ON a freezing cold night at Globe Way, with a north wind cutting through those hardy souls who turned up for tonight's Pontin's League clash with Preston North End. Yet those same fans left the ground with a warm glow as they watched a Wrexham Reserve side turn in its best performance of the season.
"I don't think there was a poor display out there," enthused a delighted Joey Jones. "We really it turned it on tonight and the players finally got the result we have promised on several occasions."
Neil Mellor opened the scoring for Preston inside 10 minutes, when former Accrington Stanley loanee Chris McGrail nipped in between Michael Jones and Gareth Evans to slip the ball out to Mellor, who couldn't miss from close range into an empty net.
Shortly afterwards Josh Johnson seemed to be fouled from behind, but no penalty for the Wrexham forward as he hit the deck in a shooting position.
Preston then enjoyed the better of the chances with Mellor somehow passing up in the opportunity of collecting a hat-trick and Patrick Agyemang missing an open goal following a mazy run that saw him beat three defenders.
This squandering of chances was to come back and bite them in the moments before half-time, when Phil Appiah, who had been booked in the opening 60 seconds of the game, tripped Matty Done on the edge of the box and conceded a penalty.
Irish striker Mike Carvill stepped forward to take the spot kick, saw it blocked by keeper Chris Neal, but as he rammed home the rebound the referee whistled for encroachment by a Preston player and order a retake. This time Mike made sure and sent Neal the wrong way from 12-yards.
After the break Wrexham took the game to their visitors, but it was from a Preston free kick that the second goal arrived on 61 minutes, as skipper Adam Nowland curled in a 25-yard effort that beat Carrots at his near post.
Wrexham would not lie down after going behind for the second time in the game and after Andy Fleming fired just over from 18-yards, up popped Matty Done to notch a goal that just underlined his potential. He ran from virtually the half way line and after cutting into the middle, switched the ball to his right foot before crashing home an effort from distance that nestled in the corner of the North End net.
That was on 73 minutes and barely a minute later Levi Mackin hammered in another effort from the right hand corner of the penalty area that flew across Neal and inside his far post.
The Reds were rampant now and Josh Johnson capped a much improved display up front by collecting a square pass from Carvill, cutting inside of his marker and letting ripe with an effort that gave Neal no chance and wrapped up the points for Wrexham.
For Joey Jones and his troops it was sweet revenge, after we had lost 2-1 to North End at Deepdale earlier in the season - despite leading 1-0 with just a minute of the game remaining!
Wrexham v Preston NE
Michael Jones 1 Chris Neal
Wes Baynes 2 Michael Aspin
Neil Taylor 3 Ray Shearwood (*)
Chris Marriott 4 Trialist
Gareth Evans 5 Danny Finch
Levi Mackin 6 Adam Nowland
Mike Carvill 7 Ashley Parrillon
Andy Fleming 8 Phil Appiah (+)
Marc Williams 9 Patrick Agyemang
Josh Johnson 10 Neil Mellor
Matty Done 11 Chris McGrail (^)
Jamie Reed 12 Matty Mainwaring (^ 78)
Vinnie Whelan 13 Andy Murphy
Paul Williams 14 Ashley Higgins
Mark Stewart 15 Nathan Fairhurst (+72)
Johnny Hunt 16 Mark Bloxam (*61)
Referee: AS Watts (Kidderminster)
Assistants: SR Gerrard & L Tavinder
Fourth Official: S Davies
