What an amazing evening on the Lancashire coast as Wrexham rode their luck to grab the point they deserved for their pure spirit and it was well received by the 600+ travelling Welsh fans after an exciting 90 minutes of football.
More fighting displays like this will only help our cause, but injuries to Sonner and Tremarco will be disappointing for manager Brian Little, as will the sending off for Richard Hope in the dying minutes for a second yellow card.
The game itself could hardly have got off to a worse start as having seen his first cross cleared out to the wing, Morecambe's Carl Baker made no mistake when presented with another opportunity after just seven minutes and in the middle Wayne Curtis was able to bundle the ball home from close range.
This was the first incident of note in the match after a begining which the travelling fans would have been reasonably happy with.
Midfielder Craig Stanley then hit a long ball over the top on 11 minutes, with Matt Blinkhorn taking it under control and with space to play run into, but the former Blackpool man dragged his effort across the face of the Wrexham goal.
It was a rocky 10-minute spell for the Welshmen that saw them survive more problems by desperate defending and some good luck.
Wrexham's first corner came on 18 minutes, when Stuart Nicholson found Simon Spender and his early ball into the box was diverted behind. Danny Sonner crossed from the right and when the ball was flicked on Nicholson couldn't quite finish, and after a scramble the home side were able to clear the danger.
A poor back pass saw Morecambe's Shwan Jalal played into trouble as Neil Roberts put him under pressure after 26 minutes, but the on loan keeper was able to clear downfield before colliding with Roberts on the edge of the box. The ball dropped at the feet of Richard Hope, although from 50-yards he failed to spot the unguarded net, when an ambitious long punt might just have brought its own reward!
On 30 minutes though, the Dragons were able to draw level when Danny Sonner sent keeper Jalal the wrong way from the penalty spot.
The spot kick was awarded after a flowing Wrexham move was started by Sonner, who fed Broughton and then Nicholson, with the on loan West Brom striker advancing into the home box before being bundled over from behind by Danny Adams.
While referee Andy Hall pointed to the penalty spot, Adams survived even a yellow card, when it looked he could have even been heading for an early bath after crashing into Nicholson from behind and denying him a shot at goal from about 10-yards.
Within 60 seconds of the equaliser, Garry Thompson pulled down a great ball over the top, but with only Ward to beat, the Morecambe man managed to guide his effort into the side netting as the Wrexham keeper did all he could to put off the attacker.
Chris Llewellyn produced a great long-range drive that crashed against a Morecambe post, but the ball rebounded into the path of Drewe Broughton. The Wrexham striker was odds on favourite to score from six-yards, but some how keeper Jalal managed to get to his feet and dive to the opposite side of his goal to produce a stunning save.
In added time of the first half there was a lucky escape for Wrexham, as a cross from the right was allowed to go right across the face of the visitors' goal, which Curtis then headed back into the six-yard box, and it took a mad scramble to see the ball finally hooked clear with bodies throwing themselves in all directions.
HT
A change at the interval saw goal scorer Sonner replaced Jeff Whitley.
An exciting start to the second half gave Wrexham a chance from Spender's corner that was cleared.
Then three minutes after the break, Tremarco, who had gone through some stretching exercises in the warm up, was replaced by Neil Taylor - looking to struggling with a left thigh problem.
Taylor was involved straight away when tackling from behind on the edge of the box and winning the ball from Thompson, but with the linesman flagging for a foul the referee over ruled him and played on.
The referee then promptly over ruled his assistant once again, this time to give the home team a corner. It was played deep and at the back post it was back heeled by Carl Baker, but only in front of the goal where Neil Roberts got into a muddle and ended up knocking the ball passed Ward to restore Morecambe's lead!
A Wrexham free kick on 62 minutes, when Broughton was fouled, allowed Roberts to hammer a 22-yard effort against the wall, the ball bounced back to the Wrexham man, although his second shot whistled well wide of the target.
Thompson's through ball split the Wrexham defence to allow Baker to race clear after 63 minutes, but Ward was quickly to the edge of his box and as he spread himself he managed to block the shot with his chest as he slide outside of the area.
A tactical change on 67 minutes saw the Dragons take Spender out of defence and add an extra striker with the introduction of Michael Proctor.
A double mistake by the Wrexham defence saw first Ward and then Evans make poor clearances, giving the ball away and as Morecambe flung it back into the six-yard box, the keeper could only palm it towards the penalty spot where Drummond was lurking. As the red shirt tried to pounce in front of a gaping net, Pejic flung himself at the ball and was able to force it away.
Then the moment which swung the game back to Wrexham, as a corner came in from the right and as Llewellyn headed goalwards, we can only assume he was fouled, as referee Hall pointed at the spot for the Drgaons; second penalty of the evening.
Up stepped Michael Proctor to hammer home his third goal against the Shrimps this season, firing the ball straight down the middle in front of the ecstatic Wrexham fans on 78 minutes.
Moments later, in a frantic goalmouth melee, Wrexham continually failed to clear their lines and as the ball dropped in the path of Stanley his neat chip carried just too much weight and drifted beyond Ward's back post.
Then, in a nice Wrexham build up involving four players, Roberts found Nicholson on the edge of the home box, but he could only fire a weak shot at the keeper.
From their umpteenth free kick close to the Wrexham area, a high ball was headed down by Bentley for Blinkhorn to have a clear sight of goal, but he put his chance a yard wide of the keeper's near post.
As the board went up for three added minutes, Twiss fired over a curling cross behind the Wrexham defence, but Ward dived forward to punch clear as the home strikers closed in on him.
Then captain Richard Hope received a second yellow card for yet another nigging foul and headed for the dressing rooms.
Somehow we survived to earn a tremendous point with yet another spirited display, when we really didn't deserve it on the balance of play - but that could just be the difference come the end of the season.
Phew!
Morecambe (4-4-2): Shwan Jalal, Adam Yates, Dave Artell, James Bentley, Danny Adams, Garry Thompson, Stuart Drummond, Craig Stanley, Carl Baker, Wayne Curtis (Michael Twiss 77), Matt Blinkhorn.
Subs: Scott Davies, Garry Hunter, Jamie Burns, Jon Newby.
Wrexham (3-5-2): Gavin Ward, Simon Spender (Michael Proctor 67), Steve Evans, Richard Hope, Shaun Pejic, Carl Tremarco (Neil Taylor 48) , Chris Llewellyn, Neil Roberts, Danny Sonner (Jeff Whitley 46), Paul Hall , Stuart Nicholson, Drewe Broughton.
Subs: Anthony Williams, Phil Bolland.
Referee: Andy Hall (West Mid)
Attendance: 2,421
Away: 619
Bookings -
Morecambe: Yates (67, time wasting)
Wrexham: Tremarco (35, foul)
Sending Off -
Wrexham: Hope (75, foul), (90, foul)
