Wrexham came from behind to beat Port Vale 4-1 on Tuesday night, moving another step closer to a potential Wembley final.
Phil Parkinson pick up a big League One win at Crawley Town on Saturday but had to put the Wrexham promotion push to the back of his mind on Tuesday night.
EFL Trophy action took centre stage as Wrexham’s postponed trip to Port Vale from January finally took place.
Wrexham made a dreadful start though with Ronan Curtis firing past Arthur Okonkwo inside 20 seconds as Sebastian Revan failed to deal with early danger.
Wrexham could have folded but hit back through Andy Cannon before taking complete control after the break.
Teenager Harry Ashfield fired Wrexham ahead with Elliot Lee and Modou Faal adding the gloss in a 4-1 thrashing.
Ryan Longman sends message to Wrexham fans
This was a hugely positive night for Wrexham and especially for Ryan Longman.
Longman recently joined Wrexham from Hull City in a £500,000 move but has been limited to substitute appearances so far.
Tuesday’s game saw Longman start for the first time and he certainly delivered as Wrexham’s right wing back.
Longman’s quick feet and drive to the byline allowed him to pick out Ashfield to score before then supplying Lee’s goal too.
That’s not only two assists on the night for Longman but three in a matter of days having also set up Lee’s winner at Crawley Town on Saturday.
Longman is showing his quality early on at Wrexham and he believes that this is just a glimpse of what he can offer.
Speaking to Wrexham’s official YouTube channel, Longman noted that he is trying to build his fitness up right now.
Longman is looking forward to playing more games in a Wrexham shirt and is hoping to show Wrexham fans even more of his quality moving forward.
“I’m really looking forward to it and I really just want to get my minutes up so I can get back to full fitness,” said Longman.
“That’s a little glimpse of me and hopefully there’s a bit more from me to come,” he added.
It’s exciting to hear that Longman doesn’t even feel at full tilt yet; if he can bag two assists whilst still finding his feet, he may well become a fan favourite at Wrexham once in full flow.
Longman offers Ryan Barnett genuine competition
Wrexham tried to strengthen at right wing back in last year’s January transfer window.
Luke Bolton arrived from Salford City with Wrexham believing that he was ideal competition for Ryan Barnett.
That hasn’t really happened though; Barnett has been an assist machine in League One whereas Bolton has barely featured.
It’s clear that Parkinson didn’t have big plans for Bolton moving forward given his investment in Longman.
The early signs look good; Longman can take on defenders just like Barnett and his delivery into the box seems just as dangerous too.
The idea of one Ryan tiring out a full back and the other coming on is a terrifying one and Longman is currently showing that he really can push Barnett all the way at Wrexham.