Wrexham returned to winning ways in the Blue Square Bet Premier with a hard-fought victory against troubled Kettering.

The visitors took the lead on 23 minutes when Chris Westwood tapped a free-kick to Jamie Tolley who then struck powerfully through the wall.

Wrexham dominated the first half with Mathias Pogba striking the crossbar and Jake Speight wasting a chance.

Kettering had the better of the second half but Wrexham held on.

Wrexham are five points behind leaders Fleetwood, who won 3-0 at Tamworth, but the Welsh side have a game in hand.

VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM

Kettering Town caretaker manager Ashley Westwood told BBC Radio Northampton:

"I'm really proud of them. We have lost, which is disappointing, but the effort and desire was there for everyone to see.

"Playing the team second in the league, going 1-0 down, we could easily have folded but we kept going and were unlucky not to get something out of the game.

"(Debutant) Charlie Wyke did very well. He worked hard, never stopped running and was unlucky not to score. He was everything you want from a player.

"But you couldn't really single one player out. It was a good team performance and it was just unlucky we didn't get any points."

Wrexham player-manager Andy Morrell told BBC Radio Wales:

"We didn't start particularly great but we had two really good chances early on and could have put the game beyond them early on.

"But we didn't work the keeper which is probably the more disappointing thing. We get the goal, which we probably deserved in the first half because we had the better chances.

"Then [in the] second half they had the win and put a bit of pressure on it. It looked hard work for us. I'm pleased with the three points."

Lineup, Bookings (3) & Substitutions (5)

Kettering

  • 12 Walker
  • 02 P Ifil Booked
  • 03 Davis
  • 05 Sangare (Pryor - 79' )
  • 17 Ralth
  • 08 Aman
  • 20 Bridges
  • 28 Hornby (Ford - 46' )
  • 18 Mills
  • 25 Wyke
  • 38 Jones

Substitutes

  • 32 Pryor
  • 26 Ford

Wrexham

  • 25 Mayebi
  • 03 Ashton Booked
  • 23 Westwood
  • 34 Wright
  • 18 Tolley
  • 20 Knight-Percival
  • 26 Clarke
  • 30 Leslie (Little - 74' )
  • 09 Wright (Morrell - 74' )
  • 10 Speight Booked (Cieslewicz - 64' )
  • 24 Pogba

Substitutes

  • 21 Maxwell
  • 07 Cieslewicz
  • 16 Hunt
  • 17 Little
  • 11 Morrell
Ref: West
Att: 1,377

Match Stats

Shots

8 18

On target

5 9

Corners

3 9

Fouls

9 8

Live Text Commentary

90:00 +5:55 Full time

Full Time The match has reached full-time.

90:00 +5:41

The ball is delivered by Joe Clarke, save by Laurie Walker.

90:00 +5:04

Adrian Cieslewicz delivers the ball, Shot by Andrew Morrell from deep inside the penalty area misses to the right of the goal.

90:00 +3:23

Foul by Sol Davis on Adrian Cieslewicz, free kick awarded. Direct free kick taken by Glen Little.

90:00 +0:55

Inswinging corner taken by Ben Ford, save by Joslain Mayebi.

89:14

Mathias Pogba takes a shot from just outside the penalty area clears the crossbar.

88:37

Sol Davis gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Neil Ashton. Neil Ashton takes the free kick.

85:30

Phil Ifil takes the direct free kick.

85:30 Booking

Booking Neil Ashton receives a caution for unsporting behaviour.

85:09

Foul by Neil Ashton on Ollie Jones, free kick awarded.

83:31

Nathan Ralph gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Adrian Cieslewicz. Neil Ashton crosses the ball in from the free kick, Laurie Walker makes a save. Glen Little takes the inswinging corner, clearance made by Phil Ifil.

81:21

Corner taken left-footed by Ben Ford from the right by-line, save made by Joslain Mayebi.

80:39

Danny Mills delivers the ball, clearance made by Nathaniel Knight-Percival.

79:42

Shot from outside the area by Ben Ford misses to the left of the target.

78:16 Substitution

Substitution Mark Pryor replaces Djoumin Sangare.

77:03

Adrian Cieslewicz produces a cross.

75:13

Shot by Mathias Pogba. Save by Laurie Walker. Jamie Tolley has an effort at goal from outside the area missing to the wide left of the goal.

73:34 Substitution

Substitution Danny Wright goes off and Andrew Morrell comes on.

73:34 Substitution

Substitution Glen Little is brought on as a substitute for Steven Leslie.

72:55

Steven Leslie takes a inswinging corner from the right by-line played to the near post, clearance by Sol Davis.

72:15

Shot from 12 yards from Adrian Cieslewicz. Fantastic save by Laurie Walker.

72:15

Shot by Adrian Cieslewicz. Laurie Walker makes a save.

69:09

Danny Wright challenges Ben Ford unfairly and gives away a free kick. The ball is swung over by Nathan Ralph, Headed effort from inside the area by Djoumin Sangare misses to the left of the target.

66:58

Adrian Cieslewicz delivers the ball.

65:54

Charlie Wyke produces a drilled right-footed shot from 18 yards. Save made by Joslain Mayebi.

65:25

Shot by Aman Verma from 20 yards. Neil Ashton gets a block in.

64:43

Steven Leslie has an effort at goal. Save made by Laurie Walker.

62:53

Joslain Mayebi takes the direct free kick.

62:53 Substitution

Substitution Adrian Cieslewicz replaces Jake Speight.

62:53

The assistant referee signals for offside against Charlie Wyke.

61:51

Free kick awarded for a foul by Danny Wright on Djoumin Sangare. Phil Ifil takes the free kick.

61:34

Danny Mills takes a shot. Save by Joslain Mayebi.

60:03

Corner from the left by-line taken by Jamie Tolley, Djoumin Sangare manages to make a clearance.

56:52

Foul by Djoumin Sangare on Mathias Pogba, free kick awarded. Neil Ashton takes the free kick.

55:56

Danny Mills takes a shot. Chris Westwood gets a block in.

53:47

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Danny Mills by Stephen Wright. Free kick crossed right-footed by Phil Ifil, Nathaniel Knight-Percival makes a clearance.

53:10

Shot by Joe Clarke from 35+ yards. Save made by Laurie Walker.

51:24

Sol Davis takes the free kick.

51:24 Booking

Booking Jake Speight is booked.

51:16

The official flags Steven Leslie offside.

50:13

Phil Ifil crosses the ball, Mathias Pogba gets a block in. Corner taken by Nathan Ralph, save made by Joslain Mayebi.

49:10

Effort on goal by Mathias Pogba from outside the penalty box goes harmlessly over the bar.

45:01

The match restarts for the second half.

45:01 Substitution

Substitution (Kettering) makes a substitution, with Ben Ford coming on for Lewis Hornby.

45:00 +0:53 Half time

Half Time The whistle is blown to end the first half.

44:17

The ball is delivered by Chris Westwood, save by Laurie Walker.

42:24

Nathaniel Knight-Percival concedes a free kick for a foul on Charlie Wyke. The free kick is swung in left-footed by Nathan Ralph, Joe Clarke makes a clearance.

40:23

Handball by Jamie Tolley. Shot comes in from David Bridges from the free kick.

39:15

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Phil Ifil by Mathias Pogba. Laurie Walker restarts play with the free kick.

38:38

Danny Mills handles the ball and concedes a free kick. Stephen Wright restarts play with the free kick.

36:27

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Mathias Pogba by Sol Davis. The ball is delivered by Stephen Wright, Jake Speight takes a shot. Save by Laurie Walker. Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Steven Leslie, Djoumin Sangare manages to make a clearance.

34:09

Foul by Nathan Ralph on Danny Wright, free kick awarded. Stephen Wright takes the free kick.

33:31

Shot by Steven Leslie from deep inside the six-yard box clear the bar.

32:24

Free kick crossed right-footed by Jamie Tolley from left wing.

32:24 Booking

Booking The referee books Phil Ifil for unsporting behaviour.

32:05

Phil Ifil challenges Jake Speight unfairly and gives away a free kick.

31:10

Mathias Pogba has an effort at goal from outside the penalty box which goes wide right of the target.

29:44

Corner taken by Steven Leslie. Corner taken by Steven Leslie played to the near post, clearance by Danny Mills.

29:08

The ball is swung over by Stephen Wright, clearance made by David Bridges.

2:01

Steven Leslie takes a inswinging corner. Danny Wright is penalised for handball and concedes a free kick. Joslain Mayebi restarts play with the free kick.

23:18

Assist by Chris Westwood.

23:18 Goal scored

Goal - Jamie Tolley - Kettering 0 - 1 Wrexham Jamie Tolley hits the back of the net with a goal direct from the free kick from just outside the penalty box to the bottom left corner of the goal. Kettering 0-1 Wrexham.

22:13

Chris Westwood fouled by Nathan Ralph, the ref awards a free kick.

21:33

Inswinging corner taken by Jamie Tolley from the left by-line played to the near post.

18:25

Handball by Danny Mills. Indirect free kick taken by Joslain Mayebi.

17:50

Shot from outside the box by Joe Clarke misses to the left of the target.

17:00

Shot from 20 yards from Steven Leslie. Lewis Hornby gets a block in.

15:34

Corner taken by Steven Leslie from the right by-line to the near post, Sol Davis manages to make a clearance.

14:01

Foul by Mathias Pogba on Danny Mills, free kick awarded. Free kick crossed right-footed by Lewis Hornby from left wing, clearance made by Jamie Tolley.

13:02

Danny Wright is caught offside. Free kick taken by Laurie Walker. Stephen Wright concedes a free kick for a foul on Danny Mills. Sol Davis takes the direct free kick.

11:37

Shot by Steven Leslie. David Bridges gets a block in.

10:11

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Mathias Pogba by Danny Mills. Direct free kick taken by Stephen Wright.

9:38

Centre by Steven Leslie, save by Laurie Walker.

8:54

Nathan Ralph has a shot on goal from outside the area which misses left.

7:48

Jake Speight takes a shot. Save by Laurie Walker.

5:34

Mathias Pogba produces a drilled right-footed shot from 18 yards.

4:27

Centre by Phil Ifil, blocked by Neil Ashton.

2:01

Inswinging corner taken from the right by-line by Neil Ashton. Danny Wright is penalised for a handball. Joslain Mayebi restarts play with the free kick.

1:11

Jake Speight has an effort at goal from deep inside the area missing to the left of the target.

0:00

The referee gets the match started.

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