing was forcing their opponents to defend in numbers, apart from a brief spell in which Wolleaston twice had shots blocked on the edge of the penalty area before a Lee Phillips effort beat Gavin Ward but was disallowed for offside.Nevertheless it was a rare spell of pressure for the home side, who continued to look uncomfortable and should have gone behind on the half-hour.Steve Evans, staying upfield after a corner, crossed to the far post where Aiston’s prod across the face of goal would surely have been turned in by Louis had the big striker been more alert to the possibilities.And just four minutes later, Marriott came a long way to head the ball away, but only to Brown whose first-time volley seemed destined for the empty net until the keeper recovered his ground, flung himself backwards and turned the ball past the post.Still the keeper continued to defy Little’s men, making another excellent save from Steve Evans in what was the final action of a 45 minutes dominated for little reward by the visitors.Wrexham’s frustration increased when skipper Tom Kearney made space for a shot from 25 yards that Marriott was again equal to, turning the dipping effort over his crossbar.It was the final straw for home boss Garry Hill, who hauled off Wolleaston and sent on Sam Smith, the man who scored one and made the other against Ebbsfleet after coming off the bench.And the replacement made an immediate impact, although his 61st-minute goal owed more to a mistake by Simon Spender than to Burgess, who rode the defender’s weak challenge before sliding the ball into the six-yard box, where Smith reacted quickest to stab the ball past Gavin Ward.Unexpected as it was, the goal did nothing to encourage the home side into a more expansive game and they packed ever greater numbers behind the ball.Aiston tried to bulldoze his way through with partial success, but his weak finish posed no problem for the keeper, who was then tested at full stretch by substitute Neil Taylor.And Wrexham’s dogged persisitence finally paid off in the 75th minute when Kearney drove forward and slipped the ball forward for Brown, who drew the keeper before slipping the ball to Whalley, who produced a cool finish under Marriott’s body. It was no less than the visitors deserved and it was a significant pointer to the afternoon's entertainment that the home keeper was named man of the match by the Rushden game sponsors.
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