Wrexham were back in Championship action on Saturday afternoon, taking on Derby County.
John Eustace’s Rams made the trip to North Wales with just one win to their name this season.
On paper, it’s a game that Wrexham should have been winning if they are to stay away from a relegation scrap this season.
The Red Dragons began the weekend in 16th place after seeing off Norwich City in their last Championship fixture.
However, Phil Parkinson and co. were still aiming to finally win a home league match in 2025/26.
They were much-improved against Norwich despite some questionable decisions from Arthur Okonkwo, while they kept a rare clean sheet in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.
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Phil Parkinson’s one change for Wrexham vs Derby County
After they beat Norwich last time out, not many changes were expected to be made against Derby.
When the team news came out on Saturday afternoon, Parkinson decided to start Lewis Brunt.
The centre-back was excellent in the club’s two most recent wins and was rewarded with his first start in the Championship since August.
Brunt came back into the side in his favoured left-centre-back role, with Callum Doyle dropping out.
The rest of the eleven was exactly the same as last week, with midweek goalscorers Nathan Broadhead and Sam Smith earning places on the bench.
Issa Kabore among those to impress for Wrexham vs Derby County
Derby started the tie on the front foot and could easily have scored less than a minute in if not for a poor attempt on goal.
Lewis O’Brien was lucky to remain on the pitch as well following his challenge on Ebou Adams, which resulted in him being shown a yellow card.
The first half came to a close with Derby having the better of the clash, testing the Dragons’ backline on several occasions.
However, it was a fairly drab 45 from an attacking perspective, but at least Wrexham did not concede.
The chances improved in the second half with Derby’s Max Johnston nearly scoring an own goal before going down the other end to test Arthur Okonkwo.
Okonkwo was forced into another good save in the 56th minute, looking much improved from last week.
Wrexham took the lead shortly before the hour mark when Issa Kabore whipped a brilliant cross into the box for Lewis O’Brien to run onto.
Their clean sheet disappeared by the 71st minute, however, when Ben Brereton Diaz smashed a stunning effort in from the edge of the box to secure Derby a point.
Winners: Okonkwo, Kabore, Brunt, O’Brien