Train £17-30
Tea £1-70
Entry £15
Provisions £3-29
Total £37-29
Wrexham is one of those places in the Hinterland in between regions. It's not really in the North West, nor is it in the Midlands, and although it is in Wales it is closer to many English towns and cities. So it was an intriguing one to get to today. The game would also represent my third game in Wales - after Merthyr in 2008 and Caernarfon in 2013.
The journey from Sheffield took me through other 'in between' places like Stockport, Crewe and Chester. Apart from Chester these are the kinds of towns you pass through but rarely visit (and as I discovered recently you'd actively avoid visiting Crewe!) It took 4 trains across although each one was relatively quick.
I arrived in Wrexham General just before 2pm and had a time for a wander around the ground before heading into the town. Visitors to this town shouldn't be put off by the line of cheap shops which greet them from the station - once I got towards the other side of town I found a couple of impressive churches and some more historic buildings.
I headed back to the Racecourse at about 2:30 in time to take up my place in the Glyndwr University stand for £15. This was directly behind the goal and had a few steep rows of seats. There were a few rows towards the front closed off to spectators today. To the left and right were two seated stands, and at the far end was the magnificent Kop end terrace. This is closed off completely which is a pity as the steep sweeping terraces and crush barriers dotted around gave it a classic feel.
There was a small cluster of away fans from Braintree (79 in total), looking to see their team secure an unlikely play off place. The home side were 6 points off Braintree with 2 to play so needed to win to stand a chance of the play offs.
The first half was an open and entertaining affair. Braintree opened the scoring on 3 minutes when Cheek (great name!) scored from close range. Wrexham meanwhile looked reasonable, Fyfield firing a raking shot wide, before their own 23 (Heslop) equalised with a header. Wrexham continued to create chances with Miles only managing to hit the side netting with a first time effort from a long ball. In the middle, Braintree's Cheek and Woodyard looked pacey and tricky to contain. Their Brundle shot just wide, and then Wrexham took what should be a crucial 2-1 lead with a free kick from Fowler which eluded everyone. But Braintree responded well and by half time they were at parity thanks to another goal by Cheek.
Before the second half began the announcer said something rousing in Welsh, and the crowd responded. But the game closed up a lot, largely thanks to some tenacious Braintree defending and ineffective attacks from the Welsh side. I barely recorded an effort until Wrexham’s Briscoe drove a half volley over around the 80 minute mark. Then Braintree finished the job when a clever counterattack left Brundle to stab in from close range. Wrexham's season was over, and with this being their last home game a few fans stayed behind to applaud them off. They could well be in the play-off hunt next year.
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