ROVERS ARE LEFT REELING
But Cooper won’t panic
FOREST GREEN boss Mark Cooper is refusing to press the panic button despite seeing a nine-point lead at the top of the National League reduced to one in the space of eight days. Rovers missed a penalty as they slumped to a shock defeat at the hands of mid-table Wrexham at the Racecourse meaning they have taken just one point from a possible nine since last weekend. But Cooper remains bullish for the remainder of the campaign. “I was disappointed with the result because we started really well and dominated the early part of the game,” he said. “We got a penalty but obviously the miss was probably pivotal and gave Wrexham a lift. “Then we conceded two awful goals so we had to gamble and push a lot of people forward. “The second half was an onslaught and we just needed the second goal, but we could not produce that little bit of quality that would probably have seen us go on and win it.” Pointing out that the season has only reached the halfway stage, Cooper added: “There’s no panic on our part, you can see we are a good team but we have to score more goals. “There are 23 games to go – 69 points – and if there was a week to go I might be panicking but I’m not a panicker.” The Dragons made the worst possible start against the league leaders, conceding a penalty with only eight minutes on the clock. Mark Carrington was guilty of the foul on Liam Noble but his blushes were spared as goalkeeper Luke Coddington, on loan from Huddersfield, reacted quickly to beat away Darren Carter’s spot-kick for a corner. Against the run of play and much to the delight of the home crowd, Wrexham snatched the lead in their first meaningful raid on 15 minutes. When John Rooney delivered a cross from the right no-one jumped higher than Shaun Harrad whose glancing header went beyond former Wrexham goalkeeper Sam Russell to nestle in the bottom corner of the net. Coddington was pressed into action again midway through
the opening period, producing a fine one-handed save to deny Noble before the Dragons stunned their opponents once more by doubling their advantage on 29 minutes.
The busy Paul Rutherford provided the assist with a fierce effort that was parried by Russell straight to Gerry McDonagh, who made no mistake from close range.
Rovers introduced veteran striker Matt Tubbs from the bench as the second period got underway but it was a second substitute and new boy, Manny Monthe, who set up the beginning of a comeback by heading across the penalty box for Carter to convert at the far post.
It was backs-to-the-wall time for the Dragons, with Coddington saving well from Tubbs but the visitors were leaving gaps and McDonagh, who spurned an excellent opportunity to make the game safe with five minutes left, made no mistake with his second of the afternoon deep in added time. Wrexham manager Dean Keates, whose side had been without a win in their previous five matches, was understandably delighted with the result. He said: “They were outstanding today, especially in the first half.
“In the second half we were put under a lot of pressure but the players stood up to it. They did everything we asked of them today.”
But the Dragons boss insisted there was no room for complacency ahead of Tuesday night’s visit to Lincoln City.
“What we saw today is the minimum expected and during the week we drilled into them that standards need to be higher,” he added.
STAR MAN: Luke Coddington (Wrexham) ATT: 3,472 ENTERTAINMENT: ★★★★★ REFEREE: Martin Coy 7/10