LAINTON SAVES DENY DAGGERS
WREXHAM and Dagenham had to settle for a share of the spoils at a windswept Racecourse yesterday as the weather prevailed against any hopes of a skilful and fast-flowing contest.
Chances were at a premium as the players struggled to cope and neither side had much to shout about in a scrappy first half heavily influenced by that strong, swirling wind that was at Wrexham’s back from the start. But the conditions did few favours for the Dragons, who often struggled to string more than two passes together, while the visitors fared slightly better, only to find their final pass difficult to come by.
Nevertheless, Wrexham manager Dean Keates was satisfied by his team’s performance and with a point.
“I thought it was a fair result for both teams, who were both good defensively,” he said. “It was a solid performance by both as well and everyone deserves credit because of the way they coped with the wind, which was the key factor in the game. It was blowing a gale and that makes it difficult for anyone to play, so we felt it was a good point on the back of three at Harrogate last weekend. If the results had been reversed, we would have been happy with four points from them both.”
In a contest devoid of too many thrills, a superb 25th-minute interception by Daggers’ defender Manny Onariase denied Paul Rutherford the chance of a one-onone with the keeper and at the other end two minutes later the visitors claimed a penalty after Ben House tumbled under a challenge from Jake Lawlor. But Andrew Kitchen was unimpressed and instead booked the striker for diving before Wrexham threatened again through JJ Hooper, whose tame header caused no problem for keeper Elliott Justham.
A couple of other half-chances – one each side – fell to Hooper and Sam Deering, but as the second period unfolded, there were few signs of a change for the better.
The Daggers, though, probably felt they might have taken all three points had it not been for Rob Lainton. The Dragons’ keeper made two excellent saves from Alex Reid to earn his side a draw.
Daggers’ manager Daryl McMahon admitted he was disappointed that his side’s late flurry went unrewarded.
“I’d have taken a point before the game because Wrexham is a difficult place to come,” he said. “They are a team on the up after the last couple of results, but I’m not very happy because I thought we were excellent. Their goalkeeper was man of the match and that says it all.”