Saturday's impressive performance in the top of the table clash at Boreham Wood yielded a valuable point. Now Wrexham must build on that result as a run of home games come thick and fast, starting with Tuesday night's fixture against FC Halifax Town, which kicks off at 7.45pm.
Phil Parkinson's side will face a busy schedule in the coming weeks, with no free midweek until mid-November. At least the first four games won't involve much travelling, and with leaders Notts County enjoying a run of winnable games over the same period, it'll be essential that Wrexham maintain their impressive form at The Racecourse.
A 100% home run, with more than four goals scored on average per game, is a formidable record. The 27 goals we've scored at The Racecourse in seven league matches is remarkable when you consider that only Solihull Moors, with 18 goals, are within ten goals of that figure!
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However, in going toe-to-toe with sides we've conceded more than we would hope, and in our last home game Blyth Spartans, the lowest scorers in the division below us, scored two and threatened more. Throw in the five goals we conceded in that remarkable game against Barnet, and FC Halifax Town have reason to approach this game with some optimism.
They visit in improved form. Having lost a number of key players over the summer, the Shaymen suffered a dreadful start to the campaign as they struggled to emulate their tilt at promotion in 2021-22. Their current position of 18th place, three points above the relegation zone, is not what they would have hoped for, and they are the lowest scorers in the division to boot. Yeovil Town and Torquay United are the only other sides to be scoring at a rate of less than a goal a game this season.
However, last Saturday they recorded an invaluable 2-0 home win over Dagenham & Redbridge. That meant they've picked up seven points from the last nine, to haul themselves up the table: they went into that run of games rock bottom of the National League.
Town manager Chris Millington was appointed in the Summer when Pete Wild chose to move to Barrow. Millington stepped up from his role as Wild's assistant, but inherited a tricky situation. His attempts to rovide continuity from Wild's succesful reign was hampered by the loss of a number of key players.
Niall Maher, Tom Bradbury, Tyrrell Warren, Kieran Green, Martin Woods and Billy Waters all made in excess of 30 league starts last season, and further problems were added when Jamie Allen managed to throw the mother of all curve balls at the new manager by jumping ship during pre-season training to join "Love Island"!
FC Halifax Town and Jamie Allen have mutually agreed to release Jamie from his contract and he has left the Club. FC Halifax Town would like to thank Jamie for his contribution to the Football Club and wish him all the best in the future
— FC Halifax Town (@FCHTOnline) August 24, 2022
With such pre-season turmoil to overcome it was no great surprise that Halifax got off to a slow start. However, a haul of just one point from the first five matches was worse than expected: fortunately Millington has seen his side start to improve in recent weeks, picking up four league wins in the process.
"We've got to get miles better and I fully believe we can."
Chris Millington
Millington told the Halifax Courier, "I think at times earlier in the season we've looked like it's not quite been everybody understanding their roles and responsibilities fully, whether it's understanding or whether or not it's having the ability to fulfil them.
"But I think we've started to find a blend now where players fully understand what we need from them, what their roles and responsibilities are and that's transferring into some improved performances.
"We've got loads of work to do, we've got to get miles better and I fully believe we can.
"I fully believe we can be the team we all want to be but it's going to take more hard work.”
Wilkinson certainly has some useful players in his squad as he looks to climb the table. Goalkeeper Sam Johnson has enjoyed a number of fine performances at our expense, while Luke Summerfield is a familiar face for Wrexham players after he spent two seasons at the heart of the Red Dragons' midfield.
A player whose return to The Racecourse will be less popular will be top scorer Emmanuel Dieseruvwe, who played a major part in Grimsby's play-off triump last May. After coming off the bench to score a dramatic winner in the last minute of extra time at Notts County in the play-off quarter final, he then repeated the trick with a goal three minutes after he came on against Wrexham.
WREXHAM'S RECORD AGAINST FC HALIFAX TOWN
Last season Wrexham enjoyed an emphatic 3-1 win in a clash between two sides chasing the title. Town came into the match in third place, but Wrexham leap-frogged them with a performance which sent a message across the division. Paul Mullin, Ollie Palmer and James Jones scored before Zak Dearnley scored a fine last minute consolation.
The season before an in-form Halifax tested Dean Keates team to the limit. Wrexham showed a lot of grit to stay in the game, although a dramatic conclusion would have seen The Shaymen take all three points if their finishing had been better.
In August 2019, Mark Harris' late goal secured an impressive win over top-of-the-table Halifax despite Jake Lawlor having been sent off early in the second half.
POTENTIAL MILESTONES
Luke Young's 175th league game for Wrexham.
Bryce Hosannah's 50th career match.