The Minstermen will be travelling to the ‘Dragons Den’ this weekend to take on Wrexham at the Racecourse Ground. Martin Foyle’s charges should be in good spirits ahead of the clash with his former club after their welcome victory over Rushden & Diamonds last week. Latest signing Leon Constantine proved there is certainly still life after Richard Brodie with a goal and an assist on his debut following his timely introduction as a second-half substitute. And that was enough to haul his new club into mid-table, and another maximum points return this time around would again have them challenging the play-off zone.
However, the same applies to latest opponents Wrexham, who earned a hard-fought draw at Newport County in the Welsh derby last Sunday, despite being reduced to ten men. Even so their manager Dean Saunders has again being coming under pressure from supporters as he attempts to improve on a very moderate finish last term. The former Liverpool and Aston Villa striker was also being linked with the vacant Wales manager post following the resignation of John Toshack earlier this week.
Vital Quotes:
“After the penalty miss we could have let heads drop and we could have sunk, but we carried on knocking on the door and finally went through,” Wrexham boss Dean Saunders told the Daily Post following their recent draw at Newport. “We’ve got something from the game and we’ve kept our unbeaten record. sometimes Lady Luck is on your side and it changes very quickly during the game. We didn’t play very well today but we battled for a draw. From our point of view we deserved a draw and we don’t want to lose our unbeaten run, so we’ll take what we can from the game.”
“They`ve got a taste for the league now and are a hard nut to crack,” York manager Martin Foyle told The Press. “They played very well at Newport last week and I can see why they broke club records defensively last season. They are very solid and Andy Morrell and Andy Mangan give them a lot going forward now. They should be up among the contenders in the top eight and they no longer have to deal with the problem of being behind on matches due to losing Welsh players for internationals, which was a problem when I was a coach there.”
Wrexham Team News:
Wrexham have problems in defence as left-back Neil Ashton is banned following his recent sending-off at Newport. Marvin Andrews is also doubtful with hamstring trouble. Veteran ex-Chelsea defender Frank Sinclair and Johnny Hunt are set to deputise. Former York striker Kevin Gall has started their last couple of games but finds his place under increasing threat from fit-again prolific ex-Forest Green Rovers marksman Andy Mangan, who is actually still to score this season. Another one-time York man within their ranks is midfielder Christian Smith, with three goals already this term. Regular goalscorer Andy Morrell should again lead their attack after recently returning to the club, probably alongside ex-Histon forward Nathaniel Knight-Percival.
Wrexham (possible): Shearer, Obeng, Sinclair, Blackburn, Hunt, Smith, Harris, Keates, Morrell, Knight-Percival, Gall
Player to watch: Andy Morrell
Experienced striker with a decent goal return and now in his second spell at the club.
York City Team News:
Recent signing Leon Constantine could start after netting on his debut last week. Fellow striker George Purcell is still out and midfield pair Chris Carruthers and Levi Mackin are similarly unavailable. Defender Djoumin Sangare should be fine to continue despite needing a couple of stitches in a head wound last time out.
York City (possible): Ingham, Parslow, McGurk, Sangare, Meredith, Smith, Lawless, Barrett, Till, Rankine, Gash
subs: Knight, Courtney, Young, McDermott, Constantine
Player to watch: Michael Ingham
A big game will be required from the ex-Northern Ireland international against his former club.
Match Facts & Stats
York are making their 50th league visit to the Racecourse Ground – a full 81 years to the day since their first trip. The Minstermen won seven and drew sixteen of their Football League encounters in North Wales. Both games in the Conference have though gone in favour of the home side.
Next Fixtures:
Wrexham – Kettering (A); York – Hayes & Yeading (H)
