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[Darren]

Wrexham secure match postponement 
By Peter Shuttleworth 


 
Centre-back Steve Evans has won seven Wales caps 
Wrexham have succeeded in their unprecedented Blue Square Premier bid to postpone a league game due to the international call-up of four players.

Steve Evans is a late call into Wales' full squad while Marc and Mike Williams and new loan signing Joe Allen have been called up for the under-21s.

So Wrexham's home game with Histon on Saturday has been put back.

It is because Wales play Liechtenstein on the same day and a day after the under-21s play England.

It is the first time the league have been asked to make such a decision.

The Football League postpone fixtures for international call-ups but in non-league there is no official rule.

However, a 12-man Blue Square League board sub-committee ruled on Tuesday that Wrexham can postponed their fixture for a later date, creating a non-league precedent.

 606: DEBATE
Should Wrexham have been successful in their application? 

"Obviously the league don't have rules for these circumstances," said Wrexham secretary Geraint Parry.

"As this is something that has not arisen in non-league before.

"So we posed the question and happily for us the decision was positive for us."

Evans became the first non-league player to represent Wales for 78 years when the centre-back came on as a late substitute to win his seventh cap in Russia.

The 29-year-old was a late call up by Wales boss John Toshack on Tuesday for their World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein on Saturday and in Germany on 15 October.

Wrexham youngsters Levi Mackin and new Racecourse skipper Neil Taylor have been named on Brian Flynn's standby list for Wales' two-legged European Championship play-off against England.

Five of the players were in Wrexham's starting line-up against Forest Green Rovers on Saturday while midfielder Allen has joined the club on a month-long loan deal from Swansea City.

Wrexham's successful bid is good news for new Reds boss Dean Saunders who is also John Toshack's assistant with the Wales team.

There were fears Saunders would not be able to juggle his two jobs but this move alleviates any club versus country conflict.

"Thankfully for Dean he doesn't have to be in two places at once," said Parry.

Saunders has been given the task of rescuing Wrexham from non-League obscurity after the Welsh club suffered relegation at the end of last season under previous manager Brian Little.