Goals -
1-0 Hutchinson (6 og)
1-1 Rankin (68)
1-2 Scott P Fitzgerald (90)

TWO devastating strikes from Isaiah Rankin and substitute Scott Fitzgerald within the last 22 minutes finally ended the Red Dragons' courageous battle to remain in Coca-Cola League One.

Only a victory would have meant Denis Smith's charges taking their relegation battle into the date against Huddersfield at the Racecourse on Saturday.

And that opportunity should have been booked after Bees defender Eddie Hutchinson put through his own net in the seventh minute of this pulse-racing crunch.

Wrexham, with skipper Darren Ferguson and the superb Carlos Edwards at the centre of a battery of potent attacks, could have been out of sight long before that late disaster, Juan Ugarte, Chris Llewellyn, Dennis Lawrence and Andy Holt all spurning opportunities for glory.

The result means the Red Dragons now join Stockport, and Peterborough in a division they escaped in 2003 - Brentford propelled into the play-off pack with this critical triumph.

The Red Dragons showed no alteration to the starting line up that thrashed doomed back markers 4-1 Stockport in Lancashire last Saturday - a second successive league success on the road.

But highly-rated Wales U-21 international linkman Mark Jones was fit enough to return as substitute for Wrexham - in place of Trinidadian raider Hector Sam.

The Bees recalled Rankin, midfielder Jay Tabb and Chris Hargreaves into a 4-4-2 format - ex- England winger John Salako, Marcus Gayle and Darren Pratley axed to the bench.

Only a 14th league maximum of the campaign would stop Wrexham slithering through the section trap door on the evening - ending the brave fight of a club who, unsurprisingly, have found the 10-point deduction from the Football League a crippling cross to bare.

With Liverpool colliding with Chelsea in a titanic televised Champions League semi-final second leg clash 30 miles north across the River Mersey, the Racecourse gate was badly hit for a game no less important to the relevant sets of supporters.

Heavy spring showers before kick off had saturated the lush surface. But, to the strains of Men of Harlech, the Red Dragons roared forward, getting the vital early breakthrough on six minutes.

Andy Holt's menacing left-side cross was somehow cleared by the sliding Michael Turner - Ferguson's ensuing corner turned into his own net at the near post by horrified Bees' schemer Hutchinson.

And seventh-placed Brentford were in real danger of buckling beyond recognition as slick Wrexham stormed relentlessly into their territory, producing some of their best soccer of the campaign.

The watching Sir Alex Ferguson must have been impressed as Trinidadian conjurer Edwards ripped through a quartet of weak Brentford tackles - Bees boss Martin Allen cutting an agitated silhouette outside the visitor's dugout

Llewellyn robbed Sam Sodje - the Wales cap's punishing 20-yard drive pushed away by the sprawling Stuart Nelson.

The Bees stopper was back in the action once more on 18 minutes as he brilliantly beat back Edward's angled blockbuster and the ex-Doncaster player did even better to divert Lawrence's bicycle kick.

The home outfit were continuing to seek a crucial second. Danny Williams saw his special deflect off Sodje, Holt and the towering Lawrence nodding wide as the interval loomed.

But the danger signals were evident for the Red Dragons - Deon Burton nudged Stuart Talbot's delivery against the woodwork.

And the leveller arrived in the 69th minute, Pratley's left-side corner flicked on by Hutchinson for a stooping Rankin to pounce from point-blank range.

Chris Armstrong came on for Matt Crowell as Wrexham sought salvation, but their fate was sealed as Fitzgerald, who had replaced Burton on 84 minutes, finished clinically in stoppage time to consign the Dragons to League Two football.

Tony Rees