Phil Parkinson’s side aim to make it four wins on the spin this weekend, in a fixture that needs no introduction in recent history.
The last time Grimsby Town visited the STōK Cae Ras the two teams battled it out in a barnstorming nine-goal thriller.
Unfortunately for the Red Dragons, it was the Mariners that edged out the play-off semi-final victory, with former Red’s defender Luke Waterfall heading in the winner in the 119th minute.
They went on to win the promotion final that year, meanwhile Wrexham won the National League outright the following season.
Now in the EFL, the Red Dragons sit five spots above Town with both teams in 7th and 12th place respectively in Sky Bet League Two.
THE RECAP
For Wrexham, it was the late show once again last weekend, with Elliot Lee providing the finishing touch to earn victory against Doncaster Rovers in the 89th minute.
A tough encounter against Donny in the searing heat in North Wales proved to be a leveller in the contest, and it very nearly played out in the same fashion.
It was First-Team Captain Luke Young who got the Red Dragons in front, as he ran onto Ryan Barnett’s header, and his shot took a deflection, hit the post and then looped over Ian Lawlor.
Ollie Palmer and Sam Dalby both had key chances to open the scoring before the skipper’s strike, but Lawlor proved to be more than a match to both of them.
Rovers struggled to trouble Mark Howard in the first half, however, they put Wrexham on the back foot in the opening exchanges of the second half and found the equaliser.
Mo Faal found the net with a simple header after a defensive mix-up between Barnett and Max Cleworth which allowed Joe Ironside to cross from the left-hand side.
On the hour mark, Parkinson introduced talisman Paul Mullin after recovering from the injury he sustained against Manchester United in San Diego.
The change lifted the crowd and provided renewed impetus to take the game to Grant McCann’s side.
Steven Fletcher came off the bench to make his debut, giving supporters a taste of what is to come after only signing one day before the game.
It looked as though the match was heading towards a stalemate, but the never-say-die attitude of the squad proved to be key, as Elliot Lee’s strike from range was deflected past Lawlor and into the bottom corner.
Previewing our third home fixture in a row, Parkinson said: “As always, we prepare with one eye on what Grimsby’s strengths are, but also, we have to focus on what we believe our strengths are too.
“It was important for us to make improvements to the squad because you have to evolve, but equally we’ve been focusing on improving the players that we’ve got.
“I think that gradually you’re starting to see that on the pitch.”
EYE ON THE OPPOSITION
After a steady start to EFL life last season and an excellent FA Cup run, the Mariners have started well again this time around.
Currently sat in 12th place, they have only won twice with victories coming against Salford City and Gillingham.
Last weekend they were just minutes away from claiming a crucial win at Valley Parade, but Alex Gilliead found an equaliser in the 89th minute to rescue a point.
Despite two defeats in the EFL Trophy, they are five unbeaten in league football, three of which were draws.
Their one league defeat of the season came against Notts County, in a narrow 3-2 defeat which saw the Magpies turn around a 2-1 deficit.
At the top of the pitch, their summer signing Abobaker Eisa has been the talisman for them so far, bagging four goals so far in Sky Bet League Two.
He scored both goals in their victory against Salford City and has featured in every league fixture since the opening day of the season against AFC Wimbledon.
In the dugout, Paul Hurst has come up against the Red Dragons numerous times in his career, including the 2021/22 play-off semi-final and the 2013 FA Trophy Final.
Ahead of the fixture, Hurst spoke to the press and explained it is going to be a tough test at the STōK Cae Ras tomorrow.
“They’re all difficult, but this is a more obvious one. They had to break records to get promoted thanks to Notts County pushing them all away.
“It’s an obvious game that you look at and think this will be tough, but we have been pretty happy with the way we’ve started the season ourselves.”
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
|
Venue |
Pld |
Won |
Drn |
Lst |
For |
August |
+/- |
|
Home |
35 |
17 |
8 |
10 |
58 |
34 |
+24 |
|
Away |
35 |
8 |
7 |
20 |
27 |
51 |
-24 |
|
Neutral |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
Total |
71 |
25 |
16 |
30 |
86 |
86 |
0 |
Biggest home win – 5-0 (Div 3 North) – 4 May 1955
Biggest away win – 3-1 (Div 3 North) – 9 Oct 1954, (Div 2, 3rd tier) 20 Jan 2004, (Conference Prem) 24 Sep 2011
Wrexham’s Top Goalscorer- Dave Smallman, 5 goals
HOW TO WATCH
Unlike our last two fixtures, the game kicks off inside the Article 48 window, meaning the game can only be live-streamed overseas.
UK supporters who aren't at the STōK Cae Ras can still tune into the fixture by purchasing an audio match pass.
Match, month, and season passes are available to access the commentary.
International subscribers with an iFollow pass can elect to listen to the audio commentary only too.
To view all package options, click here