Rochdale 0 Wrexham 0

Dec 2 2007 by Chris Wathan, Wales On Sunday

ALl rebuilding plans need solid foundations and Wrexham suggested they can put their house in order with a solid defensive show.

Led by an impressive Steve Evans, the Dragons denied Rochdale with a robust rearguard display that earned new boss Brian Little a second point of his tenure.

But it was the manner in which his side showed considerable improvement in their organisation at the back that gives hope.

On another day, such strength and sensibility in defence could have been enough to help nick three points rather than just the one.

But for now, Little will be happy at taking another small step on the way to getting things right at the Racecourse.

After taking his bow as boss in the border battle with Chester this was relatively low key for new man Little. But the man appointed to change results at the Racecourse clearly learned a lot about his players in last Sunday’s 2-2 draw, keeping changes to a minimum.

In fact there was just the one alteration to the derby clash, with Matty Done starting in a shuffled formation and Eifion Williams dropping to the bench.

With youngsters Wes Baynes and Neil Taylor deployed as wing backs to counter Rochdale’s own threat from deep, Little piled five into his midfield and left last week’s hero Michael Proctor to plough a lone furrow up front.

Still, it was the three-man defence which saw more of the ball in the early stages, as opening pressure from Dale saw four corners in four minutes test Wrexham’s resolve to varying degrees.

But Wrexham were able to reply with a chance of their own two minutes later, Sam Aiston putting an excellent ball across the box and Done shooting over.

At least they looked far more solid and organised at the rear than in the last away outing – that cup calamity at Peterborough – with Evans looking revitalised.

And with a firm foundation it offered hope that Wrexham could take something away from the hosts, playing one of the final few games of their centenary year.

But to do so they needed to stamp out the dangerous running of midfielder David Perkins, who seemed to be enjoying his afternoon.

Wrexham weren’t helped by their inability to avoid giving away possession with every other pass, one of the basic errors Little has been employed to cut out.

Another would be to instil the golden rule of defending that you never let a ball roll across your box; exactly what Wrexham’s defenders allowed when Adam Rundle squared on 26 minutes. They were lucky that striker Adam Le Fondre shot wide of Williams’ goal.

Proctor, seeing less and less of the ball as both sides dug deep, managed to get a shot on goal on 37 minutes that failed to trouble the home goal. Jones tried his luck at the other end but his effort deflected off Lee McEvilly to leave it goal-less at the break.

It was Wrexham who did more to change that after the interval, their counter showing more purpose and Evans’ dominance at the back frustrating Rochdale further with every header won.

Yet without any clear-cut chances to crow about, it was Keith Hill’s side that came closest to actually breaking the deadlock.

Striker Le Fondre benefited from a lucky ricochet and curled a 65th minute shot that had Williams beaten from outside the box, only to see it rebound back off the woodwork.

A long-range attempt from Done needed Sam Russell to be at his best to stop Wrexham from scoring themselves, but his pass across the box was too wide for Aiston.

Wrexham almost undid their good work as they flapped in the final 10 minutes, threatening to buckle under some pressure and were only saved when Williams made two vital stops.

The first was a superb parry from a Marcus Holness header and the second a catch from Glenn Murray.

Le Fondre shot wide as the game died out and Rochdale pressed, but it wasn’t enough to take the deserved draw away from the Dragons.