Andy Cannon, a midfielder for Wrexham, is approaching Friday’s tantalizing top-of-the-table matchup with Mansfield Town like any other.
The Racecourse will host a live television match between Wrexham and the League Two leaders as they continue their promotion pursuit.
With their impressive 3-1 victory over Grimsby Town on Saturday at Blundell Park, Phil Parkinson’s team remains three points behind the Stags, who were restricted to a 1-1 draw by Colchester.
With a game remaining, Stockport leads Wrexham by one point, while MK is in fourth place. With one more game played, the Dons are three points behind the Reds, while Crewe Alexandra and Barrow are also in the running.
There are seven games left for Wrexham, and while the matchup with a contender for promotion carries particular importance, Cannon says they are all crucial.
The midfielder told the Wrexham Leader, “From now until the end of the season, every game is a big game and Mansfield is no different.”
We’re just playing this game like we would any other.
“This stage of the season is full of twists and turns, but all we can do is concentrate on ourselves, play to the best of our abilities, and hopefully win.”
“Mansfield is performing incredibly well, but everyone is aware of our goals. Hopefully, we perform for the audience and achieve the desired outcome.
Wrexham had only managed to pick up one point from their opening two games and had lost both of their encounters at Racecourse—a 1-0 derby loss to Tranmere and a goalless draw against Harrogate.
The Reds responded to Cannon’s insistence that the players recover their shooting form by defeating Grimsby 3–0 in the first half.
“I had a nice day at work today,” the 28-year-old remarked. “In the last two games, we had opportunities, but we missed them.
We knew we needed to improve in front of goal because, as a squad, we are used to scoring goals.
We had a fantastic 45 minutes and achieved some excellent goals. We scored three goals in the first half, which was good.
“We achieved the three points, which was the major goal.
“We performed well in challenging circumstances as well, so that is encouraging going into Friday’s match.”
After just five minutes, Cannon gave Wrexham the perfect start, scoring with a low shot from outside the area that struck the bottom corner.
Cannon remarked, “I think I got pulled back just before it.”
“I felt like I got fouled, so I thought I would take a shot and then go back and ask for the free kick.”
However, I believe that because it passed through the defender’s legs, rebounded up in front of him, and entered, I caught the goalkeeper off guard.
Cannon added another goal to make it 2-0 with a fantastic counterattack finish.
After dodging a few challenges in his own end, Paul Mullin found Tom O’Connor, who found Cannon with a brilliant pass through the middle, and the midfielder scored from a tight angle, beating goalkeeper Harvey Cartwright.
“We executed a strong counterattack to score the second goal. “It was excellent from beginning to end,” Cannon continued.
“Mulls performed admirably; he played it out for Tom, and I was able to cross the line and put it away.”
