Report from The Western Mail
A WEEK in football is as long a time as it is in politics, as Wrexham have discovered since marking their Blue Square Premiership debut with a 5-0 victory on the opening day of the season.
But in the eight days since a morale-boosting performance consigned Stevenage Borough to that heavy defeat, the Dragons have suffered something of a goal drought as well as paying a heavy price for sloppy defensive errors.
Undone by a set-piece by York City on Thursday in a match they might have drawn or even won had they taken their chances, it was a similar story at Nene Park yesterday.
After taking the game by the scruff of the neck and carving out several chances that kept home goalkeeper Alan Marriott busy, Wrexham found themselves trailing when the home side capitalised on a mistake to steal the lead.
That on this occasion the visitors managed to haul themselves back into the game was some consolation, but it's difficult to escape the conclusion that it was a case of two points dropped rather than one gained.
At least manager Brian Little could claim with some justification that the performance yesterday was a huge improvement on that at KitKat Crescent - although that merely added to the sense of frustration.
It was the Dragons who made the more promising start.
Crisp passing from Mackin and Simon Brown presented Jefferson Louis with a half-chance after five minutes, but the striker's first-time volley failed to trouble Marriott.
With Shaun Whalley also looking lively, the visitors continued to push on and Sam Aiston's clever chip was heading for Louis' head until Gareth Jelleyman came to the rescue at the expense of a corner.
Wrexham's movement and passing was forcing their opponents to defend in numbers.
But Rushden sub Sam Smith made an immediate impact, although his 61st-minute goal owed more to a mistake by Simon Spender than to Burgess, who rode the defender's weak challenge before sliding the ball into the six-yard box, where Smith reacted quickest to stab the ball past Gavin Ward.
But Wrexham's dogged persistence finally paid off in the 75th minute when Kearney drove forward and slipped the ball forward for Brown, who drew the keeper before slipping the ball to Whalley, who produced a cool finish under Marriott's body to earn a deserved point for the visitors