Ready for a Welsh derby double-header?
Both Wrexham’s senior teams enjoyed pleasing wins at the weekend to warm up for a big weekend.
The men had to overcome an AFC Wimbledon team who get their game plan right but failed to take advantage while they dominated the first 20 minutes. Most of their best attacking players were unavailable, either through injury or because they were on international duty: who knows how the game might have gone if they had been available?
However, as it was, The Dons weren’t able to strike when they were on top, and the game began to take a familiar path. Phil Parkinson has fashioned a side which certainly knows how to get the job done at the Stok Cae Ras.
Whether it’s the knowledge that the crowd won’t give up on them, the confidence that they have in their teammates or the experience of having come up with the goods so many times when the chips are down, this is a side which expects to find a solution to the problems it’s presented with.
We turned the game around, and by the time we took the lead there was already a sense of inevitability about the result. This weekend would be a wonderful time to start creating the same sense of inevitability on the road.
I’m not saying for a moment that our away record or performances are poor. We have the 7th best away record in terms of points per game, which is no mean feat when you consider the peculiar way our fixtures have fallen.
We’ve played all but 3 of the current top 15 teams in the division away from home, so it’s understandable that we’ve had to fight to get results. In contrast, we’ve only played one of the bottom 9 sides away, so hopefully we’ll be able to start to find a winning rhythm in away games soon.
Newport are, of course, one of those sides in the bottom end of the table, but they won’t be pushovers. Just last month they showed that they have the appetite for a scrap in a derby, and while we found a way in the end, as we do, overpowering them on their own patch will be a challenge. If we can do that again on Saturday, it could be an occasion we’ll look back on as being a crucial moment in our promotion push.
The next day the women’s team will have another massive occasion to enjoy. Playing at Cardiff City’s stadium will be a superb experience, but they’re certainly not heading south as tourists.
The speed of Steve Dale’s side’s progress is similar to that of the men’s team, and taking The Bluebirds on is an important point for us to take stock of how far we’ve come.
We played Cardiff a fortnight ago at The Rock and lost, but there were clear signs of how far we’d come in just the first half of the season. Our fitness levels have improved massively, and although we were beaten in the end, we were able to compete until the final whistle, having flagged when we lost our second home match of the campaign.
Last weekend the team showed terrific resilience, in a similar manner to the men’s victory the previous day. The obstacles this time were a hugely improved Barry Town United team, who have added a couple of eye-catching signings from Cardiff, and a list of injuries to key players which could have had a massively debilitating effect on the side.
However, we showed the same characteristics as Parkinson’s side, digging deep and remaining in control of the game. Again, there was a sense of confidence that the breakthrough would come, even with our talismanic striker Rosie Hughes one of our absentees.
Eventually her direct replacement, Ava Suckley, scored and we saw the game out for the victory.
It will be tough to emerge with the three points on Sunday, but this is a team which has a habit of exceeding expectations. The pleasure at digging deep to beat Barry was enhanced at the final whistle when the news broke that Pontypridd had won their first point of the season against Aberystwyth.
The league will split into two in a few weeks, and before the campaign a top four finish was our ambition. We’ve shown throughout the season that we’re able to do much better than hope for 4th place, and Aberystwyth’s aberration means that 2 more wins from our remaining 6 matches will be enough to guarantee a top 4 finish.
While we’ll set our sights higher than that, to be in this position in January is a superb achievement. Indeed, if the results go our way we could secure a place in the top 4 on Sunday.
Like the men’s team we have a lop-sided fixture list, but in reverse. Our last 4 home games, kicking off with the win over Barry, are against the bottom four. That’s a real opportunity to create some momentum to go into the second phase of the season.
So enjoy this weekend: both our sides have a chance to head south and put on statement performances.
DragonHeart 