Goals -
1-0 Blinkhorn (2)
1-1 Jones (77)
1-2 Jones (78)
2-2 McGregor (84)
2-3 Ferguson (96)
3-3 Southern (99)
4-3 Vernon (104)
Denis Smith's troops recovered from a dreadful start to twice take the lead against Blackpool, but as the injuries once again mounted defensive fraililties cost us dear.
If you thought Torquay's first goal on Saturday was comical, then there were few in the away section smiling as the home side took the lead after just 93 seconds at Bloomfield Road!
An aimless high was pumped down the middle and with three blue shirts covering back there seemed little danger as Michael Ingham came towards the edge of his box to collect the bouncing ball. But as Blackpool striker Matt Blinkhorn joined in Dennis Lawrence decided he was too close for comfort and headed the ball over his advancing keeper, the two Wrexham players then colliding leaving the Blackpool man with the simple task of running the ball into an empty net!
So after scoring the last goal in the 04/05 tournament, we go and concede the first of the present competition.
The on-loan Chris Armstrong notched Blackpool's second effort of the night on eight minutes, when he collected a clearance by the Red Dragons and fired a low shot from 25-yards that Ingham was able to block, but needed a second bite at grabbing hold of the ball as Blinkhorn closed in looking for the scraps.
It was an effort that the Sheffield United player followed up on the quarter hour mark, firing a half cleared corner back over Ingham's crossbar with the Irish international at full stretch.
Wrexham were having a fair amount of possession and pressure, forcing a number of corners and throw in's deep in the home half, but without making the Australian keeper make any serious save.
Then on 18 minutes, Blackpool showed how dangerous they could be, as Holt failed to shepherd the ball out of play and Danny Coid whipped in a cross to Blinkhorn, who seemed to have added a second goal from 10-yards, but somehow Holt had regained his footing to sprint into the goalmouth and clear off his own goal line.
As Blackpool replaced Coid with Simon Grayson on 29 minutes, a Ferguson free kick was delivered long to Lawrence, who beat two men in the air and got a header on target, but straight into the keeper's arms.
A minute later the Scot sent through another great pass that gave Jon Walters the half-yard he needed to stretch the home defence and fire a blistering shot that was a foot wide of the left hand post.
There was a confrontation between Bayliss and Wright in 36 minutes, which saw the pair grabbing each other around the neck, but referee Clive Oliver contented themselves with a yellow card respectively. Had it been red, then there could have been few arguments from their managers!
Blackpool were forced to make a second substitution on 41 minutes when Jamie Burns limped off to be replaced by Rory Prendergast.
Captain Peter Clarke came to his side's rescue when his saving tackle denied Walters as the striker seemed poised to test Pogliacomi from just inside the Blackpool box.
With a little over an hour gone, Denis introduced Lee McEvilly for Simon Spender, switching Bennett back to his more normal wing back role.
With the rain drifting down on the exposed travelling fans in the open seats on the side of the half developed Bloomfield Road ground, thoughts must have been turned back to that great Sunday afternoon last April and how far away it seemed now!
Danny Williams then drove to the byline and his low pull back was met by McEvilly in the centre, the former Accrington man getting a foot to the ball but firing the wrong side of the keeper's near post.
The last throw of the dicesaw Dave Bayliss, already on a booking heading for the sidelines as Robbie Foy came on to make up a three-man attack with 17 minutes remaining.
Denis' plan worked wonders on 77 minutes when Walters dribble down the right flank and squared for Mark Jones to hit a low shot that the keeper failed to deal with and it ended up in the back of the net.
It turned even better for the Dragons two minutes later when a pull back from the left ran passed everyone, but sat up for the in rushing Mark Jones who fired another long-range shot under the diving Pogliacomi.
Jones failed to grab his hat trick as Smith set him up inside the box, but his chip over the keeper trickled wide of the far post.
Blackpool responded with an onslaught that saw Ingham turn a low shot round his post for a corner, before ex-Wrexham defender Mark McGregor was sent up for another corner on 84 minutes and when the half cleared kick was knocked back in he was there to lash it high into Ingham's net from six-yards.
It was now a real cup tie with the action switching from end to end as the fourth official indicated that there were three minutes of time to be added.
Then deep into that period, a Ferguson corner dropped over the jumping Lawrence onto t he head of McEvilly, but his effort from eight yeards went straight into the chest of Pogliacomi.
The 30 minutes of extra time kicks off with Levi Mackin replacing Lawrence, meaning we have no recognised centre halves on the pitch. Danny Williams joins Holt at the back, as Smith and Bennett become full backs in a flat back four!
The persistence of Walters, who chased what looked a lost cause to the line, saw him cut in towards goal, but Darren Ferguson overlapped him and when the ball was played back to him the Scot eyed a spot in the far top corner and that was exactly where he buried the ball six minutes into extra time.
Not that the drenched Welshmen celebrate for long as some poor defending, which saw three men fail to deal with Keith Southern in the box, and allowed the
This was compounded a minute before the break when substitute Scott Vernon was allowed to wend his way through the back line, leaving both Bennett and Ingham on the ground before he slammed the ball into another empty net.
Wrexham lifted themselves as the second period of extra time got under way and as Foy ended a run with a cross that the Wrexham fans claimed struck the hand of Grayson, Ferguson collected the loose ball and from 18-yards forced Pogliacomi into a flying save.
Then McGregor almost scored an own goal as he turned Ferguson's cross from the right into the side netting.
As the Dragons had to commit men forward, spaces developed at the back and a low shot from Vernon forced Ingham to concede a corner with a diving save.
In the end it all caught up with us and the dream slipped away.
Blackpool: Les Pogliacomi, Mark McGregor, Keith Southern, Peter Clarke, John Doolan, Danny Coid (Simon Grayson 29), Matt Blinkhorn, Jamie Burns (Rory Prendergast 41), Simon Wiles, Tommy Wright (Scott Vernon 65), Chris Armstrong.
Subs: Lee Jones, Tony Butler.
Wrexham: Michael Ingham, Dennis Lawrence (Levi Mackin 91), Dave Bayliss (Robbie Foy 73), Andy Holt, Simon Spender (Lee McEvilly 62), Alex Smith, Mark Jones, Danny Williams, Darren Ferguson, Jon Walters, Dean Bennett.
Subs: Michael Jones, Mike Williams.
Referee: Chris Oliver (Northumberland)
Attendance: 3,239
Away: 287
Bookings -
Blackpool: Wright (ungentlemanly 36), Doolan (foul 61), Southern (foul 87)
Wrexham: Bayliss (ungentlemanly 36)
