Wrexham moved one step closer to winning promotion to League One by beating title hopefuls Mansfield Town 2-0 this afternoon.
Phil Parkinson called for his players to thrive from the atmosphere inside the STōK Cae Ras, and they did exactly that as a Paul Mullin double sent the Reds level on points with Mansfield in third place.
Mullin’s first goal saw him sweep the ball beyond Christy Pym inside the box after being found by Andy Cannon while his second was a rocket of a penalty.
The 29-year-old goal machine stepped up once again this season to go one away from reaching the 100-goal milestone for Wrexham.
Mullin wasn’t the only one on the pitch who turned up for the occasion, though, as January signing Luke Bolton produced a performance to remember.
Luke Bolton just played his best game for Wrexham
Bolton was signed on a permanent deal from League Two rivals Salford City on transfer deadline day.
In truth, it hasn’t been the easiest start to life in Wales for the right wing-back, spending long spells on the bench or out of the squad completely.
The form of Ryan Barnett at right wing-back had kept Bolton out of the starting XI, however, he missed the 3-1 win over Grimsby through injury and despite returning to the squad today, Parkinson kept his trust in Bolton and it paid off.
The 24-year-old was magnificent throughout, not just winning the penalty for Mullin to dispatch, but putting in a colossal display defensively. Bolton made three interceptions, won seven of his nine ground duels and drew four fouls.
Bolton’s impressive performance was labelled as his “best by some distance” since joining from Salford by the Athletic’s Richard Sutcliffe and that was a testament to how well he played.
Luke Bolton is also ‘outstanding’ in training
It’s taken him a while, but it feels like Bolton is finally settling into his role at Wrexham and the high demands set by Parkinson.
Only last week the former Bradford City manager labelled his level of performance in training as “outstanding”, carrying such form on the training field onto the pitch, particularly in the last two matches.
“Bolts was really good, he’s settled in over the last few weeks,” Parkinson said after last weekend’s win over Grimsby. “You can just see he’s getting more comfortable in the environment with us and I thought this week was an outstanding week on the training pitch for Luke and he took it into today’s performance,” he added.
Everyone associated with Wrexham will go home feeling over the moon tonight, especially Bolton, who has just made a huge contribution to the Reds charge towards League One.
Wrexham are next in action on Tuesday night as they go away to Doncaster Rovers.