CONSOLATION comes from where it's least expected and, following an uncomfortable eight days, Wrexham and their fans are still clinging to the hope that a place in the Second Division play-offs is not beyond them.
A single point from three matches is hardly promotion form but the Dragons at least boosted their fragile confidence at the Racecourse on Saturday by halting a run of two successive defeats against a Rushden & Diamonds side who, with their less than impressive away record, were delighted to take a share of the spoils.
But Denis Smith's team went into the game with unwanted baggage. If entering the Football League record books for all the wrong reasons following Jamie Hayter's super-fast midweek hat-trick was not enough, they were missing the experience and ability of suspended skipper Darren Ferguson for what was potentially another accident waiting to happen.
And it was only by good fortune that the nightmare scenario was avoided in the opening exchanges as Rushden duo Paul Kitson and Ritchie Hanlon squandered excellent opportunities to punish the home side's nervous start.
Watching from the sidelines, Ferguson was not the only spectator with his heart in his mouth. "It was important we got a good start and, to be honest, we were lucky not to be two down after two minutes," he said afterwards.
In each of their previous games at Bristol City and Bournemouth, the Dragons never recovered from conceding early goals and another swift reverse might well have torpedoed Smith's adventurous response to those defeats.
His decision to start with three strikers placed enormous responsibility on the shoulders of Ferguson's replacement, Matt Crowell, who shared the midfield burden with Jim Whitley, but effective as they were Wrexham never had enough possession to look comfortable on the ball and the service to the front men suffered as a result.
Chris Llewellyn was as industrious as ever but Chris Armstrong, who passed a fitness test earlier in the day, was laboured and indifferent in the opening period, although that was more than could be said of the recalled Hector Sam, who was little more than an ornament during an anonymous performance that was mercifullly brought to an end early in the second half.
Despite those shortcomings, Wrexham created the better chances following Rushden's early threat, Crowell forcing Jamie Ashdown into a decent save after 15 minutes before the home side went ahead five minutes later.
Defender Steve Roberts made the incursion which brought a corner and, when the visitors failed to adequately clear their lines, Carlos Edwards opened the scoring with a left-footed drive from 25 yards which was deflected off a defender into the bottom corner of the net.
But Wrexham's uncertainty at the back was never far from the surface and they were caught flat-footed within 10 minutes when Paul Underwood's centre flashed across the goal-mouth. Although Kitson failed to get a touch, Rodney Jack's pace took him to the far post for an easy finish.
The stage seemed set for the sort of goal-feast which entertains fans and horrifies managers, so Rushden boss Brian Talbot admitted he was surprised it did not materialise.
"I thought at that stage there would be more goals in the game," he said.
"Neither team was that great defensively, so that seemed likely but it turned out to be different.
"Neither team wanted to lose and, to be fair to Wrexham, they've come off the back of a 6-0 defeat and both sides had players missing.
"Given our recent away form a draw is a good result for us."
But there was nothing positive about Talbot's back four on the few occasions Wrexham threatened to win the match after the break. Roberts lashed wide a first-time effort when Armstrong headed back a Carlos Edwards cross on 61 minutes and three minutes later the visitors were exposed again.
Armstrong did well to make space for a shot which was superbly blocked by Ashdown but the former Spurs striker then had the presence of mind to loft the rebound across the penalty box for Llewellyn, whose header came back off the crossbar.
That would have almost certainly have been game over but nerves were evident at both ends in the final few minutes.
Brian Carey did well to charge down an effort by Rushden substitute Paul Hall and was on hand again to deny Robert Duffy after Andy Dibble had blocked an effort from Jack.
And at the other end in added time, Ashdown kept the visitors on level terms with a sharp stop from Llewellyn.
Ferguson, who will be back in Wrexham's line-up at Oldham Athletic tomorrow evening, said the memories of Tuesday's Bournemouth beating had obviously had a bearing on the Dragons' performance.
"I thought the afternoon was flat. There was no real tempo in the game," he said. "That's probably because we got beat 6-0 on Tuesday.
"Once Carlos scored a good goal I thought we could have kicked on but they equalised pretty quickly. But a point is not a bad result today because the most important thing was not to be beaten."
As to the remainder of the season, he added: "We've got to start an unbeaten run somewhere. We are still three points off the playoffs with 12 games to go, so we have a chance.
"We've some hard games away from home to come but we are still in the hunt. At the beginning of this season we'd have taken the position of being where we are in March because you never know what might happen."
WREXHAM: Dibble; Pejic, Carey, Roberts; C Edwards, Whitley, Crowell, P Edwards; Sam (L Jones 68), Armstrong, Llewellyn. Subs: Whitfield, Holmes, Morgan, Thomas. BOOKING: Llewellyn.
RUSHDEN & DIAMONDS: Ashdown; Roget, Edwards, Hunter, Underwood; Bignot, Mills, Gray, Hanlon (Hall 73); Kitson (Duffy 80), Jack. Subs: Turley, Dempster, Talbot.
REFEREE: Eddie Evans ATT: 3,680
