LOAN STAR TOLLITT BIDS FAREWELL WITH A BANG
WREXHAM 1 MAIDSTONE Tollitt 49 UTD 0 TRANMERE ROVERS winger Ben Tollitt signed off his three-month Wrexham loan spell at the Racecourse yesterday with the only goal of the game against struggling Maidstone United.
The second-half strike provided the only moment of class in a dour encounter made more difficult by the windy, wet conditions and more importantly saw the Dragons get back on track following back-to-back defeats.
Wrexham manager Bryan Hughes said: “I’m delighted because it was another tough game in the conditions and a moment of quality won it for us.
“It was a great first touch and a great finish from Tollitt and that was the difference between the teams.
“If I’m being honest and looking at our performance, especially in the first half, we looked a bit edgy because we had lost our last two games. For some reason here at the Racecourse recently we have looked edgy. That might be because of what’s at stake, so it was great to get that goal early in the second half.”
Despite their lowly league position the visitors started brightly, with lone striker Blair Turgott looking particularly dangerous. On three occasions in the opening 20 minutes he went close, stabbing one difficult chance wide and twice seeing his on-target efforts foiled by goalkeeper Rob Lainton.
The Dragons, for their part, struggled to get into the contest early on but improved towards the break, with Akil Wright’s goal-bound header inadvertently blocked by team-mate Josh Lawlor before Chris Holroyd ran clear of the Stones’ back four only to be denied by Chris Lewington at the expense of a corner. The deadlock was broken four minutes into the second half in superb fashion as Tollitt collected a Paul Rutherford pass and cut inside a defender before driving the ball beyond Lewington’s despairing dive into the bottom corner. It was the visitors who stepped up a gear in their hunt for an equaliser, forcing the home side deep into their own half. Tollitt relieved the pressure in the closing stages, cutting loose again before picking out substitute Stuart Beavon whose shot was superbly saved by Lewington and the visitors responded through Jack Powell, but Lainton once more proved equal. Disappointed Maidstone boss John Still said: “I thought the best team lost. I thought we were outstanding and it was a terrific performance. “When I look at where Wrexham are compared to where we are, on paper they would have better players than us but in these last three games we are improving all the time. We got better after the goal.”
STAR MAN: Luke Young (Wrexham) ATT: 3,604 ENTERTAINMENT: ★★★★★ REFEREE: Matthew Dicicco 7/10