Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson has heaped praise on defender Will Boyle after his goal against Sutton United on Tuesday night.
Three defeats in a row meant Phil Parkinson really needed a result as Wrexham headed to South London.
This was always going to be a battle and few could have predicted defender Will Boyle to be the first goalscorer, but he popped up with a calm finish to fire Wrexham in front.
Charlie Lakin appeared to have rescued a point for Sutton United with just 15 minutes to play, sparking fears of a fourth League Two game without a win.
There was a twist in the tale though as Elliot Lee popped up with a late winner, handing Parkinson a much-needed three points with a fine low strike into the net.
Phil Parkinson praises Wrexham defender Will Boyle
Lee was the match-winner but boss Parkinson has raved about defender Boyle whilst speaking to the club’s official YouTube channel.
Parkinson claims that Boyle has been training so well lately and has been putting ‘extra work’ in for weeks now.
Boyle’s red card against Newport County in January was a real setback but he has been putting in the hard yards in training to get back on track.
Parkinson feels that Boyle looked ready to play against Sutton and was simply ‘excellent’, showing ‘real character’ to come back in and shine.
Boyle’s goal was supported by superb defending too with Parkinson hailing his performance in a battling Wrexham victory.
“I was just so pleased for Will,” said Parkinson. “The last game he played, obviously he got sent off against Newport but he’s trained really hard in these last few weeks, he’s done extra work all the time, we looked at him and thought he was ready to take his place tonight.”
“That’s character for me tonight, he showed real character because he was knocked when he get sent off, that was a bad moment for us and for him, but not only did he score a goal, his performance was excellent. He won every header, he did a last-ditch clearance in the first half, he had so many key moments in the game for us tonight,” he added.
Boyle stats v Sutton United
WhoScored handed Boyle an 8.61 rating against Sutton United and therefore made him the Man of the Match.
The 28-year-old racked up 10 successful aerial duels alongside two tackles, two interceptions, eight clearances and even one key pass.
Add in Boyle’s goal and this was a colossal performance which certainly deserved praise.
Boyle will now be desperate to keep hold of his place in the Wrexham back line and Parkinson’s praise will leave him confident of a start against Notts County this weekend.