WREXHAM had both feet in Cardiff after 58 minutes last night but even the awful defending that followed couldn't wipe the smile off Dragons boss Denis Smith's face.

A hat-trick from Juan Ugarte helped set up a 5-3 win in the Northern Final of the LDV Vans Trophy at Boundary Park last night to put Wrexham in the driving seat ahead of the second leg at the Racecourse next month.

"Two goals is never a safe lead but we played some fantastic stuff tonight," said Smith. "Juan's finishing was first class and Mark Jones was simply unplayable in the first half.

"Seeing that this morning I didn't even have a team sorted, this is a good result. I think we are in a good position to go through."