21st February 2000    

Duxbury banned

CLUB captain Lee Duxbury is the latest Athletic player to be hit by suspension. The influential midfield man picked up his fifth booking of the season in the 3-0 win at Wrexham and will now miss Athletic’s trip to Bury a week on Saturday. Duxbury’s one-match ban makes it crucial that John Sheridan recovers quickly from his neck injury. Despite their excellent result over the weekend, Athletic could ill afford to be without two key midfielders in the same game. Sheridan’s problem began during the Oxford match last month when he was caught by Gary Kelly as the ‘keeper came out to make a punch. It is similar to a whiplash injury and will be treated all week as Athletic prepare for Saturday’s clash with second-placed Bristol Rovers. 

Scott McNiven will be available after suspension, but Matthew Tipton has three more games on the sidelines. Top scorer Mark Allott, whose hamstring strain is now clearing up, can expect another couple of weeks out of action. Tomorrow night’s league match against Wigan has been called off for a second time due to international call-ups. 

When Wigan signed Welsh striker Neil Roberts on Friday, it took their international contingent to three. Roberts is needed for a friendly in Qatar, while two of his new team-mates, Pat McGibbon and Roy Carroll, are in Northern Ireland’s squad to face Luxembourg. The original match, scheduled for December, was postponed in similar circumstances. But chief executive Alan Hardy said the matter had been out of Athletic’s hands. “We gave Wigan a few different dates when the first match was called off,” he explained. “We would have preferred something later, but the Football League wanted it played as soon as possible and it was Wigan’s decision to go for this date, even though it was an international week.” 

No new date has been set. 

ATHLETIC bounced back with a vengeance on Saturday to record their biggest away win for more than three years and leave the Wrexham crowd jeering in disapproval at their team’s surrender. “Flynn out”, “Sack the board” and “Spend some money” were among the few repeatable chants as Athletic — with a squad badly hit by injuries and suspensions — cruised to a morale-boosting success. They were good without being brilliant, and that was more than enough. Almost from the first whistle, Wrexham looked vulnerable to a ruthless rival and, once Athletic doubled their lead in the 51st minute, the hosts were sitting targets for the assassin’s bullet. With no-nonsense defending and a cool eye for goal, Athletic picked off their opponents with relative ease. Away victories taste sweet whatever the backdrop, but Andy Ritchie’s side deserve extra credit for responding so well to their woeful defeat by Gillingham a week earlier.

Most plaudits will go to the strikers and both Steve Whitehall and Craig Dudley will be delighted get back on the scoresheet. The front two never stopped running as, sometimes feeding off little more than scraps, they spent the whole game trying to maximise what they had. But the contribution of man-of-the-match Paul Rickers should not be ignored, nor the fact that the backline stayed watertight throughout. The defence kept their shape, were dominant in the air and were well shielded by the men strung across midfield for added security. Paul Jones, making only his second league appearance, showed excellent judgement in the tackle and a fierce desire to win every 50-50 challenge. Shaun Garnett was a brick wall through which nothing could pass, while wing-backs Neil Adams and Andrew Holt performed regular pincer movements to close down any avenue of attack. Given the emphatic scoreline, it is perhaps surprising that Athletic rarely flowed as well as they can. This display was all about discipline and a strict work ethic — more hair shirt than flashy designer chic. The fact that they won so comfortably says much about the value of those basic attributes, but it also summed up the problems facing Wrexham.

Long-serving manager Brian Flynn was already under pressure before what was seen by home fans as a total debacle. This match marked Wrexham as a team lacking in ideas and — something made all the more noticeable by Athletic’s fervent approach — a worrying proneness to lose spirit. Having just sold top scorer Neil Roberts for £500,000, Flynn called up Andy Morrell following his seven-goal bonanza in a midweek Welsh Cup tie. Athletic brought in Jones and Dudley for the banned Scott McNiven and Matthew Tipton. With John Sheridan again ruled out, Richard Graham stayed in midfield and his improved form suggested another big step up in fitness. Graham stood up well to the rigours of 90 minutes and it will be interesting to see where he slots in when Athletic have a full squad from which to choose. 

Wrexham carved out the first opening of the game, Karl Connolly sneaking in on the blind side before shooting over wildly from a difficult angle. Adams put a half-volley over for the top for Athletic, who took advantage of a gift-wrapped chance to attack when they went in front after 11 minutes. Connolly almost put through his own goal as his header back to ’keeper Kevin Dearden whistled a couple of inches past the post. Wrexham, however, didn’t get off lightly. When the resulting corner was curled in by Whitehall, Graham pulled away to the far post to head into the top corner from six yards. The early lift helped Athletic settle into a decent pattern of passing and movement. A flowing move gave Lee Duxbury a headed opportunity, while Whitehall had a shot blocked from Duxbury’s deep cross. Wrexham, who enjoyed greater possession for most of the match, switched Connolly — their most dangerous forward — to the right wing in search of inspiration. It was from that source that Morrell headed tamely at Gary Kelly. And the same striker’s 44th-minute run and shot gave Kelly one of his few tests of the game. Wrexham’s lack of flair in a poor first half saw a double substitution which briefly lit their attacking flame. But it was the visitors who went close next, with Dudley sending through Whitehall, only for the chip to drift too high. It took only two minutes for Whitehall to make amends by notching his eighth goal of the season, one which owed much to the good work of Rickers.

The midfield man’s touch totally deceived Gareth Owen on the edge of the box and brought him face-to-face with Dearden. Keeping his head at the key moment, Rickers drew the ’keeper and laid the ball square for Whitehall, who found the empty net from eight yards. Just past the hour mark, Wrexham made their best chance of the match to provide Athletic with a major scare. Mark McGregor’s right-wing cross was met powerfully by Connolly, but his header smacked against the crossbar and rebounded to safety. Athletic were going through a nervous spell and a goal for Wrexham might just have caused some flutters at the back. Yet, just as they had after the break, the visitors came up with the best possible reply. Rickers was again the provider for the third goal, threading through a perfectly-weighted pass from the centre circle. Dudley outstripped the defence, rounded Dearden and, after another touch to make absolutely sure, joyfully whacked his shot into the net from close range. It was almost 4-0 a minute later as Dearden was at full stretch to reach Whitehall’s volley. And the day got even better for Athletic in the closing stages when, by the skin of his teeth, Mark Hotte escaped a second sending off of the season. Hotte had already been booked for a foul when he brought down Robin Gibson out wide. Referee Roy Pearson immediately reached for his pocket, but then changed his mind — seemingly when he realised what another caution would entail.

ANDY RITCHIE revealed that a half-time telling off had spurred his side to victory at the Racecourse Ground. Athletic may have been 1-0 up when they trooped in for tea and tactics, but their manager was still demanding greater effort. “I wasn’t happy with them,” said Ritchie. “We went in front early on and started sitting back. We seemed to think we could just coast with a goal behind us. “It was much better in the second half because we defended well and pressured them. “The two goals came with pressure from the front and the midfield backing them up well. “When you play away from home, maybe you go for it a bit more because you have more opportunities to break. “Going in front brings the other team out and you can capitalise on that, which we did very well. “The major thing was to get back to winning ways after the Gillingham game last week, so I’m pleased with this result. “We were a couple of people down because of suspensions, but I thought there were some great performances out there. “Paul Jones was excellent considering he has had limited opportunities. He was strong and aggressive and he headed everything for us. “Paul Rickers deserves a mention because he had one of his best games for a long time — a lot of his hard work goes unnoticed. “I also thought Lee Duxbury was excellent and Craig Dudley showed great composure to round the ’keeper for his goal. “Steve Whitehall worked very hard and Richard Graham got better in the second half. He seemed to think he was playing in Serie A before that and could have six touches on the ball.”

After hearing the home crowd calling for his head, Wrexham boss Brian Flynn remained in defiant mood. He called the performance “the worst for many a year”, but thought his side would pull away from the danger zone. Said Flynn: “We lacked cohesion, creative passing and were second best all the way. “We have to accept that — we don’t like it, but we have to accept it. “I’ve been in professional football since I was 15 and I know you get highs and lows both on and off the pitch. “In a life like this, you get criticism. But I do believe we’ll stay up, even after that performance.”

John Sheridan will continue to have intensive treatment on his neck this week as he looks to make a recovery in time for the Bristol Rovers game. Had the match with Wigan been on this Tuesday then it would have almost certainly have been far too early but with intensive treatment and plenty of rest there is a chance he could come into consideration for the weekend. However, with Richard Graham in fine form Ritchie will be in no rush to bring him back too soon and risk aggravating the injury.Teamtalk WREXHAM 
Coach Joey Jones believes that the home fans booing of the side after the 3-0 defeat to Oldham was perfectly justified. The dismal showing at the Racecourse has been further compounded by chairman Pryce Griffiths warning that the club's debts are mounting because of poor attendance's. Jones has admitted that Wrexham need a rapid change in fortunes if the side are to avoid a slide into the relegation zone. He said: "I apologise to the fans for that performance."