Louis is the destroyer

10:45pm Thursday 21st August 2008

Comments (18)   Have your say »

Wrexham 2, Oxford Utd 0

Oxford United found themselves reduced to ten men for the second successive away game at Wrexham last night, and once again paid the price with their former striker Jefferson Louis the chief tormentor.

In their opening Blue Square match of the season at Barrow, it was James Clarke who was sent off.

This time it was centre back Luke Foster, and it came in only the 11th minute when he fouled Shaun Whalley after letting the Red Dragons striker get goal-side of him following Louis's flick.

The ref deemed that Foster had denied a goalscoring opportunity, so it was arguably the right decision, though it seemed harsh.

It was also well inside the area and the ref had immediately pointed to the spot.

However, U's goalkeeper Jake Cole made an excellent save, to his right, from Louis's penalty to prevent the terrible start becoming a disastous one.

United fought fiercely to get back into the game, and had the chances to get something.

Lewis Haldane and James Constable both broke through with only the keeper to beat in the second half.

Constable screwed his shot wide of the far post, while Haldane was denied by a smart blocking save from Gavin Ward.

Substitute Sam Deering then set up Haldane again, and this time his goalbound drive was blocked by a defender.

Overall, though, it was a really battling second-half showing from the U's, and they probably deserved something from it.

Predictably, their exhausted defence were punished again in injury time - by 'that man' Louis again.

Oxford had actually begun the game well until the penalty incident, and were bossing the midfield in the first few minutes.

Constable won an early corner and Chris Carruthers's delivery from the flag kick caused problems at the far post.

But in the eighth minute, from really their first attack, Wrexham almost scored.

Louis directed a header beyond Cole and it came back off the bar. Matt Day managing to scramble it clear after Cole had got back into position to guard his near post.

Having gone down to ten men, the U's had to reshuffle. Day moved to centre half and Levi Reid dropped back to right back, but of course, the visitors were now short in midfield.

The Welsh outfit applied strong pressure and Levi Mackin fired a 20-yard shot narrowly wide.

United were still believing they could get something at the other end, though, and Yemi Odubade sprinted around the back of the home defence, only to hit his cross too hard for inrushing teammates.

On 29 minutes, Wrexham took the lead, and it came from a set piece.

A right-wing corner was met powerfully by centre half Steve Evans, who had escaped his marker, and he headed low into the net from 12 yards.

A similar, though much more difficult opportunity came three minutes later at the other end when Barry Quinn, slightly further out, was also unmarked when he met a corner, but he couldn't convert it.

Louis's sheer size was causing problems for United, and he won almost everything in the air, planting one header just wide and sending another effort close.

He seemed a much better, and more mature player, than in his Thame United and early Oxford United days, but then he has had the experience of more than a dozen different clubs since then.

Darren Patterson boldly went for a 3-4-2 formation in the second half with Chris Willmott coming on to replace Reid, and Quinn now operating in the middle with Willmott and Day either side.

And after keeping the ball well when they had possession, United managed two decent attempts at goal.

First, Constable turned and fired in a shot that goalkeeper Gavin Ward got right behind.

Minutes later, Constable held the ball up well with a chest-trap to allow Odubade a first-time shot, again straight at Ward.

Cole produced a superb save to keep out a fierce drive from Mackin as Wrexham broke with menace.

But it was the U's who were desperately unlucky not to grab an equaliser as Eddie Hutchinson won a free-kick in a central position 22 yards out. Haldane curled it beautifully around the wall, and it needed a quality save from Ward to keep it out, the keeper clawing it away from his left post.

Cole repeated his earlier save with another spectacular effort at a corner and Oxford then had an escape when another header flashed past the post.

But the U's went for it from then on, and with a little more luck, or more clinical finishing, might have come away with a draw.

They were shown how to do by Louis in injury time. The big man turned Quinn inside out and then shot low past Cole and just inside the far post for a classy finish.