Wrexham slipped up in the League One promotion race, drawing 1-1 at home with Bristol Rovers on Friday afternoon.
The Easter weekend was always going to be crucial in the battle for promotion from League One.
Sadly, it hasn’t started well for Wrexham.
Phil Parkinson watched on as Wrexham only drew 1-1 with Bristol Rovers on Friday.
Taylor Moore’s opener was cancelled out by a Matty James leveller, but there was to be no typical Wrexham late show.
To make matters worse, Wrexham saw Wycombe Wanderers beat Bolton Wanderers 2-0 to claim second place with just three games to go.
Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesBristol Rovers defender on Wrexham approach
Wrexham boasted 65% of possession against Bristol Rovers but couldn’t really make it count.
This was a troubling performance and one which will leave fans fearing that automatic promotion is fading away.
There is still time for Wrexham to overtake Wycombe Wanderers again, but the games are running out now.
Bristol Rovers defender Taylor Moore – the man who headed the visitors in front on Friday – has commented on the victory and Wrexham’s style of play.
Moore told the Bristol Rovers official website that he feels Wrexham are ‘really good’ from crosses into the box.
James’ leveller did come from a Ryan Longman cross, but Moore highlighted that Bristol Rovers ‘worked tirelessly’ ahead of Friday’s game in an effort to halt Wrexham’s quality from wide areas.
“I think, all in all, that was a really good performance from us,” said Moore.
“We haven’t been pretty all season, and now’s the time that we’re not worried about being pretty, we’re worried about results. I just think the way we battled today and the way we limited Wrexham in their chances and their threats.
“We worked tirelessly all week. We actually worked really, really hard on dealing with the crosses. We know they are really good at doing that. So, we can actually hold our heads really high,” he added.
Wrexham need more than just crossing
Wrexham have been so dangerous from crosses this season with Ryan Barnett particularly causing mayhem.
Moore is far from the first player to point out Wrexham’s style of play.
Bolton’s Will Forrester suggested Wrexham’s approach is ‘not the most attractive’ and Paul Merson claimed Parkinson’s style is ‘not entertaining’, but gets results.
That is all well and good when the ball goes in the net, but Wrexham have endured some frustrating results in 2025.
Ollie Palmer’s exile means Wrexham’s top aerial threat isn’t even involved now, and these draws become frustrating where crosses are coming in but nobody is on the end of them.
Wrexham sit top of the League One table for accurate crosses with 253, but also third for inaccurate crosses with 746.
Wrexham also sit second for key passes from crosses in League One this season with 141, just behind Rotherham United.
No matter what happens in terms of the promotion race, Wrexham must become a more dynamic team moving forward and not rely on crosses quite so heavily as the team continues to develop and grow.