Phil Parkinson was left thinking what could have been after his Wrexham side stumbled to a second league loss this season at Stevenage.
The Red Dragons have faltered in recent weeks following their loss to Birmingham City at St Andrews before being held to a goalless draw to struggling Leyton Orient. The result at the Lamex Stadium keeps Wrexham in second but have lost ground to the sides below them including Stockport County and Mansfield Town.
Louis Thompson was the difference maker after grabbing an early goal for The Boro and despite the best efforts of the Welsh club, could not break down the defence and find the equaliser. Speaking to the Wrexham Leader following the game, former Bolton Wanderers boss Parkinson broke down what he thought of the game.
He said: “The first 10 minutes of the game we started really brightly. We carried on where we left off in the last 35 minutes at the weekend but the goal knocked us too much.
“We never got going after the goal in the first half, apart from two or three moments where we got the ball in to (Steven) Fletcher and mounted an attack.
“But they hurried us out of possession. We weren’t quick enough to make angles, we weren’t quick enough to react to their intensity, everything became horrid and we became second best in the second ball scrap as well as footballing ability.”
Despite holding onto the ball for the majority of the game, Wrexham failed to create any clearcut chances, only having one shot on target through Elliott Lee’s header in the second half. It was a resolute performance from Alex Revell’s defence, making 32 clearances and nine interceptions.
It is a performance that Stevenage have shown throughout the season, having amassed the best defensive record in League One this campaign, only conceding five times, joined by Wigan Athletic. They have only let a solitary goal in whilst playing at home, being beaten by Lincoln City through a Jack Moylan penalty.
Discussing how his opponents set up, Parkinson added: “They are a physical team, a hard team to play against. They play into areas and they kind of smother you a little bit on this tight pitch.
“But my disappointment was not reacting after the goal.
“We gave it everything we have got in terms of effort but not produced a moment to get us back in it because I think if we had got one, we would have gone on and won the game.”
The Red Dragons face Northampton Town at The Racecourse this weekend, who have only won twice this season against Huddersfield Town and Exeter City. It marks the first competitive fixture between the two sides since 2006 when both played in League Two.
Writer’s View
It was a case of similar issues emerging once more for Wrexham and was fairly similar to what happened after Birmingham City came back from behind during their clash. Jack Marriott claimed an early goal that day but were ultimately outclassed by The Blues and it seemed that Stevenage similarly had Wrexham’s number for most of that game. They cannot focus too much on that though and will get a chance to redeem themselves against Northampton with the backing of The Racecourse Ground.
The game was a great result for The Boro and felt like a statement that they are not a team to be messed with lightly. They have already caught out Charlton Athletic and Barnsley and have now added Wrexham to that list. The defensive prowess they have displayed this season is to be feared and will now face a Peterborough United side quickly spiralling into a very tricky situation under Darren Ferguson. Stevenage are certainly going to be contenders at the sharp end of the table this season.
Football journalist with The Real EFL since 2023. A 2024 Multimedia Journalism graduate from the University of Salford, Lewis specialises in Salford City FC and EFL coverage.
