Cod Almighty | Diary

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13 October 2014

Miss Guest Diary writes: I'm not really sure why we decided to go to Wrexham on Saturday. There were many factors mitigating against it, not least of which was my recent reluctance to embark on long car journeys – Lincoln to Wrexham came in at two hours 49 minutes on Google Maps. In reality it took over three hours due to part of the A50 being coned off to allow some men to pick litter off a grass verge.

Then there was the fact that my only other visit to Wrexham involved a dismal 3-0 defeat on a Tuesday evening back in August 2006, and an even more dismal stay in a dreary B&B.

And finally there was the fact that the match marked the 150th anniversary of the founding of Wrexham FC. It's never much fun being an outsider at someone else's celebration – and still horribly fresh in my mind is that game at Oldham in 2004 which led to the sacking of Paul Groves. I can't remember what Oldham were celebrating; all I remember is that we got in free, there were lots of men in kilts and that we were 5-0 down at half time.

The sight on Saturday of a marching band in kilts on the pitch before the game brought a sense of foreboding, but I needn't have worried. What a difference 10 years makes: a relatively comfortable, if unexciting, 1-0 victory thanks to the determination of the ref not to be swayed by the party atmosphere. And no need to sack the manager. There's also a lovely new Premier Inn two minutes' walk from the ground, so no more B&B misery.

I have already mentioned this season my admiration of Carl Magnay, and he continues to impress. He gave another great performance on Saturday: one defensive move he made towards the end of the game was worth the price of admission on its own. Dare I say that he is the best defensive full-back to pull on a Town shirt since Macca retired?

Unfortunately, both Shaun Pearson and Scott Brown were booked in the game and will miss next week's visit to Torquay. Does that mean they might get a run-out in Tuesday's Lincolnshire Senior Cup game? Is that allowed? Whatever. With the Pontoon not opening for the match, I won't be there.

The club has announced that the game against Halifax on 11 November will be an event to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War and feature tributes to fallen soldiers and a collection for armed services charities.