City 1 - 0 Wrexham

Last updated : 08 March 2004 By Footymad Previewer

An 11th straight win - 1-0 against Wrexham at Ashton Gate - confirmed Bristol City's rise to the top spot in Division Two.

The margin, though, was narrower than their possession promised but still came as a relief to manager Danny Wilson.

"Wrexham came here with eight away wins, more than any other side in the Nationwide League," he said. "They have been fantastic away and this was a concern for me but in fact they never worried us."His pre-match concerns were largely put to rest by a third-minute goal from Australian Luke Wilkshire.

Matthew Hill on the left opened up a channel inside Wrexham's wing back, Carlos Edwards and Wilkshire hammered the low cross from Aaron Brown high into the net.

This goal ushered in an impressive half-hour by City; smooth passing and quick closing down squeezed the Welsh club but all they had to show was a raking drive from Lee Miller which swerved over the bar.

Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez was there to watch home skipper Tom Doherty. He had a magnificent first half - awesome was his manager's verdict - but when he tired late on it gave Wrexham the chance to get into the game for the first time.

Their two front men Chris Armstrong and Stephen Thomas had a miserable time against the eager marking of the home defence and at half-time manager Denis Smith replaced Thomas with Hector Sam.

This freshened up his attack but, in the home goal, Steve Phillips never had a direct shot to handle.

Brown's speed, mainly on the left flank, was always a problem for a hard-pressed Wrexham defence in which Dennis Lawrence, who now goes into suspension, had an afternoon to forget.

The scoreline was kept down by a remarkable double save from Andy Dibble 15 minutes from time. First he stopped a shot from sub Leroy Lita and then on the ground he thrust up his left arm to deflect the follow up header from Lee Peacock.

Wrexham manager Denis Smith said: "You might think it's ambitious on today's performance but I know we are capable of being right up there at the end."