Wrexham couldn’t claim a victory against Wigan Athletic on Saturday afternoon, but Phil Parkinson will be pleased with a clean sheet.
Wrexham’s lead over Wycombe Wanderers has been cut down to just one point as the League One promotion race heads into its final four games.
Wycombe beat Huddersfield Town in midweek to take advantage of their game in hand, before beating Stevenage 1-0 on Saturday.
Wrexham only drew with Wigan Athletic on Saturday, failing to register a single shot on target in a 0-0 draw.
In a game low on quality, Wrexham just couldn’t find the key moment to break Wigan down, though Phil Parkinson was unhappy at not receiving a penalty in the second half.
If you can’t win, then at least don’t lose – but Wrexham did have Arthur Okonkwo to thank in the second half.
Photo by Kevin Hodgson/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesPhil Parkinson on Arthur Okonkwo
Wigan weren’t exactly any more dangerous than Wrexham, registering two shots on target to Wrexham’s zero.
One of those chances came in the second half as Maleace Asamoah blazed away down the right flank.
Few in Wrexham red could catch Asamoah, but Okonkwo stood strong to keep his shot out and preserve his clean sheet.
Wrexham boss Parkinson has hailed Okonkwo whilst speaking on Wrexham Match Day Live following Saturday’s draw.
Parkinson noted that the Asamoah chance was a ‘bad moment’ for Wrexham, having given the ball away from a corner.
Parkinson praised Okonkwo as ‘tremendous’, though, highlighting that he is an ‘imposing figure’ in one-on-one situations.
“It was a bad moment for us really, because we had a corner and we gave it away, but Arthur was tremendous,” said Parkinson.
“He’s an imposing figure in those situations and made a key save,” he added.
Arthur Okonkwo chasing clean sheet award
Okonkwo’s clean sheet on Saturday now takes him onto 17 clean sheets in just 29 League One games this season.
Okonkwo was benched by Parkinson for a period earlier this season, as he needed more time to find his form after returning from injury.
To rack up 17 clean sheets in 29 games is pretty astonishing, with Okonkwo boasting a clean sheet percentage of 58.6%.
Okonkwo is tied on 17 clean sheets with Birmingham City’s Ryan Allsop, but the Blues goalkeeper has played three more games this season.
Wrexham stopper Okonkwo would no doubt love to take the clean sheet award for himself, but has just a handful of games to sneak ahead of Allsop outright.
Okonkwo is just so good that he may well take top spot on his own, with Wrexham no doubt eyeing more clean sheets before the end of the campaign.