WREXHAM crashed out of the Welsh Premier Cup, and to their seventh consecutive defeat, at Llanelli tonight despite racing to a 2-0 lead half way through the first half.

The Dragons were just two minutes away from hanging on for victory when Steve Evans conceded a penalty for a challenge which also led to a red card, and two goals in three minutes at the start of extra time put the game well behind the ten men's reach.

The game started ominously as Llanelli piled on early pressure and Gary Lloyd twice went close with well-struck free kicks, the first of which drew a smart save from debutant keeper Gavin Ward.  However, Wrexham took the lead against the run of play when an underhit backpass by Wyn Thomas allowed Chris Llewellyn to round the stranded keeper and tap the ball into an empty net

Wrexham gained in confidence after the goal and though the prolific Rhys Griffiths hit the side-netting soon afterwards they got a second goal.  Again it came from a defensive error as Andy Mumford's poor pass was well intercepted by Levi Mackin.  The midfielder's pass found Llewellyn who bundled his way through Lloyd's challenge before thrashing the ball under Ryan Harrison for his second goal.

For the first time in a while Wrexham had some breathing space, but it would last barely a minute before a catastrophic error by Mike Williams handed Llanelli a path back into the game.  As he dithered on the edge of the box, changing direction and his mind three times, Llanelli striker Mark Jones tackled him and squared for Griffiths to pass the ball into the open goal.

The half petered out with little further incident apart from a strong penalty shout handball against Andy Legg, who clearly used his arms to block a Llewellyn drive, and Legg's long throws were the main Llanelli weapon as they monopolised possession in the second half without really creating too much.  Both Thomas and Chris Holloway missed close range headers as long throws were allowed to bounce in the box, but apart from those incident it was Wrexham who actually looked more threatening on the break until the last ten minutes. 

Valentine had a fine free kick spectacularly saved by ex-Wrexham keeper Harrison, a slick move ended with Wes Baynes working a one-two with Roberts and hitting a shot which Harrison saved sharply low to his right, and a fine Roberts cross was met by a Llewellyn volley which again drew a smart stop.

However, as the game drew to a close Wrexham fell into a familiar habit, defending with increasing tension and allowing the opposition to dominate as they held grimly on to what they had.  Eventually the breakthrough came when Evans lunged in on the edge of the box.  Griffiths eluded his challenge to go clear on goal but the centre back caught him as he went through, giving the referee no option but to point to the spot and show a red card and Griffiths drove the spot kick past Ward.

Brian Little's side nearly snatched a victory in injury time when Neil Taylor's cross was volleyed just over on the stretch by Neil Roberts as he tried to volley the ball back across the keeper from six yards out but before long the die was cast.  In the fourth minute after the restart Griffiths crossed to give Holloway an easy finish, and two minutes later the midfielder had an even easier task as one of Legg's throws was finally rewarded.  Mumford's header was well parried by Ward but dropped to Holloway who couldn't miss from barely a foot out.

With Llewellyn isolated up front there was never a hope that Wrexham would fight back, and the sense of gloom just intensified as the Premier Cup failed to bring relief to this traumatic season.

Llanelli: Ryan Harrison, Andy Legg, Andrew Mumford, Wyn Thomas, Gary Lloyd, Craig Jones, Chris Holloway, Antonio Corbisiero, Craig Williams, Rhys Griffiths, Mark Jones.
Subs:

Wrexham: Gavin Ward, Wes Baynes, Steve Evans, Phil Bolland, Mike Williams, Neil Taylor (Simon Spender), Levi Mackin, Ryan Valentine, Michael Proctor (Mark Jones), Neil Roberts, Chris Llewellyn.
Subs: Anthony Williams, Shaun Pejic, Marc Williams.

Referee: Mark Whitby (Swansea)
Attendance: 427
Away: 40ish

Sending Off -
Wrexham: Steve Evans (88, denying a goalscoring opportunity)

Bookings -
Wrexham: Bolland, Taylor, Valentine.