Dale crashed out of the FA Cup yet again to the North Wales side, as Wrexham continued to be one of Dale's bogey teams. The result in now way represents the match, and Dale can consider themselves very unlucky not to have left the Racecourse ground with a draw at the very least. Dale had by far the bulk of the possession as Wrexham were limited to attacking on the break.

A good following travelled down the M56 and over the border into Wales to cheer on the Dale. The FA Cup has always showed a good turnout by Dale supporters, and this continued today as around 700 made the trip. The Dale fans were housed in an all seater stand behind one of the goals with the front section cornered off. The Racecourse has turned into quite a smart little ground now, with only the home terrace behind the opposite goal needing renovation.

Steve Parkin opted to continue with the same side that started against Mansfield the previous week, with the exception of Dean Stokes who came in for Damon Searle who was one again refused permission to play by Carlisle. Reports suggested that Wrexham were a side who were very good up front and poor at the back, and they did nothing today to change that reputation.

The opening few minutes was end to end stuff, with both sides having their fair share of attacks. Wrexham had one or two chances but their efforts were of a very poor quality causing Edwards no problem whatsoever. At the other end, Clive Platt was causing all sorts of problems for the home defence. He went on one run, and just kept on going as he seemed to have little options. He shot from the edge of the box, but it wasn't enough.

Wrexham took the lead and silenced the travelling support in doing so after a quarter of an hour. Roberts took advantage of some sloppy marking in the box by Dale's defensive pairing of Monington and Bayliss as he received the ball on the edge of the six yard box with time to coolly fire the ball past Edwards who had no chance whatsoever. As it went in, Bayliss and Monington both just looked at each other to suggest that the other should have been marking him.

The way Wrexham trotted back to the half way line suggested that it was an expected goal. However the Dale players refused to let their heads drop, and came back at the home side. The players had done enough in the opening spell to suggest that they were a match for the home side, and for the second successive match, Dale came back from a goal down. It followed a sustained bit of pressure, and following a cross from the right wing, Graeme Atkinson, who had previously had a disappointing game, nudged the ball home to equalise.

The rest of the half was played out with Dale more than a match for their hosts. However, the second half saw Dale step up a gear and dominate possession throughout. However, it was the usual story that Dale could not turn their possession into chances. Dale had attack after attack but nothing to really test the home keeper Kevin Dearden who had a couple of games on loan at Dale several years ago.

Dale were thwarted by some desperate defending and some poor refereeing by the same referee who panicked at Swansea last month. Wrexham came closest to scoring on the break, and Dale had Neil Edwards to thank for keeping them in the match. Dale were caught out with bodies forward, and Edwards had to dive at the feet of the Wrexham forwards.

However, Wrexham proved why it is they who are the second division side and not us, as they took their chances in the final minute. They had a free kick from the right hand side, which went over the head of Edwards hitting the crossbar and bouncing down, before the Dale defenders could clear the ball to safety in the form of a corner. Whilst the home fans were still debating over whether it was a goal or not, Wrexham dictated that it would make little difference. A corner came over and Faulconbridge scored from a similar position to where Atkinson had scored in the first half. The reaction of the Wrexham players was in stark contrast to that of the first goal as they celebrated knowing full well they had got out of jail.

The final two minutes of injury time was played out with Dale failing to break down the home defence. The players left the field to a standing ovation from the gutted fans behind the goal. You could not fault the performance of the Dale players today, with almost all impressing. Clive Platt looked the hundred grand striker that he is. Tony Ellis showed some clever touches. Gary Jones did well again, making it look increasingly difficult for Flitcroft to win his place back.

Ah well, there's always the wildcard. If we win that, please not Wrexham again.

Dale: Edwards, Evans, Stokes, Bayliss, Monington, Ford (Bettney), Jones, Peake, Atkinson (Flitcroft), Ellis, Platt

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