Hector Sam opened the scoring for Wrexham

Hector Sam gave the visitors the lead after a quarter of an hour.

With 20 minutes remaining TNS thought they had equalised, but the referee ruled that keeper Andy Dibble stopped the ball from crossing the line.

The Dragons had to survive a few more scares, before wrapping it up through Steve Roberts' long-range strike 10 minutes before the end.

After the match, TNS manager Ken McKenna was adamant that his side should have been awarded an equaliser.

"The players are sure that the ball crossed the line, crossed it twice, but again we've had a big decision go against us," McKenna said.

"We are a good football team, we've got some good football players and I think we've been a litle bit unlucky.

"The pace, movement and passing that Wrexham produced in the first 15 minutes caught us a little bit by surprise.

"But we had a talk about that at half-time and once we dealt with that I thought we came right back into the game."

Wrexham manager Denis Smith paid TNS the ultimate compliment by fielding a near full-strength starting line-up.

Chris Llewellyn wasted a golden chance after nine minutes, somehow missing contact with Carlos Edwards' fine cross with the goal-mouth gaping.

It wasn't all one-way traffic, though, and Welsh Premier leaders TNS had the Dragons defenders stretching with first a free-kick to the far post, then from the resulting corner kick.

But it was the visitors from the Football League who took a firm grip on the game and it was no surprise when they took the lead with 15 minutes gone.

Paul Edwards combined with namesake Carlos to fire a dangerous ball across goal, which found Sam diving bravely in the six-yard box to head home.

Sam should have claimed his second five minutes before the break, but Tommy Holmes rescued things with a superb sliding tackle.

Jamie Ward laboured manfully up front on his own for the home side, but the TNS midfield was rarely able to get forward and support him.

Wrexham continued to dominate after the break, but without getting the second goal that would have made the game safe.

The visitors were nearly made to pay 20 minutes before the end, when Wrexham keeper Andy Dibble was forced into a double save from point-blank range.

There were pleas from the TNS players that the ball had crossed the line, but the referee and his assistant were proved correct when even television replays were inconclusive.

Spurred into action by their lucky escape, the Dragons reasserted themselves and Roberts was allowed to advance unchecked before firing a long-range shot into the bottom corner.

Even then Dibble was forced into making a couple of smart saves to keep TNS at bay, but it was Wrexham who advanced into the semi-finals.

TNS: Dean Williams, Tommy Holmes, Steve Evans, Chris Taylor, Chris King, Barry Hogan, Simon Davies, David Bridgwater, Nicky Ward, Jamie Wood, John Toner.
Subs (from): Martyn Naylor, Scott Ruscoe, Steven Beck, James Hesketh, Ken McKenna, Michael Wilde.

Wrexham: Andy Dibble, Steve Roberts, Brian Carey, Dennis Lawrence, Carlos Edwards, Paul Edwards, Paul Barrett, Darren Ferguson, Steve Thomas, Hector Sam, Chris Llewellyn.
Subs: Paul Whitfield, Craig Morgan, Shaun Holmes, Matty Crowell, Mark Jones.