Source: Northern_Echo
Wrexham 2 Darlington 1
Wrexham 2 Darlington 1[LNB] FOR the first time in seven games Darlington suffered defeat, but yet again they were left baffled by a crucial refereeing decision.[LNB] This time it was Jeremy Simpson and his seemingly faulty watch which took centre stage as Quakers lost 2-1 at Wrexham who plundered a winner with virtually the last kick.[LNB] The Welsh side also snatched a late winner when the teams met at The Northern Echo Arena last month, a game during which Wrexham defender Frank Sinclair escaped a red-card for rugbytackling a goal-bound Danny Powell.[LNB] On Saturday, Darlington were far from their best, particularly during the first half, but the Lancashire official shifted himself into the spotlight by mysteriously adding more time than had been indicated.[LNB] His mysterious timekeeping cost Quakers dear, as in the fifth of what was supposed to be three minutes of injury-time Andy Mangan headed beyond Sam Russell to dent Darlington's revival.[LNB] They remain 11th but are now six points off the play-offs.[LNB] Manager Mark Cooper was stunned. He's tired of discussing refereeing performances in recent weeks and said: I don't know where the referee got the time from, I thought he was hopeless.[LNB] And I think one of the linesmen had been bought a flag for his birthday or something.[LNB] But I don't want to talk about officials, they don't deserve to be talked about, I'm not going to blame them.[LNB] Simpson punctuated the game with a series of unnecessary interventions, but Cooper was just as frustrated with his team's lacklustre first half and the slack defending which handed Wrexham their goals.[LNB] The first came on ten minutes with Mangan firing past Russell after latching on to a flick-on from Gareth Taylor who had out-jumped Kevin Austin.[LNB] It was a free header, said Cooper. Austin didn't go to head the ball, the rest of the defenders didn't pick Mangan up so it was an easy goal.[LNB] We wasted the first half. If we'd started the first half like we did the second then we would've won.[LNB] In both personnel and performance Darlington were almost unrecognisable from the side which had put together a six-game unbeaten run.[LNB] Austin, in for the suspended Aaron Brown, was one of four changes with new signings Keith Gillespie and Aman Verma making their debuts in midfield.[LNB] Verma signed on loan from Leicester on Friday and replaced Gary Smith who, says Cooper, was rested due to ongoing ankle trouble, Curtis Main was preferred as the lone striker ahead of Jefferson Louis and, although Quakers made a bright start, for much of the first 45 the hosts were in command with Russell frequently called on.[LNB] Gillespie, perhaps pinpointed as a danger by Wrexham boss Dean Saunders, was fouled three times in the first quarter of an hour while an intercepted pass of his led to Mangan seeing a shot roll wide.[LNB] The striker was a constant menace and he also blasted over from a tight angle, but after the break Darlington finally found some spark.[LNB] The equaliser came on 57 minutes with Marc Bridge- Wilkinson swinging over a cross that Ian Miller diverted on to the bar before Liam Hatch swept home.[LNB] Previously, there had been too many balls lumped forward directly on to the head of Marvin Andrews, but the goal gave Quakers impetus and a change of formation to 4-3-3 and Bridge-Wilkinson playing as a forward meant Darlington were suddenly able to retain the ball.[LNB] Verma displayed a range of passing, while Wrexham could not contain Bridge- Wilkinson, but for all their possession Darlington did little to trouble Wrexham keeper Chris Maxwell.[LNB] We kept them penned in and once we scored we had a spell when I thought we were going to go and win the game, said Cooper.[LNB] But we didn't have enough quality around the box and we lost possession. We didn't have the character to see it through.[LNB] During Simpson's prolonged injury-time, Quakers became increasingly panicstricken at the back.[LNB] There were desperate hacks clear and bodies thrown in the way but eventually the goal came via a cross from rightback Curtis Obeng the same player whose delivery teed up the Wrexham winner last month.[LNB] His flighted ball was met by the unmarked Mangan to condemn Darlington to a disappointing defeat.[LNB] Cooper added: Mistakes led to the goal. We sent Josh Gray on to help out Austin on the left. He dived in, which enabled their player to cross and then we weren't marking in the box.[LNB] When you've lost a game people are going to talk about the line-up changes. But we didn't play particularly well in the forward areas last week against Crawley until Curtis came on.[LNB] Just because we didn't lose that game, that doesn't mean you can't change the team and try to improve things.[LNB] Match facts Goals:[LNB] 1-0: Mangan (10, finished from a one-on-one position after collecting Taylor's flick-on)[LNB] 1-1: Hatch (57, close-range strike after Miller's effort had rebounded off the bar)[LNB] 2-1: Mangan (90, met Obeng's rightwing cross with a powerful header) Bookings: Obeng (16, foul); Gillespie (35, foul), Mangan (36, time wasting), Blackburn (73, foul), Tolley (81, foul)[LNB] Referee: Jeremy Simpson (Lancashire) - Fussy though kept errors to a minimum. However, his incredibly poor timekeeping cost Darlington a point 6[LNB] Attendance: 2,619[LNB] Entertainment: [LNB] WREXHAM (4-3-3):[LNB] Maxwell 5; Obeng 7, Creighton 7, Andrews 7, Blackburn 4; Harris 6, Keates 7, Tolley 6 (Cieslewicz 90); Morrell 6 (Knight-Percival 85), Taylor 7 (Pogba 75), MANGAN 8.[LNB] Subs (not used): Brown, Sinclair[LNB] DARLINGTON (4-4-1-1):[LNB] 6 Russell: Made good saves, though Cooper was unhappy that some goal kicks went to the opposition;[LNB] 6 Miller: Almost scored with an overhead kick from which Hatch levelled[LNB] 6 Hone: Like the rest of his defensive team-mates, found Mangan a tricky opponent[LNB] 6 Hatch: Responsible for some crucial blocks and tackles close to his own goal[LNB] 5 Austin: Caught out once or twice during his appearance as stand-in for Brown;[LNB] 7 Moore: Had the beating of Blackburn, shame he did not attack the left-back more often[LNB] 7 VERMA: Replaced the rested Gary Smith and the early signs are promising[LNB] 7 Brough: Made some courageous blocks by throwing himself into tackles[LNB] 6 Gillespie: Early days yet, but too many passes did not reach their intended target; 7 Bridge-Wilkinson: Played a key role in the second half while his cross led to Hatch's goal;[LNB] 5 Main: Rarely looked like scoring, though he did have the difficult task of being the lone striker.[LNB] Subs:[LNB] Wright (for Main 63): Looked to make an impact and would perhaps have been a better option to start as the lone forward instead of Main 6[LNB] J Gray (for Bridge-Wilkinson 90) (not used): Arnison, G Smith, Senior[LNB] MAN OF THE MATCH[LNB] ANDY Mangan The two-goal striker posed a threat throughout.[LNB]
