Wrexham slumped to a home defeat on Tuesday night, losing 2-1 to a red-hot Leyton Orient side.
Wrexham picked up a superb win over the weekend, beating Northampton Town 2-0 on the road.
Phil Parkinson’s men were back at home on Tuesday night though, welcoming Richie Wellens’ Leyton Orient side to the Stōk Cae Ras.
Ollie Rathbone fired Wrexham in front and gave fans hope of a fifth straight victory in all competitions.
Orient hit back though with Charlie Kelman finding the leveller before Jamie Donley won it.
Darren Pratley’s red card gave Wrexham hope but after a couple of goalmouth scrambles came to nothing, Wrexham were beaten at home once again.
Home run well and truly over
Wrexham fans may have had a sense of trepidation heading into Tuesday’s game.
The last Tuesday night League One game at the STōK Cae Ras saw Wrexham fall 3-2 to Stevenage.
That result ended Wrexham’s unbeaten home record this season, but Wrexham at least responded with a win over Bolton Wanderers in the EFL Trophy last week.
Fans will have been fearing a repeat of the Stevenage nightmare though, especially with Leyton Orient in such brilliant form of late.
Orient did a number on Wrexham just like Stevenage and Parkinson will be keen to arrest this slide in home league form.
Tuesday’s clash was always going to be tough but having responded with four wins in a row after losing to Stevenage, Wrexham must now build again.
Ollie Rathbone continues to shine
Wrexham paid ‘significant’ money to sign Ollie Rathbone from Rotherham United over the summer and it took a while for him to really get going.
Breaking into the Wrexham midfield wasn’t easy earlier in the season but Rathbone has now made the engine room his own.
Rathbone was brilliant against Northampton Town on Saturday, scoring the second goal in a 2-0 win.
The 28-year-old popped up with another goal on Tuesday night, putting Wrexham in front with a fine finish.
Rathbone would have been hoping to inspire another win but it just wasn’t meant to be.
That shouldn’t take away from Rathbone’s form though with the midfielder really stepping up as an attacking threat from midfield in the absence of Elliot Lee.
Phil Parkinson may regret lack of changes
It’s easy to point to tired legs after a midweek defeat but Phil Parkinson may well regret not making a few more changes.
Wrexham are in the midst of a busy period right now with EFL Trophy and League One games coming thick and fast.
Parkinson felt ‘prepared’ for Wrexham’s busy period, pointing to a strong squad at his disposal.
The Wrexham boss still named an unchanged team from the trip to Northampton though and that maybe wasn’t the best move.
Orient had so much energy during the game and Parkinson may, with hindsight, feel that some fresher legs in the starting XI could have made an impact.
We can understand Parkinson wanting to keep the momentum from Saturday’s win but perhaps the old adage of ‘you don’t change a winning team’ could have been forgotten tonight with Wrexham looking half a yard short of Orient.
Paul Mullin left out again
Parkinson not only named an unchanged starting XI but also named the exact same bench as on Saturday too.
That meant Paul Mullin again being left out of the squad – and it’s nothing to do with injury.
Parkinson has confirmed that Mullin is fit to play but simply not being selected right now.
That is quite the fall for the Wrexham goal hero and his continued absence on Tuesday night showed that he faces a real fight to get back involved.
Some may have expected Mullin to be back involved but Parkinson clearly believes that other strikers are ahead of him in the pecking order right now.
All four of Wrexham’s strikers involved on the night – Sam Smith, Jay Rodriguez, Steven Fletcher and Jack Marriott – drew blanks in front of goal though, which may just give Mullin some hope of a return.
Wycombe Wanderers take full advantage
Wrexham closed the gap to Wycombe Wanderers with that victory at Northampton on Saturday.
Just two points behind the Chairboys heading into Tuesday’s fixtures, Wrexham were looking to really pile the pressure on.
Instead, Wrexham have suffered a home defeat and Wycombe have picked up a valuable 2-0 win over Bristol Rovers.
Cameron Humphreys and Daniel Udoh grabbed the goals, handing Wycombe a fairly comfortable victory.
Just like that, the gap is back to five points with Wrexham’s fine work over the weekend already somewhat undone by two results which just didn’t go Wrexham’s way.