Wrexham were beaten at Stockport County on Saturday afternoon as Phil Parkinson tasted defeat away from home once again.
Wrexham travelled to Edgeley Park on Saturday for yet another meeting with Stockport County.
The two sides have become real rivals in recent seasons having battled for promotion in the National League and League Two.
We may see Wrexham and Stockport in the League One promotion race this season too, but it was the latter who came out on top on Saturday.
Louie Barry’s goal handed Stockport a 1-0 victory with Wrexham unable to get back into the game.
Phil Parkinson praised goalkeeper Callum Burton for his performance as the Wrexham stopper kept Stockport at bay for large spells.
Stockport County boss on Wrexham clash
This was a frustrating afternoon for Wrexham though and another day where the attacking spark just wasn’t there.
Wrexham are without Jack Marriott and Parkinson has confirmed a setback for Steven Fletcher, but the attacking play has been a concern for a little while now.
New signing Jon Dadi Bodvarsson started up top against Stockport with Paul Mullin on the bench, but it didn’t make much difference.
Wrexham managed just one shot on target against Stockport and it’s always going to be difficult to get results with that kind of attacking output.
Stockport boss Dave Challinor has delivered his verdict on the game, suggesting that Wrexham didn’t create many good chances against his side.
Challinor praised Wrexham as a ‘good side’ and suggested that Parkinson’s side force the opposition to defend for 90 minutes.
Challinor felt that limiting Wrexham so well was a ‘massive pat on the back’ for the Stockport defenders as they kept a clean sheet.
“Towards the end of the game, we’ve obviously still got some tiring legs, you’ve got to dig in,” said Challinor. “You’ve got to make sure the ball stays away from your goal and is away from your box for as long as possible, I thought we did them things really, really well.
“To limit a good side that make you and ask you to defend for the whole 90 minutes to… the opportunities they had, they weren’t very many and were few and far between, it’s a massive pat on the back to our group defensively,” he added.
Wrexham must solve attacking concerns
This was not only another away defeat for Wrexham but another blank in front of goal.
Wrexham’s five defeats across all competitions this season – all away from home – have produced just three goals for Parkinson’s side.
Two came at Sheffield United and one came at Birmingham City, but Wrexham have drawn blanks at Stevenage, Harrogate Town and Stockport.
Wrexham are missing Marriott and Fletcher but it’s difficult to see where the goals are coming from right now.
Paul Mullin has yet to really get his season going in front of goal and Ollie Palmer has not exactly been prolific this season despite some strong performances.
New signing Bodvarsson is not a goalscorer by his own admission whilst Modou Faal is a project for the future and has never started a game in League One.
Perhaps Elliot Lee can chip in with some goals but Wrexham need to find some fluency in attack again – or find more frustrating afternoons to come.
Leave a Reply