Ben Foster's start at Wrexham couldn't have gone much better as the former England international kept a clean sheet in a 3-0 home victory over York City.
The ex-Watford goalkeeper announced his retirement from professional football last season, but has since U-turned and joined Phil Parkinson's side on loan until the end of the season as they aim for promotion from the National League. The Red Dragons currently sit three points clear at the top, having played one game less than nearest challengers Notts County.
A knee injury to first-choice keeper Rob Lainton means Foster is tasked with helping getting Wrexham over the line and into League Two next term. The club are owned by Hollywood superstars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who have provided plenty of money to help the promotion effort.
Despite this, Foster has insisted that he isn't being paid astronomical wage and claimed the allure stemmed from the fact he briefly enjoyed a loan stint at the Racecourse before he was at Manchester United as he vowed to 'do a job' for his new side.
"I don’t need much [money]," Foster said on his 'Fozcast Podcast'. "To be honest, the negotiations took about five minutes.
"Wages wise, it’s literally peanuts… the part for me is getting the team over the line and getting them promoted. I'm a very low maintenance player. Just wheel me out, I'll do a job."
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He certainly did a job on Saturday afternoon, with Foster making a number of impressive saves to frustrate York.
After Ryan Barnett hit a post early on, Wrexham went ahead three minutes before the break in fortuitous circumstances as James Jones’ shot cannoned off the crossbar and hit York goalkeeper Ryan Whitley on the rebound.
Substitute Sam Dalby eased any nerves among the season-high crowd of 10,161 when he headed in from Ben Tozer’s long throw with 10 minutes left before Elliot Lee grabbed the milestone goal in stoppage time.
Notts County ensured that they remained within touching distance of the league-leaders as they ran out 4-0 winners against Scunthorpe.
An Adam Chicksen strike and a Ben Richards-Everton own goal put the Magpies 2-0 up after 11 minutes before Langstaff added a second-half brace.
Chicksen turned in Ruben Rodrigues’ cross in the eighth minute before Langstaff’s shot deflected in off Richards-Everton to make it 2-0.
Langstaff got in on the act in the 73rd minute by nodding in Sam Austin’s cross for County’s 100th league goal of the season. He then added his 39th strike of the campaign – three minutes later – to equal the club record for most goals in a season.
The race for top spot is proving to be a thrilling encounter, but Foster will be confident he can give Wrexham the edge.
