Machynlleth 31 Wrexham 5

Wrexham delivered another improved performance in their Division Two match at Machynlleth, but mistakes cost them dear and resulted in them falling to a 5-29 defeat. In very muddy conditions, Wrexham started well despite the loss of lock Alan Humphreys due to a hamstring injury in the warm-up. Joss Stott responded to the challenge in the second-row and helped to give his pack the momentum that enabled them to dominate the game for the opening quarter.
Although under pressure, Machynlleth managed to fashion a breakaway try when they capitalised on a mistake by the visitors. That provided them with a boost of confidence and they increased their lead to 12-0 at the break with a try that was converted.
Wrexham, dominating the line-outs through Stott and lock Phil Williams, piled on the pressure at the start of the second-half and forced their way back into the game with an opportunist try by their leading try scorer Jack Ratcliffe. The centre intercepted a passing movement by the home side on the half-way line and sprinted downfield to score wide-out.
The outstanding performance of new winger James Salisbury strengthened Wrexham’s resolve and brought out some good performances throughout the team. The home side, however, coped with their boggy pitch much better than the visitors in the final quarter and were able to create several scores that put the game beyond Wrexham’s grasp.
In the final analysis, Machynlleth counted themselves lucky to have won the game after being under severe pressure for much of the time, while Wrexham returned home with a feeling that they are gradually turning the corner and that they can still escape from relegation to Division Three.