Ten man United lost 2-0 at Wrexham tonight despite battling hard after the early departure of Luke Foster. A goal from defender Steve Evans and a late second from Jefferson Louis gave Wrexham their second home win of the season and condemned The U's to their second away defeat.

On  a warm Welsh evening and an an immaculate playing surface the home side had the first chance of the match as former United striker Louis flicked an eighth minute free kick up and on to the bar, with strike partner Shaun Whalley reacting too slowly and seeing his follow up effort blocked by the relieved United defence.

The relief wasn't very long.

Eleven minutes in and Louis flicked on again. Whalley won the race into the area with Foster, who made contact and saw first Whalley go to ground and then found ref Hendley standing in front of him with the red card. Down to ten men, United were in Jake Cole's debt that the damage wasn't worse as he dived to his right to save Louis's poorly struck penalty kick.

There were mixed emotions; relief to be still level but stress to be a man down for the second successive away game, with Foster now missing Monday's game against Woking  through suspension. United were under the cosh and shots flew wide of either post in the next few minutes as Wrexham pressed them. Sensibly switching to 4-4-1 The U's left James Constable to the thankless task of playing up front on his own, and on 24 he used his powerful frame to good effect to force the ball through for Odubade, whose low cross only just missed the flying Lewis Haldane but did enough to remind the home side that the ten men weren't about to lie down.

A goal was coming though, with shots continuing to ping ever closer to Cole's goal, and on 29 minutes the inevitable opener came as a simple right wing corner found centre half Steve Evans all on his own deep inside the penalty area and he powered the ball down and past the helpless Cole to leave United facing a Welsh mountain to climb.

The rest of the half was just a question of whether United could keep out the rampant Red Dragons, and getting to the break only a goal down did at least give them time to draw breath and regroup. That took the shape of a new 3-4-2 system, with Haldane and Carruthers as wing backs and Odubade joining Constable up front while Chris Willmott joined Barry Quinn and Matt Day at the back. A brave move and one which came so close to paying off as they created chances and committed men forward.

The first effort on target came from Constable on 48 minutes and gave Wrexham something new to think about. Constable chested down for an Odubade drive a minute later which tested keeper Gavin Ward's handling, and then a curling free kick from Haldane produced a flying save from the keeper from 25 yards.

It was far better but could the ten men keep the momentum going and still keep plugging the gaps that the three man back line were inevitably going to leave?

Cole made a good save from Sam Aiston's long range effort on 65, but then came the defining minute. First Constable raced clear but screwed his shot inches wide of the far post with the keeper stranded. Then moments later Haldane got the bounce of the ball inside the area and fired in a fierce right footed effort which Ward somehow beat out. When you're a man down you don't usually get two such good chances, but United had raised their game, with captain Adam Murray doing the work of two men to try and earn his side their first draw of the season.

It was so so close on 77 when Yemi crossed for sub Sam Deering who laid back for Haldane, but his ferocious, goalbound,  shot knocked  right back Critchell flat on his back as it cannoned to safety off the side of his head. Two minutes later and another Haldane shot flew over the bar off a desperate defender's lunge and the ten men had put in a great battling 45 minutes despite the odds.

A brave effort but not quite enough, and in the end those gaps were exploited to rub salt into the wound in the last minute. Louis controlled well, and as is his wont, drove recklessly at the United defence. When he got a break of the ball he buried it into the corner of the net to make it 2-0 and  leave his former club empty handed

 Who knows how United will fare away from home if they can keep eleven men on the pitch...

Att:3,515

Away: 196

Stats by PA Sports

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