LINTON MINT AS DRAGONS ARE DENIED BY GLOVERS

A SECOND-HALF stunner from young striker Malachi Linton secured Yeovil Town an excellent point at home to title favourites Wrexham at Huish Park.

Linton, a summer arrival from King’s Lynn Town, struck a sweet equaliser five minutes into the second half after Paul Mullin had given the Dragons a sixth-minute lead.

In truth, it was no less than the Glovers deserved after going toe-to-toe with the mega-rich Dragons, enjoying the majority of possession.

So much so, that Yeovil boss Chris Hargreaves said he was disappointed his side didn’t secure all three points.

He told The NLP: “I think we should win that with the chances we had in the second half. The lads have shown incredible character, conceding early. The good thing is they could have wilted and they didn’t.

“I think we competed throughout and so in the second half, we should win the game but we are playing against some very good players. We take heart from it and go into the game on Tuesday with confidence.

“I cannot have a go at those players as they gave it everything and I am proud of that. I know what he [Linton] can do and I know he is brave and thrives with goals. That was one hell of a goal and he deserves it for his hard work.”

The Glovers started brightly but it was Wrexham who took the lead following a defensive error. A looped ball forward caused havoc for the back three of the home side and all Mullin had to do was poke it past Grant Smith in the Yeovil goal.

Given the Huish Park heat, it was perhaps understandable that the tempo was not as perhaps you would expect from the clear bookies’ favourites and Yeovil more than had their share of chances.

Midway through the first half, they pressured Wrexham keeper Mark Howard with two successive corners. The deliveries were excellent and flashed across the face of the goal, but Wrexham managed to ultimately clear their lines.

The home side almost conceded a second just before the break but an important tackle on Palmer inside the box from Charlie Wakefield kept the score at 1-0.

The home side started the second half in the ascendency with Linton looking lively. He conjured up an early chance when sent through one-on-one with Howard but couldn’t direct it goalwards.

But Linton soon atoned for his miss with an early contender for goal of the season. On 50 minutes, he picked up the ball and fired it in on the half-violley into the top corner, sparking wild celebrations.

And it was the Glovers who looked the more likely to get the winner with sub Touré going close late on as the ball found its way across goal, but Wrexham held out for a point.