SPANN'S THE MAN
Mark Currie - Daily Post

WREXHAM have stepped up their bid to sign Trinidad international Silvio Spann (left), the midfielder boss Brian Carey has been tracking all summer.

The 26-year-old watched the Dragons' opening match of the season at Darlington on Saturday and will be training at Colliers Park for a couple of days before returning home to try and expedite his move to the Racecourse.

But Carey, who revealed he has been following Spann's career for the past two years, said there were still a number of issues to be resolved, including a work permit and a satisfactory deal with Spann's current club in Trinidad, W Connection.

Speaking after Saturday's 2-0 defeat, the Dragons boss said: "Silvio has been here with us since last night. He was at Sunderland for a couple of weeks but we are hoping to get him on board if we can.

"There's a long way to go yet because he's still under contract in Trinidad, but he'll train with us for a couple of days and then he has to get home to sort out things like work permits and international clearance.

"There are things for us to sort out with his club but we are talking to them, put it that way. I'd like to bring him in so I'm pleased he joined up with us last night to meet the other lads and he watched the game today.

"Hopefully we'll sort everything out next week and get him playing for us as soon as possible. He is a player who I've been watching for more than two years and I've seen what he can do.

"He's had a bit of a hiccup in terms of his career and he wants to get it back on track.

"We have had success before in bringing players over from Trinidad and I'm hoping he will be another.

"He has played at a high level and he's a current international. He would be a great acquisition for us if we can tie it up."

Spann, who has won 28 caps for his country, missed out on the 2006 World Cup finals after sustaining a hamstring injury.

LET'S HOPE THIS WAS A ONE-OFF SAYS DEFENDER
Daily Post

DEFENDER Richard Hope shrugged off the disappointment of Wrexham's opening day defeat at Darlington by claiming that the Dragons were the better side overall.

The former Shrewsbury Town skipper, selected alongside Shaun Pejic while Wales international Steve Evans failed to make the 16-man squad, was found wanting for both the home side's goals, but he insisted that the team's overall performance was encouraging.

"It was a disappointing start and not what we wanted but we've come out of the game feeling we had the better of the chances and more of the play," he said afterwards.

"Unfortunately we made a couple of mistakes and they scored but otherwise I thought we looked quite solid and comfortable at the back."

And on another day, Hope claimed Wrexham would have converted some of the chances that came their way, particularly after Darlington were reduced to 10 men following the second-half dismissal of goalkeeper Andy Oakes

"We had a lot of balls going in across the box and day in and day out in training we put them away, but it just didn't happen for us today," he added

"It could have been worse in the sense we might have been outplayed, but that wasn't the case. I think we were the better team and so we take the positives from the game.

"It's only the first game and we'll move on, and I'm sure we will be a better team as a result."

Wrexham manager Brian Carey also put a brave face on the result and said he had no complaints about the general performance from his players.

"Obviously we are really disappointed we haven't won the game because we created enough chances throughout," he said.

"The lads are very disappointed because we made a couple of errors for their goals, which won't happen again.

"But our whole approach was good and we had enough chances to have won three or four matches.

"We really tested the replacement goalkeeper and in terms of opportunities, the ball went across the face of goal time and time again.

"That's what has cost us in the end, the couple of errors when things aren't going in at the other end for us."

The Racecourse boss said he was unsure whether Wrexham should have been awarded a penalty when Oakes was dismissed for denying striker Michael Proctor a goal-scoring opportunity at 1-0 down.

But he was adamant the Dragons were denied a first half spot-kick when Eifion Williams seemed to be pushed in the penalty box.

"I'd have to see the sending-off again so I don't know," he added.

"I think the referee looked a little bit confused but from where I was I didn't know.

"We had a blatant penalty shout in the first half but it was a referee in his first game and that's the luck of the draw I suppose."

QUAKER SHAKER FOR DRAGONS
Mark Currie - Daily Post

AFTER more than a decade of failing to beat Wrexham in a league match, the law of averages was on Darlington's side, but they were given a massive helping hand by their opponents in what was a poor start to the new campaign by Brian Carey's Dragons.

The Quakers played out the final 30 minutes with 10 men following the dismissal of goalkeeper Andy Oakes, but during that period still managed to double the lead they had established prior to the interval before digging in to run out worthy winners.

And much as the Racecourse boss tried to put a gloss on the few positives to emerge from the game, his side's ordinary and uninspired performance was, in the jargon of the day, "not fit for purpose."

It's early days of course and one result is no true indicator of what the rest of the season has in store, but there's little doubt that the close to 700 Wrexham fans who made the long trek to north east England were left feeling short-changed by a match that offered little in terms of entertainment or quality.

Perhaps that's the nature of the opening day beast, because Darlington boss Dave Penney admitted to a sense of relief that his players had emerged victorious.

"You never know what the first game of the season is going to throw up because the players have all the nervous tension built up from six weeks of training, so any win on the first day has to be satisfactory," he said afterwards.

Penney might have mentioned that when it came to the major decisions faced by League debutant referee Karl Evans his side enjoyed the rub of the green, most notably when Wrexham's Eifion Williams was the victim of a penalty box shove a minute after Darlington had taken the lead and later when Oakes appeared to bring down Michael Proctor in the area.

But it tends to be the successful sides that make their own luck and on that score the Dragons did themselves no favours at all, failing to test Oakes at all during his time on the pitch.

In opting for an experienced line-up Carey's selection accommodated all his established big-hitters with Eifion Williams and Chris Llewellyn patrolling the flanks, Neil Roberts and Proctor paired up front and the midfield roles filled by Danny Williams and Mark Jones.

For too long though the two wide men found themselves isolated by Wrexham's determination to get the ball forward at the earliest opportunity, a tactic that caused few problems for Darlington pair Steve Foster and Ian Miller.

With few opportunities to work the channels, both Proctor and Roberts invariably received the ball with their backs to goal although on those occasions when the home defence was turned, the Dragons failed to make the most of their opportunities.

Just 10 minutes into the game, the indefatigable Llewellyn chased down a lost cause deep on the left to deliver a cross that was begging to be banged in, but Proctor was slow to react and the ball flew harmlessly across the penalty area.

A more difficult opening fell to Jones, whose first-time volley picked out the Darlington keeper as though he were a magnet, but there was otherwise little at either end to get excited about until the final five minutes of the half.

A 40th minute free-kick brought the home side's first real opening, Miller heading the ball into the danger area where Tommy Wright steered his effort straight at Anthony Williams, but it was nevertheless against the run of play that Wrexham found themselves trailing two minutes later.

Pawel Abbott, the Quakers' £100,000 summer capture from Swansea City, produced a deft turn to flummox Richard Hope and his chip was glanced beyond the Wrexham keeper by Kevin McBride, who was given too much space by Simon Spender to pick his spot.

Carey's men felt they were denied an equaliser from the restart after Llewellyn again found space on the left. He picked out the incoming Eifion Williams, who looked favourite to at least test Oakes until he was slyly nudged in the back by Miller, an incident that escaped the attention of the match official.

And although they resumed after the break with greater urgency, Wrexham's fortunes showed no signs of improvement, Proctor planting a header on the roof of the net following more good work from Llewellyn.

And Darlington continued to ride their luck on 62 minutes when Roberts helped on a long clearance to put Proctor clear. The striker knocked the ball beyond the advancing Oakes, who brought his opponent down on the edge of the area.

The initial reaction from all concerned suggested a penalty and a red card for the Darlington keeper, but when the dust had cleared after the referee had consulted a linesman, the visitors had to be content with a free-kick, much to the relief of the Quakers' boss.

And substitute glovesman David Stockdale immediately endeared himself to the home fans when he stretched to turn Proctor's dead ball effort around the post.

"The lads thought their player was offside and Oakes said he got a hand on the ball but I'm glad it was out the box," said Penney.

"I knew he was going off as soon as it happened, but the linesman was there in line and gave the free-kick.

"When we went down to 10 men everyone pulled together and I was pleased with Foster at the back because he rallied the troops and headed away anything that came into the box.

"The pleasing thing was that we kept a clean sheet and I thought the back four were excellent and covered each other well. And when the keeper came on he made a couple of good saves."

Given their one-man advantage, Wrexham began to assert themselves, but their hopes of a morale-boosting point were dashed by the pacy Julian Joachim in the 72nd minute.

As soon as Hope misjudged the bounce of a long clearance the Darlington man was always going to be first to the ball and he wasted no time in dispatching a crisp shot past Williams from outside the penalty area.

Wrexham's malaise in front of goal was evident in the 76th minute when Llewellyn was caught in two minds whether to shoot or cross, his end product eventually producing neither one thing nor the other.

And when Stockdale produced another fine save seven minutes from time, clawing away a Shaun Pejic header, there was no way back for the visitors, even though Proctor had two late half-chances to open his account for the season.

CAREY BEMOANS WASTED CHANCES
Phil Blanche - Western Mail

WREXHAM boss Brian Carey insisted bright times lay ahead despite an opening-day setback.

The Dragons created plenty of openings in a much-improved second half but they were denied by two great saves from Darlington's sub keeper David Stockdale and poor finishing.

"We created enough chances to win the game," bemoaned Carey. "Obviously I was disappointed with the result, but more than pleased with our approach to the game.

"On this performance, we will score goals this season and we'll be OK. We did everything possible in the second half to create chances, but their keeper pulled off two superb saves, especially the one from the free-kick after the sending off.

"I was disappointed with the two goals that Darlington scored because they came from two defensive errors. They won't happen again."

Wrexham were under little early pressure, not even when Shaun Pejic had to leave the field to receive treatment for a bloody nose following a clash with Tommy Wright.

If Chris Llewellyn's team-mates had been more alert, then Wrexham - who are keen to complete the signing of Trinidad and Tobago midfielder Silvio Spann - could have taken the lead after 10 minutes.

A long clearance from keeper Anthony Williams found Llewellyn, who darted beyond the Darlington defence.

Everybody gave the ball up for a goal kick, but Llewellyn managed to keep it in and pull it back into the six-yard box where his Wrexham colleagues were conspicuous by their absence.

Eifion Williams almost opened the scoring on 20 minutes when he instinctively deflected a wayward shot by Mark Jones.

But the ball flew straight into the hands of Darlington's former Swansea keeper Andy Oakes.

The game livened up in the last 10 minutes of the first half. Anthony Williams saved from Ian Miller following a corner, but he was angry with the marking in front of him on 42 minutes.

Pawel Abbott, another ex-Swan, was allowed to turn unchallenged on the corner of the box and cross precisely for the unmarked Kevin McBride to nod into the bottom corner of the net from six yards.

Wrexham were furious again a few minutes later, but this time with referee Karl Evans.

Eifion Williams appeared to be pushed to the ground as he went for Llewellyn's cross, but Dragons' protests were waved away.

Wrexham had more urgency about them in the second half, and they created a good chance a few minutes after the restart.

Llewellyn, always a menace down the left, produced another perfect cross to the back post, where the stretching Michael Proctor just failed to get his header on target from six yards.

Darlington's offside tactics trapped Wrexham twice in quick succession, but Proctor broke through a third time on 63 minutes.

With Darlington appealing furiously, he charged towards the penalty area where he was tripped by the advancing Oakes.

As Oakes saw inevitable red, a minor scuffle developed between the players over whether a penalty had been awarded. Ryan Valentine and opposite full-back Tim Ryan were both lectured about losing their tempers.

Much to Wrexham's annoyance, Oakes' foul was ruled just outside the box. Proctor's curling free-kick was heading for the top corner until Stockdale pulled off a superb, one-handed save.

Strangely, the dismissal seemed to galvanise the Quakers rather than Wrexham.

Defender Steve Foster put a good chance over the top and on 71 minutes they doubled their lead.

Stockdale's long kick was flicked on by Wright to Julian Joachim, who beat Richard Hope for pace and blasted the ball into the top corner from 10 yards.

Darlington shut up shop after that and tried to go on the defensive, and that was when Wrexham had their best spell.

Llewellyn popped up on the right, picked up a raking long ball from Danny Williams and sidefooted just wide of the far post.

From another pinpoint Llewellyn cross, Danny Williams headed wide from six yards and Stockdale then thwarted Pejic and Proctor with smart saves in the closing stages.

Eight months and 45 games might remain, but the Dragons will not meet such inspired goalkeeping all season.