Paul Mullin’s spectacular hat-trick in the first half helped Wrexham defeat Accrington Stanley 4-0 and increase their chances of promotion.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Mullin got things underway after just 17 minutes, nodding in Ryan Barnett’s cross, and the Red Dragons quickly built a four-goal advantage against John Coleman’s team. Shortly after, Mullin scored his second goal by driving it into the net’s corner, making it two. And after just 35 minutes, the 29-year-old finished off his hat-trick, this time turning Elliot Lee’s accurate pass to effectively end the game.
MORE DETAILS
After just 17 minutes, Mullin opened the scoring for the Red Dragons by nodding in a cross from Ryan Barnett, and they soon had a four goal lead over John Coleman’s squad. Mullin made it two goals shortly after that, driving the ball into the corner of the net. And just 35 minutes later, the 29-year-old completed his hat-trick, this time by converting an accurate feed from Elliot Lee to put the game out of reach.
THE STAR
Of course, Paul Mullin—how could it be anyone else? This season, the 29-year-old hasn’t always had his way and has occasionally found himself benched. Nevertheless, as seen by his 38 league goals in the promotion-winning campaign the previous season, he is a master goal scorer, and he was at the top of his game here with his second hat-trick of the 2023–24 campaign. fatal.
THE MAJOR SLagger
It’s got to be Lewis Shipley. The Accrington defender, on loan from Norwich City, was rightly given a straight red card for an awful late challenge on Andy Cannon that was lucky not to have injured the Wrexham midfielder. It wasn’t the first time he’d been targeted either, with substitute Josh Woods very fortunate not to have been sent off himself for a similarly disgraceful studs-up tackle on Wrexham’s unfortunate No.20.
NEXT WHAT HAPPENS?
Wrexham’s first victory in four games will cheer Phil Parkinson and help them regain momentum in their promotion campaign. Despite having a game in hand, Nigel Clough’s team is now only three points behind Mansfield Town at the top of League Two, where the Red Dragons currently sit. The next match is a difficult away test at Morecambe, where it is unlikely that the team in ninth place will have an easy time.
