Over the past few months, I have watched with interest as Hollywood superstars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have taken control of the club from the hapless Wrexham Supporters Trust. I am hopeful that things will improve under the new ownership and I am excited that I may soon be welcomed back to the Racecourse to enjoy a game of football alongside my fellow fans. Indeed, the new era that is slowly unfolding at the Cae Ras has given me the impetus needed to continue writing my Memory Match articles that I hope to put together to create my third book.
It would be great if I could synchronise the release of my book with the reincarnation of the club I love. There is much hard work ahead of myself and the new owners, but there is a new sense of hope and expectation in the air, so maybe now it is time to believe in a brighter tomorrow.
I now only have three Memory Match columns to write, before having completed the Football League Years, 1921-2008. I will soon start thinking of book publishers and former Wrexham players who could write a foreword for the proposed volume. Maybe I should also consider an electronic edition that would be available on Kindle and other devices?
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27/09/72
Wrexham v FC Zurich
European Cup Winner’s Cup Round 1 (2nd leg)
Racecourse Ground
Result: 2-1
Wrexham: Lloyd, Mason, Fogg, Davis, May, Evans, Tinnion, Sutton, Ashcroft, Kinsey (Mostyn), Thomas
Goalscorers: Ashcroft (63), Sutton (73)
FC Zurich: Grob, Heer, Stierli, Zigerlig, Bionda, Brunnenmeier, Schweizer, Martinelli, Kunzli, Konietzka, Jeandupeux
Goalscorer: Martinelli (48)
Attendance: 18,189
Third Division Wrexham made their European debut against FC Zurich at the Stadion Letzigrund in Switzerland. The match finished all-square with Albert Kinsey scoring our first goal in Europe, just a minute after Fritz Kunzli had opened the scoring for the home side.
The Swiss Cup winners were involved in their seventh European campaign. In 1964 they had reached the European Cup semi-finals, and four years later they made the last eight of the UEFA Cup. Their team included four Swiss internationals and their player-manager Timo Konietzka, was a former West German international. The return leg at the Racecourse would certainly be a test.
18,189 supporters were on hand to watch a scintillating display by the Town. The players were certainly up for the challenge and proceeded to hammer away at their opponents’ goal throughout the opening period. Brian Tinnion put a chance, made by Dave Fogg and Kinsey, over the bar. Stuart Mason chose to shoot from an impossible angle, after a breath-taking run, Kinsey was narrowly wide with a diving header and Zurich goalkeeper Karl Grob, made the save of the match when he went down to a rasping drive by Billy Ashcroft. Zurich offered little in response.
During this eventful first half, both Kinsey and Ashcroft had to have attention on the side-lines for injuries. Ashcroft recovered, but Kinsey failed to return for the second half and was replaced by Roger Mostyn.
The second half continued in a similar vein with Mel Sutton hitting the bar. Surely it would be only a matter of time before our pressure paid dividends?
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Erwin Schweizer sent over a long centre from the left and Rosario Martinelli dived head-long to stun the entire Racecourse. Instead of letting their heads go down, John Neal’s men simply turned up the pressure. No team could hope to survive such an onslaught and it came as no surprise when Wrexham equalised in the 63rd minute.
Tinnion sent over an inviting corner-kick that seemed certain to be met by Eddie May’s forehead – until he was blatantly pushed in the back. This was a glaring case for a spot-kick, but the referee failed to react. Mickey Thomas chased the loose ball to the by-line and crossed perfectly for Ashcroft to thump his header home.
Zurich were clearly rattled and foul followed foul, as desperation set in. The inevitable happened after 73 minutes, when Sutton headed past Grob from a Micky Evans cross.
There was still plenty of incident left in this game. Thomas saw a rocket rebound off the crossbar, and the visitors regained some composure to carve out an opportunity. Thankfully, Gareth Davis was on hand to prevent Kunzli from levelling the tie.
Speaking after the game, Wrexham skipper Eddie May said “Zurich played better in this match than in the first game. I was a bit sick when they scored, but we showed great character in not getting in a panic. The crowd were great. Even when we were behind, they were behind us, it was tremendous.”
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It was interesting to read a letter in the Wrexham Leader, from a club director responding to a supporter who previously wrote that her “blood boiled” at the thought of Wrexham FC directors travelling to Zurich free of charge.
In his defence, the unnamed director writes that “Early this year, the directors advanced to the Football Club £20,000 in cash for six months free of interest charges.
“If your ‘blood-boiling’ correspondent cares to work out the saving to the Football Club at current interest rates, she will discover that the cost of the Zurich trip was covered three-times over”.
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After exerting ourselves in European competition, we failed to progress very far in the domestic cups. We did manage to record our first victory in the League Cup for four years, with a 4-0 demolition of Crewe Alexandra. Unfortunately, this was followed by a 2-0 defeat by Second Division Middlesbrough at Ayresome Park.
The FA Cup campaign began with a 1-1 draw against Darlington at Feethams. The replay at the Racecourse ended in a resounding 5-0 victory for the Town, with promising young striker Dave Smallman bagging a hat-trick. This caught the attention of a host of top clubs, with bids being turned down from Birmingham City and Everton. Any dreams of a trip to Wembley were shattered in the second round of the competition, when Port Vale beat us 1-0 at Vale Park.
Any thoughts of a return to European competition were halted in the Welsh Cup fourth round by Chester. The trip to Sealand Road ended in a 1-0 defeat, six players were booked, Chester’s Dave Kennedy was sent off and Chester goalkeeper John Taylor managed to save a last-minute penalty from Gareth Davis. This encounter also saw the debut of a certain Joey Jones.
