A calamitous goal gave Burton Albion a hard won victory at The Racecourse as Wrexham fell to their first home defeat of the season. An error by goalkeeper Gavin Ward gifted Shaun Harrad the game's only goal and despite hitting the bar twice Wrexham could not salvage a point.
With Nat Brown not recovering from injury in time Levi Mackin returned to the starting line up in the only change from the side that won at Salisbury on Saturday.
On a chilly, wet evening in North Wales Burton Albion kicked off attacking the Kop end of The Racecourse but it was Wrexham who put together the first serious attack from a Tom Kearney free kick on three minutes, which Poole punched clear under pressure.
The opening period of play was scrappy as both sides tried to assert their authority on the match.
A moment of magic from Simon Brown on six minutes almost gave Wrexham the lead. Wes Baynes did well to win the ball in midfield and he fed Brown who hit a superb right foot shot which beat Poole all ends up from 35 yards, but the ball bounced back off the underside of the bar and Jeff Louis volleyed the rebound wide as the officials ruled that Brown's effort had not crossed the line.
Burton replaced Webster with Darren Stride after only 11 minutes, the full back limping off with an injury.
Wrexham were beginning to get on top territorially, but then disaster struck at the back as Gavin Ward tried to dribble the ball around Shaun Harrad, as he tried to deal with a weak back pass from Carl Tremarco. Harrad stole the ball off the embarrassed Reds keeper and rolled it into n empty net with 15 minutes gone.
Wrexham bounced back and Wes Baynes fired a 30-yard free kick well over the bar as the rain fell heavily on The Racecourse. Burton, their confidence boosted by their goal, won a corner on 20 minutes which Wrexham struggled to clear, Ward eventually punching it away.
The referee incurred the wrath of the Wrexham fans as he ignored a couple of heavy tackles and then waved away a penalty appeal as Simon Brown went down under pressure from Darren Stride.
The Reds kept up the pressure on the visitors with a couple of set pieces and on 23 minutes Kevin Poole completely missed a Tom Kearney corner which flashed just wide of the Burton goal, but no Wrexham player could apply the finishing touch.
Burton were working very hard to deny Wrexham space in midfield and several long passes ran away from their intended targets on a greasy pitch.
Shaun Harrad almost added a second on 30 minutes, fortunately he put his effort just wide of the post. Burton, though, were having a good spell of possession and looking for every opportunity to run the clock down with time wasting tactics to frustrate Wrexham.
The game was evenly balanced with most of the play concentrated in the middle third of the field and both defences on top as we went into the last five minutes of the first half.
Burton had a good spell with a couple of corners as we approached half time but neither came to anything. In the two added minutes Steve Evans had a header which Poole held easily but Wrexham left the field at the end of a frustrating first half trailing to the calamitous goal scored by Shaun Harrad.
Second Half
No changes at half time for either side as Wrexham kicked off in the second half and were quickly on the offensive winning a corner on 47 minutes. Carl Tremarco took it but Kempson's looping header was punched away by Poole.
Burton continued to frustrate Wrexham with some excellent closing down, allowing the Wrexham players no time on the ball and causing Brian Little to make a double change on 55 minutes with Christian Smith and Sam Aiston replacing Mackin and Baynes.
The play was scrappy as Burton's game plan was proving effective although Wrexham did not help themselves with some sloppy passing.
The visitors pushed Wrexham back with a couple of corners and the home fans began to show their frustrations with their misfiring side. Christian Smith was shown the yellow card on 67 minutes for a wild lunge on Banim, showing his frustration after being caught in possession in midfield.
Simon Brown missed a great chance to put Wrexham level on 69 minutes heading over from six yards after a Kearney free kick was headed on to him by Steve Evans.
Burton brought on ex-Wrexham player Jon Newby with 19 minutes left, arriving to a chorus of boos from the Wrexham fans as he replaced Jody Banim - although this was probably more to do with the time it took the Albion lad to get to the sidelines.
With Burton still in control of the game Brian Little brought on last years top scorer Michael Proctor for Jeff Louis in a last throw of the dice with 13 minutes left.
It was Proctor's first appearance of the season and facilitated a switch in formation to 4-3-3 with Whalley and Brown joining him in the three man attack.
Wrexham did create a couple of half chances but Kevin Poole was having a reasonably comfortable night in the Burton goal. Simon Spender burst into the area and fired wide to prove a point and then Shaun Whalley curled an attempt over the bar.
With five minutes left Wrexham put together their best spell of pressure of the half with a couple of corners but Burton defended them both comfortably.
The visitors continued to frustrate Wrexham but as we went into three minutes added time Steve Evans powerful header hit the bar from a Kearney free kick, it appeared to take a deflection on to the bar with Kevin Poole looking well beaten.
Nigel Clough looked to run down the clock with a final substitution, Goodfellow replacing Gilroy. Wrexham's 100% home record ended with Mr Tierney's whistle and the visiting Burton fans celebrated their team's hard won victory.
Wrexham (4-4-2): Gavin Ward, Simon Spender, Darran Kempson, Steve Evans, Carl Tremarco, Wes Baynes (Sam Aiston 55), Tom Kearney, Levi Mackin (Christian Smith 55), Shaun Whalley, Jefferson Louis (Michael Proctor 77), Simon Brown.
Subs: Anthony Williams, Gareth Evans.
Burton Albion (4-4-2): Kevin Poole, Adam Yates, Ryan Austin, Jake Buxton, Aaron Webster (Darren Stride 11), Andy Corbett, Michael Simpson, John McGrath, Keith Gilroy (Marc Goodfellow 90), Jody Banim (Jon Newby 71), Shaun Harrad.
Subs: Saul Deeney, Danny Holmes.
Referee: Peter Tierney (Lancs)
Attendance: 4,104
Away: 198
Bookings -
Wrexham: Christian Smith (foul)
