With Streak In Tact, the Search For a Home Win Goes On
Wrexham head into the international break still in search of that first Racecourse win. Meanwhile, the Women's squad have a blockbuster match on tap.
Wrexham have found consistency, but can’t seem to find the net at the Racecourse.
The Wrecap:
Wrexham AFC 1 - 1 Birmingham City
Taking the pitch just three days after the Leicester match, I couldn’t fault you if you expected to see some squad rotation against Birmingham City. But with the budding reputation of the “Hollywood Derby,” I also can’t fault Phil for only making one change to the starting XI: swapping Doyle and Brunt once again. And it was a promising start for the Reds, who went ahead after just thirteen minutes when Cleworth and Dobson combined headers to give Wrexham the lead. Five minutes later, O’Brien had a great opportunity to double the advantage after the Blues made a mistake at the back, but he mishit the chance…and he wouldn’t be alone. Windass and Kabore had a similar moment around the half-hour mark, but also failed to find the net. Still, Wrexham did well to keep Birmingham at bay until the break…but it was only until the break.
The Blues scored immediately after the second half kicked off…twenty seconds in, to be precise, and they did so far too easily. It was like Wrexham were still in the dressing room as Jay Stansfield played a smooth through ball to Patrick Roberts, who tapped it around Okonkwo with ease. It was a bit embarrassing, to be honest, but Wrexham did grow into the half after that, earning more possession…but failing to create any big chances, one of their key stats thus far in the young season. The result was that Wrexham began playing much better in midfield and defensively, but just couldn’t seem to click in the final third. There wouldn’t be a single shot on target for either side after that, and the result was Wrexham’s third straight 1-1 draw.
It’s a disappointing way to enter the international break, but it wasn’t all bad. Dobson probably had his best outing of the season, and not only due to his goal. He had sixty touches across the full ninety minutes and played ten passes into the final third. He’s my Man of the Match, but Wrexham need to find a way to deliver more firepower farther up the pitch. Kieffer Moore has been excellent…and the opposition knows that, guarding him closely and shutting down his chances early and often. Windass has been lethal, but he’s been a little off his game these last two matches. Someone needs to step up as another goalscoring threat, and it needs to come from midfield.
Read the full report from Wrexham here.
And watch the highlights here or below:
Match Facts:
Starting Lineup:
Okonkwo, Doyle, Hyam (Scarr 88’), Cleworth, Kabore (Barnett 88’), Dobson, Sheaf (M. James 70’), Longman (McClean 88’), O’Brien, Windass (Broadhead 70’), Moore.
Bench:
Burton, Brunt, Scarr, Barnett, Thomason, M. James, McClean, Broadhead, Smith.
Goals:
WXM — Dobson (13’)
BIR — Roberts (46’)
Yellow Cards:
WXM — None
BIR — Koumas (83’)
Women:
Swansea City 1 - 3 Wrexham AFC
The Wrexham Women, on the other hand, were all over the final third last weekend, besting Swansea City by three goals to one to maintain pace with Cardiff City at the top of the table. Ava Suckley and Katie Barker both scored within the first fifteen minutes, with fan favorite Lili Jones tacking on some insurance in the second half. The result gives Wrexham nine goals in their last two matches…but even that isn’t enough to put them above Cardiff, who unloaded on Aberystwyth Town with a 6-1 win. The two squads are tied with twelve points and identical records, but the Bluebirds have still scored seven more goals than the Reds to maintain the top spot.
Read the full report from Wrexham here.
And watch the highlights here or below:
Match Facts:
Starting Lineup:
Craven, Davies, Bartle, Lovett, Snape, C. Jones, L. Jones, Smith, Suckley (Hughes 80’), Barker, Iddenden (Mahmood 69’).
Bench:
Ankers, Nash, Allen, Burke, Adams, Mahmood, Hughes
Goals:
SWA — John (24’)
WXM — Suckley (8’), Barker (12’), Jones (59’)
Yellow Cards:
SWA — Turner (89’), Williams (90+2’)
WXM — Suckley (45’)
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Current Tables
Championship
Adran Premier
News from the Week:
That Wrexham Podcast with Ben and (sometimes) Ben
Last Thursday marked the premiere of That Wrexham Podcast, hosted by former Wrexham stars Ben Tozer and “guest host” Ben Foster, produced by Foster’s Cycling GK Studios. The new show will drop two episodes a week: “The Monday Show,” which will “break down the weekend’s action and all the latest goings-on in and around the football club,” and “The Thursday Show,” where they’ll “they’ll sit down with a very special guest.” The first two episodes dropped last Thursday, and both featured special guests: Andy Cannon and Wayne Jones, owner of The Turf. Cannon discussed the realities of suffering a long-term injury, while Jones got into some of the harsher truths that came along with his sudden fame from the documentary.
The first Monday show…never actually dropped? As of this writing, the initial two episodes are the only ones to air on the feed or on YouTube.
The Week Ahead
No men’s matches due to the international break.
Next Wrexham match is 10/18 at Stoke City
Women:
10/12 vs Cardiff City
US: Paramount+, iFollow. UK: Skysports+
9am EST / 2:00pm BST
In terms of Wrexham matches, the Women have the week all to themselves, and they could hardly have picked a better match for the spotlight to shine on: Cardiff City. The top two teams in the Adran Premier go head-to-head at home, and we could see some real fireworks as a result. Cardiff remain the threat they usually are, but Sugarman’s Wrexham squad have shown they are not the same squad Cardiff has been facing for the last two years. I’m expecting a multi-goal outing from both sides in what promises to be a thoroughly entertaining grudge match between these two foes.