Doncaster Rovers won their fifth game on the bounce, as Owen Bailey’s first ever EFL goal was the difference against Wrexham at the Eco-Power Stadium.
Just as first half added time was about to be announced, James Maxwell’s cross was headed in off the post by Bailey, as he gave the home side the lead after an even first 45 minutes.
The former Gateshead player was able to get the perfect jump in up against Will Boyle, who was back-pedalling and unable to assert himself in the air.
The task against Rovers was always going to be a difficult one with their impressive recent form, and this was made even more evident after their start to the game. There was a twenty-minute spell where Wrexham began to liven-up to the game, but few chances sprung from this, and Doncaster’s goal was a real sucker-punch right before half-time.
Phil Parkinson said post-match: “There were too many cheap giveaways in the first half and when the moments came, we didn’t make the keeper work enough.”
After being down at the break, Parkinson opted to bring on Ryan Barnett for Luke Bolton to try and exploit Maxwell being on a booking. The wing-back's famous step-overs were wielded out time and time again, but no crosses found the head of a Wrexham player.
Two big chances for the Red Dragons were however headers. Boyle should have scored with a free header off Tom O’Connor’s cross in the 51st minute and Timothée Lo-Tutala had to produce a clawed save in the 97th minute to deny Steven Fletcher.
Although the all-important chance fell in the 77th minute to the perfect candidate, sitting on 99 Wrexham goals. Paul Mullin made no mistake in tapping the ball in at the far-post, as he has done so many times during his Wrexham tenure. However, the flag instantly went up, as the number ten was standing in an offside position from Eoghan O’Connell’s clever backheel, which may have been heading in anyway.
Regardless of Wrexham only amounting one shot on target, there were sufficient chances made to win the game.
Despite Parkinson substituting all three centre backs (a statistic only occurring twice before in Wrexham’s history) and making use of his five substitutions, the equaliser just wouldn’t come.
On another day, Boyle and Fletcher's headers would have found the back of the net and a different story would have followed Wrexham’s night in Yorkshire.
The impressive 3-1 victory against Grimsby Town wasn’t filled with masses of shots on target, but Wrexham were simply ruthless in front of the net that day.
Parkinson added to this: “When the chances came at Grimsby [Town], we were absolutely clinical, but tonight we didn’t have that about us.”
It remains that the Red Dragons are still in the automatic promotion places, but a chance was missed to leapfrog Mansfield Town with their game being postponed at home to Accrington Stanley.
An away trip to Essex now dawns for Wrexham, standing as their penultimate away trip of the season, with the run-in continuing to heat up.
