Wrexham: 2013 Season Finale

Hello friends and welcome back as I bring you the conclusion of this seasons  Football Manager Story. Can Wrexham pull off an unprecedented double?

We started the month with a trip to Devon to face Plymouth and with confidence high following the midweek friendly we fashioned a goal inside the first minute with Danny West chipping over the keeper and Fofana racing in behind to head into an empty net. It turned out though to be one of those games where you score too early as Plymouth took charge and ran our back four ragged with each one of them producing their worst performance of the season and consequently Plymouth were able to fight back and win the game as we suffered out first loss in some time.

The long awaited trip to Wembley was finally upon us as we faced Bournemouth in what was to turn out to be a cracking JPT Final. The game started at a hectic pace with Bournemouth almost taking the lead within the first few minutes, shooting narrowly wide though we responded with Dean Hammond sending in a shot that crashed against the bar with Baheng unable to fire home the rebound. Twelve minutes into the game we took the lead with Williams finding Mitrovic at the edge of the box who turned and struck the ball into the top right hand corner of the net.  The response though was almost immediate as RB Coquelin failed to clear a through ball and it was 1-1. Marc Pugh got his second of the game to give Bournemouth the lead just after the half hour heading in from a corner at an unattended near post. A typical powerful strike by Baheng brought the game back to 2-2 in the 38^thminute though the French striker wasn’t finished picking up a through ball from Mitrovic and his shot left the Bournemouth keeper no chance and so we were 3-2 up at half time. The second half quickly fizzled out into a midfield battle with far less chances though GK Hansen’s diving save late into the game kept our lead secure and the JPT was ours to the delight of the players and travelling fans.

After the euphoria of the winning the JPT it was back to league action with a midweek game against 23^rdplace Chesterfield. Ismael Fofana scored the opening goal after 33 minutes with a trademark strike into the corner of the net following a well worked play down the right flank. Oliver Nicholas headed in from a corner 10 minutes after half time but Chesterfield were thrown a lifeline scoring in similar fashion. However they were unable to build on that and when a breakaway by Baheng resulted in a penalty that Hammond easily converted the contest was well and truly over.

The win over Chesterfield was enough to guarantee promotion to the NPower Championship so for the second time in four days we had cause to celebrate in front of our loyal fans.

Our next game was back in front of our home fans who gave us a standing ovation as winners of the JPT. The visitors were Charlton whom we had beaten handsomely back in December. The expectations of producing a similar result were high and with the league title in sight the pressure proved too much for the players and we could only muster a point in what can easily be described as a bore draw.

The following game was away to Rochdale and we really needed the three points from this as MK Dons had closed the gap to four points. Alex Smith produced a goal after 12 minutes as the home side failed to clear a corner and Smith was on hand to slide the ball into the corner of the net. We added a second some 20 minutes later as a well worked play ended with Smith crossing into the box to an unmarked Mitrovic who had an empty goal to shoot at for his easiest goal of the season. A few minutes later he quickly added his second of the game as Nzuzi’z shot was pushed away straight to him for an easy side foot past the Rochdale keeper. Following the interval Smith was again the provider with a well timed pass to Fofana who had no trouble making it 4-0 after 54 minutes. Moses Barnett then got a brace himself with two headed goals from a free kick and a corner to complete a crushing victory.

It was back to The Racecourse Ground for the visit of Barnsley whom I’d recently rejected a job offer from. A big crowd of over 9,000 saw Fofana give us the lead early on following a well worked play down the left flank. Barnsley though quickly responded coming up with an equalizer in less than 2 minutes but Marko Mitrovic restored our lead as he and Fofana caught Barnsley on the counter and together fashioned the go ahead goal. Barnsley though would again fight back scoring from a corner to tie the game once more but just before half time Shane Williams intercepted a poor back pass and rounded the keeper to make it 3-2 going into the break. The visitors showed some real fighting spirit and created their third goal of the game thanks to some weak tackles and poor marking by our defenders. Mirtovic had a chance to win the game late on but his shot agonizingly hit the inside of the post and deflected harmlessly away. We seem to be very nervous in front of our home fans as our last four home games have all ended in draws!

So with two games remaining the table looked like this. We just needed two points to be assured of the title.

We travelled to Rotherham for our penultimate game of the season knowing a win would make us Champions. We had some great chances throughout the first half but failed to make any of them count until a move down the left flank saw a great run by Alex Smith who cut the ball inside to Hammond whose forward pass to Fofana was struck first time into the roof of the net just as the half time whistle went. We immediately added a second within a minute of the start of the second half stringing together series of passes that Fofana finished burying the ball into the corner of the net. Rotherham never gave up and forced a goal in the 72nd minute as we failed to clear a cross and although we went down to 10 men late in the game we held on to the victory and were pronounced winners of League One!!

The final game of the season was at The Racecourse Ground in front of over 13,000 fans who had come out to celebrate our title winning achievements. Moses Barnett headed us into the lead after 15 minutes from a Rooney corner though an equalizing goal by Gillingham early in the second half subdued the party atmosphere. Marko Mitrovic though set the home fans singing again as he pounced on a ball played into the box, rounded the keeper and struck it into the net. That would be enough to seal the game and start off one the biggest parties Wrexham had seen in years as we celebrated a League and Cup double.

Final Table

Top Ten Players

No surprise in that Fofana and Baheng lead this table as they have both been magnificent all season long. I was well pleased that Dean Hammond was highly placed as I had brought him in for his experience and it seems to have paid off.

So there we have it. Wrexham complete the double in what has been a truely memorable season and one of my goals (winning a trophy) has now been achieved.

Thanks very much for reading and following along the entire season. I look forward o bringing you the next update as we prepare for the nPower Championship.