A late goal from top scorer Gareth Taylor put Wrexham into the hat for the second round of the FA Cup, but they were made to work very hard by a brave Lowestoft team.

With Christian Smith suspended and Silvio Spann suffering with a hamstring injury the introduction of Hedi Taboubi and Jamie McCluskey were enforced changes to the Dragons side that played so well at Kettering on Tuesday.

On a cold autumnal day in North Wales Wrexham kicked off attacking the ERS end of The Racecourse and although they had a couple of early corners it was soon evident that the visitors were set up to frustrate with a 4-1-4-1 formation.

The experienced Gary Holt sat just in front of the back four and with only Nolan up front the Trawlerboys offered little going forward.

Wes Baynes shot high and wide on seven minutes before an Adam Smith free kick caused the Dragons defence some real concern five minutes later. Wrexham very quickly ran out of ideas and tried to play through the centre of the Lowestoft defence where they got little joy.

When Wrexham got the ball wide they created opportunities as on 18 minutes when Wes Baynes shot was parried to safety by Reynolds in the visitors goal. On 24 minutes another good passing move created a chance for Baynes but again the striker fired wide.

Lowestoft only occasionally got out of their own half but on 25 minutes the skilful Adam Smith worried Maxwell with a long range effort that had the Welsh U-21 keeper back pedalling anxiously but it cleared the bar.

Lamine Sakho looked Wrexham's best out ball and on several occasions he tested the Trawler Boys defence with some good runs. It was Sakho who was denied in front of goal by some desperate defending from a McCluskey cross.

Centre back Crane was lucky to escape with only a yellow card when he hauled down Wes Baynes on the edge of the area. The referee deemed him not to be the last man and Baynes free kick was straight in to the wall and cleared.

On 45 minutes, Wrexham should have gone in front when McCluskey beat the offside trap and forced Reynolds out of his area to head clear, the ball fell to Wes Baynes who put his effort wide of an empty goal to ensure the half ended goalless

Half Time: Wrexham 0 Lowestoft Town 0

The visitors got the second half underway but it was Wrexham who had the first chance of the half when Jamie McCluskey fired a shot into the side netting.

Lowestoft were certainly showing more ambition in the second half and Chris Maxwell was tested by one good cross before Dale Cockrill almost got on the end of another.

With Wrexham struggling to get going in the second half Dean Saunders made a change with Adrian Cieslewiczreplacing Jamie McCluskey on 57 minutes.

The excellent Lamine Sakho was pulled down on the edge of the area a minute later but again Wes Baynes free kick was deflected wide off the wall.

Wrexham were very wasteful in the final third with a lot of crosses being played in but not resulting in goal chances. Further changes came as Saunders looked to shuffle his pack and get the important breakthrough.

Gareth Taylor should have put both his manager and the supporters out of their misery on 75 minutes, when he headed straight at Reynolds from six yards out.

As time pressed on Wrexham got more and more frustrated as Wes Baynes fired one over the bar and then forced Reynolds into asave with a low shot. Ashley Westwood fired wide from long range before the vital goal came from Gareth Taylor.

Adrian Cieslewicz was fouled by Adam Smith and as Baynes' free kick was met by Sakho, Taylor was in the right position to deflect it past Reynolds with just two minutes left.

The relief was tangible around The Racecourse, but as we went into six added minutes Sakho almost made it two when he superbly lobbed the advancing Reynolds from 20-yards, only to see his effort bounce on the six yard line and clear the bar by inches.

Lowestoft kept going to their credit but Wrexham comfortably held out to go into the draw for the Second Round.

Wrexham (4-4-2): Chris Maxwell, Curtis Obeng, Mansour Assoumani, Ashley Westwood, Mike Williams (Neil Taylor 67), Jamie McCluskey (Adrian Cieslewicz 57), Hedi Taboubi (Mark Jones 74), Andy Fleming, Lamine Sakho, Gareth Taylor, Wes Baynes.
Subs: Sam Russell, Marc Williams, Nathan Fairhurst, Matty Wolfenden.

Lowestoft Town (4-1-4-1): Andy Reynolds, Neil Plaskett, Greg Crane, Matt Halliday, Adam Smith, Gary Holt, Jamie Godbold (Craig Bussens 71), Andrew Fisk, Dale Cockrill (Ross King 76), Scott Mitchell (Gary McGee 90), Matt Nolan.
Subs: Tom Marsden, Darren Cockrill, Matthew Potter, Reece Hunn.

Referee: W. Barratt (W Mids)
Attendance: 2,402
Away: 352

Bookings -
Lowestoft Town: Greg Crane (foul), Adam Smith (foul), Andrew Fisk (foul)