Burnley 1 Wrexham 2

WHAT a difference a week makes.

Seven days earlier Burnley completed a home and away derby double by beating Preston in the Auto Windscreens Shield to register their seventh successive home win.

The Clarets were sixth from bottom of the Second Division and five points above basement club Southend.

Now, after last night's reverse against the Robins of Wrexham, Burnley find themselves in the bottom three, level on points with all the clubs in the relegation zone and fighting for their lives once again.

The Clarets looked worried by their predicament and buckled under the pressure and frustration from the crowd in a performance which fluctuated wildly against an impressive looking Wrexham side which could yet lay claim to a play-off place.

The Welshmen even had to overcome the handicap of losing goalkeeper Mark Cartwright with a gashed thigh after 39 minutes.

But such was the composure and ability of his team-mates to protect stand-in Gareth Owen that Cartwright wasn't missed.

Burnley desperately need now to restore their fragile confidence, to stop the rot after a successive draw and defeat at what was becoming a claret and blue stronghold.

Andy Cooke looked to have given them the platform to do that with a stunning equaliser.

But despite his best efforts, and some non-stop running from Andy Payton, Burnley's flood of goals is slowing towards a trickle. Player-manager Chris Waddle may have to shuffle his resources to rediscover the winning formula and he tried a number of options last night. With the hosts being badly over-run in midfield, Waddle swiftly switched to a 4-4-2 formation but the creative spark is proving elusive at the moment with the exception of Glen Little, who continues to grow in stature and importance to the team.

The wing-backs are not penetrating the way they were in Burnley's purple patch.

And the time may have come for Mark Winstanley to slot back into a more central defensive role to help stiffen up a defence that has begun to creak over the past couple of games.

Jamie Hoyland made his first league start of the season in the back five with Gerry Harrison filling in for Damian Matthew, although it wasn't long before the two were together in the centre of midfield.

And although Hoyland was replaced by the busy Mark Ford, his calming influence may be needed during what could emerge as a nervy run-in unless Waddle's men can get back on track, starting at Carlisle on Saturday.

Burnley looked as though they had got last Saturday's below-par performance against Southend out of their systems with an incisive and vibrant start which saw Payton and Cooke, starved of service at the weekend, threaten the Wrexham goal.

But, against the run of play, Wrexham took the lead and changed the context of the game.

Steve Blatherwick failed to cut out Owen's through-ball and, all too easily, Neil Roberts was left one-on-one against Marlon Beresford which he turned to his advantage by stabbing a left foot shot past the Burnley keeper.

That goal knocked the stuffing out of Burnley for a while and they were pulled to bits in the middle of the park, spared only by a rapid breakaway which ended with Little's half-blocked volley being held by Cartwright.

Dave Brammer fluffed a great chance to put Wrexham two up before Cooke ended what for him was becoming a drought with a stunning equaliser. Burnley seemed to be producing either a mistake or a highly polished move as consistency deserted them and it was from one of the latter that Cooke headed home his 15th goal of the season and first for three games after half-an-hour.

The ball was ferried from Harrison, Mark Robertson, Little and Payton back to Little who crossed to just inside the penalty area where Cooke got in front of his marker to send a flying header in off the post.

And when Cartwright went off injured following a late but not malicious Little challenge, the way looked set for Burnley to register a priceless seventh home League win of the season.

Owen had other ideas, however, and showed some adept handling to keep out two set-pieces delivered with great accuracy by Little.

The introduction of the diminutive midfielder between the posts should have given Burnley an advantage on two counts as Owen had previously been pulling the strings for the Welshmen.

But his outfield replacement Mark Wilson went on to score the winner on his Football League debut, while Owen kept a clean sheet.

He looked more than capable when called upon but Burnley must have been disappointed with the number of times he was called into meaningful action in the second half.

He dealt admirably with a number of crosses and corners but didn't have a direct shot of note to save as the Clarets were again forced to play largely in front of Wrexham's back four.

Beresford was required to make a full-length save to keep out an angled shot from Roberts. And the constant threat Wrexham posed with their neat and constructive style paid off when they scored the decisive third goal after 64 minutes.

It was a special moment for Wilson as he profited from good work by Steve Basham, who had given Neil Moore the slip close to the touchline. He scored on his first loan game from Manchester United with a low shot which Bereford touched but couldn't keep out.

As against Brentford, Burnley were forced to play catch-up but despite attacking the Wrexham goalmouth they created few clear-cut opportunities, Harrison and Chris Brass having to try their luck from long range.

Inevitably, it was Little who came closest to rescuing a point with a mazy run and shot which produced a magnificent block from Robins skipper Brian Carey.

From the resultant corner Blatherwick's header was cleared off the line and how he must have wished Brammer had not been in the way.

The out-of-sorts Blatherwick suffered more than most at the hands of an increasingly disenchanted crowd, who booed Burnley off at the end as their side slipped back into the murky waters they thought had been left behind.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.