In front of the STōK Cold Brew Coffee Stand, Wrexham once again defied the odds to score twice in the space of a minute to come back and defeat Salford City three-two.
After squandering a fair few chances before the 88th minute, Steven Fletcher and Jordan Davies continued their recent form in front of net to score twice from close range to complete the comeback from a two-goal deficit.
The Red Dragons had conceded sixteen home league goals in the build-up to this game, with a goal expectancy of only six-point-five. Sadly, this was further compounded by Salford City scoring two tame goals from their only chances in the first half.
Matt Smith headed in a corner from the back-post in the 15th minute, for which Arthur Okonkwo would have been disappointed not to keep out, having got a strong hand to the ball.
Salford’s number eight, Matty Lund, then doubled their lead in the 36th minute, after bundling the ball past Okonkwo. The Wrexham keeper had initially denied Luke Garbutt from finding the far corner of the goal, but instead parried the ball on a plate for Lund.
It was quite a comical performance from the visitors inside of the first half, as they went to any length to prevent Wrexham’s quick counter attacks. Curtis Tilt hauling Paul Mullin to the floor and pinning him down for around five seconds was the pick of the bunch, with Elliot Watt’s attempt at clamping James Jones’ legs in the 31st minute coming a close second.
Another feature of the first half was the amount of space given to league debutant Aaron James on the right wing for Wrexham. Sadly for the versatile youngster, his crosses weren’t quite pinpoint and so no chances came from the favourable positions. However, the space afforded to James was substantially squashed in the beginning of the second half, showcasing Salford’s fear of his threat.
Aside from Elliot Lee’s thudded header from James McClean’s corner in the 39th minute, Wrexham were wasteful in front of goal. Whether it was missing the target from close range, or finding the tall frame of Alex Cairns, Wrexham just weren’t capitalising on their chances.
This was until, the one-two maestro, did what he did best!
Declan John was ironically time wasting during a Salford City throw in the 88th minute, before Aaron Hayden won the ball as it was lofted forwards. Fletcher then played a one-two with fellow substitute Sam Dalby, before volleying a perfectly weighted ball through to Mullin with the ball yet to hit the ground.
The Wrexham number ten then laid the ball on a sixpence back for Fletcher in front of the Salford goal, where he couldn’t miss.
Before the replays could even finish fully, Fletcher had the ball on the edge of the Salford box after the restart. Spreading the ball on the wing to Dalby, the substitute took a touch before firing the ball across the box behind almost every player.
Running from the halfway line, no one had picked up Davies, who had acres of space in the box to smash home Dalby’s cross, less than a minute after Fletcher’s equaliser. The nine thousand Reds packed into the STōK Cae Ras had barely finished celebrating the second goal, before going berserk for the winner.
That is now ten goals after the 78th minute for Phil Parkinson’s men this season, all coming in front of the STōK Cold Brew Coffee Stand.
The crowd and players’ tenacity just seem to combine to force the ball into the net, winning Wrexham so many points already this season, with only thirteen games having been played.
The Red Dragons are now only three points off Stockport County in first, with a trip to the Valley Parade on the cards for this Saturday against Bradford City, with the Bantams still yet to appoint a new permanent manager after the recent sacking of Mark Hughes.