Wrexham slipped to a first home defeat of the season to lose ground in the League One promotion race via a shock 3-2 loss to Stevenage.
Dan Kemp and Jamie Reid put the visitors 2-0 up inside 18 minutes. Ollie Rathbone reduced the arrears ten minutes into the second half only for Jake Young’s neat finish to restore the two-goal lead.
Max Cleworth’s 90th minute header proved to be no more than a consolation for Phil Parkinson’s men against a team who had scored just 20 goals in 25 games.
Stevenage remain the lowest scorers in the division but did not care about that as they left Wales with the win.
The Athletic looks at the main talking points.
A relatively dry January for Wrexham…
Five games into 2025 and Wrexham have managed to claim just one win and four points.
With top two Birmingham City and Wycombe Wanderers triumphing on Tuesday night, the latter via a 95th minute winner at home to Barnsley, suddenly the gap to the two automatic promotion places stands at six points.
It is not an insurmountable margin with almost a third of the League One season to play but a cause for concern, especially considering performances have generally been far from great since the turn of the year.
“Nowhere near good enough,” admitted Parkinson after Stevenage had knocked his promotion-chasing side out of their stride with a lively pressing plan.
In contrast to the energetic visitors, Wrexham were way off the pace, the one-sided nature of the first half perhaps best illustrated by how the Wrexham manager broke with convention to make two substitutions at the break.
He had done similar after another poor 45 opening minutes away to Barnsley on New Year’s Day when Steven Fletcher’s arrival from the bench did pep things up, even though the afternoon would end in a 2-1 defeat.
Ollie Palmer gave way on both occasions, the striker joined by Matty James in being replaced on Tuesday night as Fletcher and Paul Mullin came on. Really, though, it could have been anyone in red who gave way after a display that put even greater emphasis on the remaining few days of the transfer window.
Palmer is struggling for goals (Chris Vaughan/Getty Images)
Wrexham have added one new face in wideman Ryan Longman from Hull City. But it’s an open secret that they want more with a big, powerful striker in the Palmer-mould having been a priority since the summer.
Sheffield Wednesday’s Michael Smith has been top of that shopping list throughout but the Championship club have rebuffed all attempts to prise the 6ft 4in striker away. Others are on the radar.
But the clock is now ticking before Monday’s 11pm deadline with all indications being that things are likely to go right down to the wire for a club whose only win this year came at home to lowly Peterborough United.
“We know what we’d like to do,” admits Parkinson. “We are trying to bring players in. If we do, great. But if we don’t then let’s regroup together. We’ve got enough quality in there to have a successful season. Tonight we just didn’t show that.”
Change is coming…
Regardless of what happens in the transfer market over the next few days, Saturday’s trip to struggling Crawley Town seems certain to bring changes.
Parkinson confirmed as much after the Stevenage loss, admitting that those not in the team recently would have every right to knock on his door to ask why after the manner of Tuesday’s first half display.
“I have to look closely at myself,” he says. “I take full responsibility. We have a bit of soul searching to do. That first half performance was not a reflection of what this club is all about. I have to look quickly at that for the reasons why and make sure we pick a team at the weekend who will fight tooth and nail.”
Parkinson was furious with the performance against Stevenage (Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
Lewis Brunt, fit again after being sorely missed since being injured in the final game of 2024, surely has a strong case to return on the left side of defence, while what happens with the attack will be fascinating.
Palmer and Lee plainly didn’t work in the 3-5-1-1 set-up, while Fletcher and Mullin pepped things up after half-time. The midfield looked more cohesive once George Dobson had been restored to the holding role, with the creativity of Rathbone and Lee either side.
All eyes will be on Parkinson’s team selection on Saturday.
What will new signing Longman bring?
Making a big impression via a cameo from the bench on debut when things are going as awry is never easy. Spare a thought, therefore, for Longman, who played the final 17 minutes as a right-back in a rejigged diamond formation.
He had a couple of promising moments. But, such was the frantic nature of the home side’s play, chances to make a difference were few and far between.
With that in mind, what can Wrexham fans expect from their new signing? Versatility, for one, judging by more than 100 Championship appearances and another 44 in League One that have seen the 24-year-old play a variety of positions, including up front when on loan at AFC Wimbledon in 2020-21.
As can be seen from the heat maps below of where he received the ball with Hull and Millwall, he’s primarily been played down each flank over the past three seasons, with a gradual shift across to the left during that time.
When on loan at Millwall last season, he was effective cutting inside on his stronger right foot to net three goals and provide three assists. His numbers at The Den point towards a positive dribbler, with around 26 per cent of his carries last season being progressive. Only Duncan Watmore among his team-mates managed more.
His delivery was decent, too, judging by the then Millwall manager Neil Harris’ comments.
“Longy plays his best football when he’s got space to attack,” Harris told the Southwark News. “He’s got pace and energy and really good end product. He’s got the ability — and it’s a dying art in the modern game — to cross the ball on the run.”
Importantly in terms of what is expected of the wing-backs at Wrexham, he was active defensively for a wide midfielder at Millwall, competing in around 13 duels per game. This put him in the top 15 per cent of Championship players for the 2023-24 campaign.
(Top photo: Mullin shows his frustration after being introduced from the bench. Carl Recine/Getty Images)
