It was a night that too many in City colours slipped below the standards expected of Gerhard Struber’s side.
21:45, 26 Nov 2025Updated 21:50, 26 Nov 2025
Bristol City goalkeeper Radek Vitek (left) scores an own goal, Wrexham’s second goal of the game, during the Sky Bet Championship match at the SToK Cae Ras, Wrexham. (Image: PA)
Bristol City stretched their winless run away from Ashton Gate to three matches as they slipped outside of the Championship play-off places with a 2-0 defeat to Wrexham at the STōK Racecourse on Wednesday evening.
A first-half strike from Nathan Broadhead and a second-half Radek Vitek own goal proved to be enough for Phil Parkinson’s side to secure all three points in North Wales, on a night that too many in City colours slipped below the standards expected of Gerhard Struber’s side.
Broadhead curled the hosts into the lead with a long-range shot after just 16 minutes, before Wrexham extended their advantage when Vitek accidentally turned into his own net with a little over a quarter of an hour left to play.
Defeat against last season’s League One runners-up is enough to see the Robins drop out of the Championship top six. After 17 matches, City find themselves seventh in the second tier, one point adrift of sixth-placed Preston North End ahead of Saturday lunchtime’s trip to Fratton Park to face Portsmouth.
Struber opted to make three changes to the team that got the better of Swansea City at Ashton Gate last time out. Sinclair Armstrong and Neto Borges dropped to the bench and were replaced by Yu Hirakawa and Haydon Roberts, while Mark Sykes started in place of Scott Twine, who was missing from the squad in its entirety after suffering from soreness in the lead-up.
The opening exchanges were dominated by Wrexham, and although they had to wait a quarter of an hour to find the opener, it was a special strike from Broadhead that handed them the lead. The midfielder received the ball to the left of the Reds’ penalty area and, with his right foot, excellently curled beyond Vitek and into the top right corner.
Although the home side continued to pile on the pressure after Broadhead’s strike, it was City who had the next big chance of the evening. After a smart break from Yu Hirakawa, possession was worked to Anis Mehmeti on the left side of the penalty area, and the Albanian international opted to quickly shoot with his left foot. As some in the away end shaped to celebrate, the ball flew up and over Arthur Okonkwo’s crossbar and into the stand for a goal kick.
Directly from the resulting goal kick, the hosts missed a huge opening of their own. A long ball broke free for George Dobson, and having made his way into the penalty area, the midfielder lifted an effort beyond Vitek in search of the bottom right corner. To City’s fortune, it trickled beyond the post before the onrushing Kieffer Moore could turn home.
The Robins grew into the remainder of the first half and headed into the break having seen a goal disallowed. With less than 10 minutes until the break, Ross McCrorie turned home from close range after Emil Riis had challenged Okonkwo inside the penalty area, but the referee felt the Dane had fouled the home side’s stopper and awarded Wrexham a free-kick to send City into half-time trailing.
Struber’s side seemed to return from the second half with a greater spring in their step, but it was the home team who had the first shot after the restart. In quick succession, both George Thomason and Moore fired wide of the target, before City spurned chances of their own as McCrorie dragged a left-footed effort wide of the post and Mehmeti failed to find Mark Sykes with a routine through ball all before the hour mark.
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The frenetic nature of the start of the second period continued for much of the remainder of the contest, with Moore never that far away from the action. The Wales international was denied on the 70th-minute mark by a superb save from Vitek, with the United loanee reacting quickly to claw away the follow-up, having parried from close range initially.
Vitek’s evening took a turn for the worse a matter of moments later, however, as he put the result beyond doubt with a first own goal in City colours. The Robins stopper inadvertently turned Thomason’s deep corner into the back of his own net after the Wrexham midfielder curled directly onto the inside of the far post, and then the 22-year-old, to double the hosts’ advantage.
The closing exchanges played out with little fanfare as both sides struggled to create many chances of any real note. Ultimately, the Reds left North Wales having suffered a five league loss of the campaign.
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