Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Accrington Stanley at Wham Stadium dealt a blow to Wrexham’s hopes of making it up to League Two.
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Tommy Leigh and Rosaire Longelo’s goals in the second half caused the Welsh team to lose their 11-game unbeaten streak in all competitions and knock them out of the automatic promotion spots. Just after the half, Paul Mullin had a chance to put the visitors ahead, but he was only able to hit the bar after Elliot Lee’s through ball.
Then, just after the break, Jordan Davies, who had replaced Mullin and James McClean, who were playing for their countries, gave up a penalty after bringing down Matt Lowe in the box. Leigh scored the next penalty kick, and with 17 minutes remaining, it was 2-0 after Arthur Okonkwo, an Arsenal loanee, missed a long-range attempt and Longelo scored the rebound.
Deep into second-half stoppage time, Mullin crashed a penalty onto the crossbar, capping off an incredibly disappointing afternoon. Wrexham dropped to fourth in the table, behind rivals Notts County on goal difference, despite possessing 57% of the play, with just nine shots on goal compared to the home team’s 14.
THE MVP: Accrington’s 24-year-old defender, Rose Longelo, scored the second goal to seal the three points at a time when Wrexham would have thought they had plenty of time to rally back into the game. Even though Okonkwo believed he was kicked the ball out of his hands, he demonstrated a genuine desire to advance and jump on the rebound. It would have been unjust if the call had gone against him.
LARGE LOSER
Arthur Okonkwo: Although Mullin missed a late penalty kick and Davies gave up a penalty, it was Okonkwo, an Arsenal loanee, who made a real mistake that led to Accrington’s second goal. That finally put Wrexham out of the running for the game.
Ahead, what’s next?
Next Saturday, Wrexham will host Morecambe at home in their return to League Two action. However, the Red Dragons may face consequences because some of the decisions that went against them during the game appeared to have infuriated their supporters, who then appeared to throw objects onto the field.
