Injury Bug Bites During Break
Wrexham return to the pitch this Saturday, but they'll be missing some key players as Kaboré headlines a list of recent injuries for the Reds.
Kaboré, Moore, Cacace, Lee, Brunt…the injured list isn’t getting smaller.
The Wrecap:
Women:
Pontypridd United 1 - 6 Wrexham AFC
The Wrexham Women were unwelcome visitors at last-place Pontypridd on Sunday, easily besting the hosts 6-1. They didn’t waste time getting started either, with Ava Suckley scoring in the game’s second minute. Knox doubled things up at the twenty-minute mark, but just after the restart, Pontypridd looked to make a match of it with a quick goal to start the second half. It stayed interesting for a spell, but then the wheels fell off for Pontypridd as Katie Barker collected two goals in three minutes to usher in the final third of the match. Snape and Bartle would add on insurance goals, but the match was wrapped up by then.
Unfortunately, Cardiff City continued to keep the pressure on the Reds with another win of their own, keeping Wrexham in second place on goal differential. However, the lopsided win lowered that goal differential deficit to five goals.
Read the full report from Wrexham here.
And watch the highlights here or below:
Match Facts:
Starting Lineup:
Craven, Lovett (Allen 70’), Bartle, Clark, Mahmood (C.Jones 70’), Smith, Suckley (Hughes 46’), Barker (Iddenden 87’), Hillier-Knox, Snape (Adams 88’), L.Jones.
Bench:
Ankers, Allen, C.Jones, Hughes, Adams, Iddenden
Goals:
PON — Lloyd (46’)
WRX — Suckley (2’), Knox (20’), Barker (72’, 75’), Snapew (86’), Bartle (90+1’)
Yellow Cards:
None
Wrexham U21s 1 - 1 Oxford United Academy
Harry Ashfield returned to the pitch for the academy squad yesterday in the first league match of the season for the U21s against Oxford United. The visitors took the lead before halftime, but only a few minutes after the break, Sammy Chesworth evened the score. Neither side would find a winner, unfortunately, but the headline news here is that Ashfield played 75 minutes as he works his way back from injury to first-team contention.
Read the full report from Wrexham here.
Match Facts:
Starting Lineup:
Egan, Edwards, Kelly, McTweed, Purvis, J. Jones (H. Jones, 90), Chesworth, Rees (Widecki-Estima, 75), Owen, Ashfield (Wakenshaw, 75), Moore
Bench:
O’Keefe, H. Jones, Widecki-Estima, Wakenshaw
Goals:
WRX — Chesworth (47’)
OXF — Missanga (42’)
Yellow Cards:
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Wrexham U18s 0 - 3 Preston North End U18s
The U18s were also on the pitch last week, falling to Preston North End by three decisive goals, ending a three-match undefeated streak. Though they started the game well, they conceded a penalty to the visitors via a handball at 21’. Felipe Rodriguez-Gentile scored from the spot and, just four minutes later, scored another from open play. The visitors added the third just before halftime and never looked back. Wrexham had some promising chances in the second half, but the Preston backline was just too tough for them to crack. They remain in second on the Youth Alliance North table, one point behind rivals Shrewsbury Town.
Read the full report from Wrexham here.
Match Facts:
Starting Lineup:
O’Keefe, May-Hawkins, Moore, McTweed (Thorley, 60), Edwards, Purvis, Murphy (H. Jones, 76), J. Jones, Chesworth, Nolan (Watkin, 60), Biggs (Widecki-Estima, 76)
Bench: Hall, Thorley, H. Jones, Watkin, Widecki-Estima
Goals:
WRX — None
PNE — Rodriguez-Gentile (P-21, 25’) Lescott (40’)
Yellow Cards:
WRX — Biggs (24’), McTweed (27’)
PNE — None
Wrexham U15s 1 - 1 Stockport County Academy
But wait, there’s more! The U15s also saw action last week, drawing with our old pals Stockport County in the Floodlit Cup. As the report from Wrexham puts it, “Floodlit Cup fixtures provided an excellent opportunity for the young Red Dragons to play in front of a crowd and are special dates in the youth football calendar.” Wrexham scored in the first half thanks to Cynan Holdsworth, but the visitors equalized in the second half, with neither defensive line allowing a winner.
Read the full report from Wrexham here.
Match Facts:
Starting Lineup:
Scowen (Atkins, 40’), Al-Dulayymi (Roberts, 62’), Jennings (Williams, 50’), Davies (Wilde, 51’), Mwambila, Saxon, Roberts, Holdsworth, Evans, Beech (Davies, 51’), Nash
Bench:
Atkins, Roberts, Williams, Wilde, Davies
Goals:
WRX — Holdsworth (31’)
STK — Lonergan (65’)
Yellow Cards:
??
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Current Tables
Championship
Adran Premier
News from the Week:
Wrexham’s International Break
Wales advanced to the World Cup qualification playoffs thanks to two wins against Liechtenstein (in which Broadhead started up front) and North Macedonia (in which Broadhead scored late off the bench). The Liechtenstein match was close, with Cymru scoring the only goal after sixty-three minutes, but the North Macedonia match yesterday was a certified blowout: 7-1. That seventh goal belonged to Broadhead, who was subbed on for the last half hour. (Harry Wilson stole the show with a hat trick, however.)
The draw for the playoffs will take place on Thursday, with the matches scheduled to be held in March. They’ll be paired against either Poland, Slovakia, or the Czech Republic in the semi-finals (let’s hope it’s not Poland).
Meanwhile, Umar Nawaz made history as Wrexham’s first Pakistani international, earning his first cap off the bench following a first-half injury. A joyous occasion for the promising Wrexham prospect…but a dreary day for Pakistan, who fell 5-0 to Syria.
But the big news comes out of Burkina Faso, where Issa Kaboré left with an injury…
Parkinson: Kaboré Out Six Weeks
Phil told The Leader yesterday that Kaboré suffered a fairly serious hamstring injury, with the gaffer saying, “it looks like it is going to be at least a six-week injury. When I got the call over the break that Issa was injured, obviously, it wasn’t the best call to take from [physio] Kevin Mulholland.”
This is an enormous blow to Wrexham, where Kaboré has emerged as a key player, quickly securing the right wingback position and becoming one of our breakout players this season. The Ryans — Longman and Barnett — should be the primary beneficiaries of the loanee’s misfortune, however, as Cacace pulled out of Kiwi’s international break with a fresh injury flareup, freeing up both top wingback slots.
Lee Undergoes Knee Surgery
While we’re on the topic of injuries, I neglected to mention in last week’s Wreader that Elliot Lee underwent knee surgery early this month and will be out a minimum of twelve weeks. The decision came after Lee had struggled to play through the issue, and the specialist recommended the operation. Given where Lee lies in the depth chart right now, it was a tough but obvious decision to go under the knife and get Lee back to his full potential.
Meanwhile, Phil provided an update on Danny Ward, saying he hoped to have the Welsh international back “by Christmastime.” Once he returns, I’m assuming Phil will ease him back in, given how well Okonkwo has performed over the last few matches.
The Week Ahead
11/22 at Ipswich Town
US: Paramount+, iFollow. UK: Skysports+
10am EST / 3:00pm BST
Now we travel to Ipswich to face the seventh-best team in the league…who we trail by only two points. Yes, despite the swath of table slots between us, our record is very close to The Tractor Boys’, who we face for only the second time, thirty years after meeting in the 1995 FA Cup, where Wrexham won. This season, however, Ipswich have proven to have one of the best attacks in the league. They rank second in Goals and Expected Goals per Match, Possession, Big Chances, and Accurate Crosses. Their 26-16 goal differential is second only to Coventry’s unreal 40-13.
But how tough a challenge Ipswich proves to be may come down to who we have available. The recent injury bug has claimed Moore, Kaboré, Cacace, and Brunt — all regular starters. Kaboré, as I said above, will likely be replaced by Barnett on the right, as I would expect Longman to cover Cacace’s slot on the left (although they’ve both played on each side, so this could be reversed). Broadhead would be my pick to start ahead of Windass to lead the attack in that scenario.
The extent of Moore and Cacace’s injuries isn’t clear, however, so they could still be back by this weekend. Even so, the Wrexham defenders will have their work cut out for them against this potent front line.
Women: Bute Energy Welsh Cup
11/23 at NFA
US: Paramount+, iFollow. UK: Skysports+
10am EST / 3:00pm BST
The quarter finals of the Welsh Cup are this weekend, and Wrexham face NFA in what really should be a one-sided contest. The third-tier club shouldn’t be what takes this red-hot Wrexham squad down, as the Dragons eye a third consecutive appearance in the final.