Despite a valiant performance by Wrexham who were down to 10 men for most of the second half they went out of the FA Cup to League One Swindon Town.

After the encouraging performance against Kidderminster on Tuesday Dean Saunders made just one change to his starting line up with Gareth Taylor returning to the forward line in place of Adrian Cieslewicz.

On an afternoon with a distinctly wintry feel to it Swindon kicked off attacking the Kop end of The Racecourse, but it was the home side who started brightly and on 4 minutes Marc Williams cut a good ball back from the by line to Gareth Taylor whose shot was saved low down by David Lucas.

Wrexham kept the pressure up on the visitors closing them down well in the midfield area and sending in a couple of dangerous crosses one of which just eluded top scorer Taylor as he attacked the six yard box.

With 17 minutes gone a Wes Baynes corner was glanced just wide by Ashley Westwood, then two minutes later the Reds skipper went even closer to breaking the deadlock this time his header came after Gareth Taylor had flicked on Curtis Obeng's throw in.

Swindon looked good on the ball when they were given the opportunity but it was the home side who went close again when Simon Ferry was in the right place to deflect Mike Williams header wide at the mid point of the first half.

Wes Baynes fired in a couple of efforts, one when a corner was cleared back to him and one from a free kick from 20 yards out but the experienced Lucas dealt with them both quite comfortably.

The visitors had a good spell around the half hour mark and debutant Alan Sheehan's shot was deflected over the bar by Baynes.

Wrexham weathered an uncomfortable few minutes and regrouped as the half reached its conclusion with firstly Neil Taylor heading over after some good link up play between Gareth Taylor and Marc Williams and then Baynes forcing a brave save from Lucas in added time.

Alan Sheehan clattered into Westwood provoking an angry reaction from the Reds skipper which resulted in both players being shown yellow cards but the half ended goalless.

HT: Wrexham 0 Swindon Town 0

With no changes in personnel Wrexham kicked off after the break and continued where they had left off in the first half when Smith fired in a shot from close range which Lucas did well to block.

There were one or two tasty tackles in the opening minutes and it culminated in a challenge by Christian Smith on Douglas which drew a straight red card from Mr Salisbury.

The Dragons reorganised with Marc Williams dropping into midfield along side Andy Fleming and Gareth Taylor ploughing a lone furrow up front.

To be fair to Wrexham although Swindon kept the ball well it was difficult to tell they were down to 10 men as the two banks of four worked so hard. Wes Baynes made a great run from deep to shoot wide before Billy Paynter's header was held by Chris Maxwell.

David Lucas did well on 58 minutes to save a Baynes free kick whilst Alan Sheehan's shot was saved by Chris Maxwell in an evenly matched game.

Wrexham's discipline was excellent and Swindon really struggled to create any clear cut chances.

At the other end with 69 minutes on the clock Gareth Taylor laid off a delightful ball to Wes Baynes who broke clear and made the most of a bit of luck to get a shot in which Lucas did brilliantly to turn around the post.

The Red Dragons had a shout for a penalty when Marc Williams shot was blocked by a Swindon defender but the referee waved the appeals away and with 10 minutes left the visitors struck from a corner when central defender Gordon Greer headed home a Jon-Paul McGovern corner to break the Dragons hearts.

Dean Saunders put on Adrian Cieslewicz for Neil Taylor as Wrexham looked to chase the game switching to a 4-3-2 formation, but despite the four added minutes the ten valiant men just couldn't get that break in front of goal and Swindon go into the hat with the Premier League sides.

Wrexham (4-4-2): Chris Maxwell, Curtis Obeng, Frank Sinclair, Ashley Westwood, Mike Williams, Wes Baynes, Christian Smith, Andy Fleming, Neil Taylor (Adrian Cieslewicz 83), Marc Williams, Gareth Taylor.
Subs: Sam Russell, Mansour Assoumani, Mark Jones, Hedi Taboubi, Nathan Fairhurst, Matty Wolfenden.

Swindon Town (4-4-2): David Lucas, Kevin Amankwaah, Scott Cuthbert, Gordon Greer, Lecsinel Jean - Francois, Jon - Paul McGovern, Jonathan Douglas (Michael Timlin 85), Simon Ferry, Alan Sheehan (Alan O'Brien 65), Billy Paynter, Ben Hutchinson (Lee Peacock 58).
Subs:Phil Smith, Craig Easton, Nathan Thompson, Mark Marshall.

Referee: G.Salisbury
Attendance: 3,011
Away: 426

Sent Off -
Wrexham: Christian Smith (foul)

Bookings-
Wrexham: Ashley Westwood (retaliation)
Swindon Town: Ben Hutchinson (dissent), Alan Sheehan (foul), Gordon Greer (foul)