Wrexham clashed with fellow promotion hopefuls Wycombe Wanderers in a game that would go a long way to deciding both team’s fate at the end of the season.
Paul Mullin denied he had fallen out with Phil Parkinson before the game but was once again left out of the squad as Parkinson made three changes from the defeat at Reading.
George Dobson and Ryan Longman returned for the injured duo of Ryan Barnett and Sebastian Revan, whilst Lewis Brunt replaced Thomas O’Connor in defence.
A frenetic first half ended goalless as the game was scrappy as both teams felt their way into the game. Sam Smith came close to opening the scoring in the second half as he hit the post from a stray header in the Wycombe defence.
After a lengthy delay to the game following an illness to a fan in the crowd, Steven Fletcher made another impact from the bench as his header fell to Smith, who fired home a sumptuous volley to win the game.
Wrexham were outstanding in the second half and yet another clean sheet provides the basis for three crucial points, here are the winners and losers from the League One clash with Wycombe Wanderers.
Winners from Wrexham’s clash with Wycombe Wanderers
Max Cleworth
Up against a real tough opponent in Wycombe’s Fred Onyedinma, Cleworth set his stall out from the very first minute of the game with a crunching tackle.
The young defender did not allow the dangerous winger an inch of space all afternoon and was also one of the only Wrexham players to show some composure on the ball too.
Cleworth has been outstanding this season for the Red Dragons but this may have been his best performance yet in such a huge game.
Lewis Brunt
On his first start in five league games Brunt was superb in such a high-profile encounter. He was up against the experienced quality of Garath McCleary and dominated the battle from start to finish.
The defender was commanding in the air and made a number of important blocks and interceptions in order to preserve his side’s clean sheet.
Sam Smith
Smith may not have got his goal but he proved that he is going to be a phenomenal signing for Wrexham if they can start providing him with any sort of service.
The 27-year-old striker played off scraps for the entire game but did not stop hurrying and harassing the Wycombe defence, he almost got his reward on the hour mark once again from his own work as he struck the post.
The moment he deserved came just after the restart as Fletcher kept the ball alive and Smith hit a sweet volley on his left foot into the far corner and it was nothing more than he deserved.
Losers from Wrexham’s clash with Wycombe Wanderers
George Dobson
His return from injury was welcomed following the knocks to other key players against Reading but Dobson looked off the pace from the beginning of the game.
He was caught on the ball multiple times in the early exchanges and was fortunate that nothing came from losing the ball in such dangerous areas.
The midfielder gave away a number of free kicks in dangerous areas too and lacked that usual zip in his passing, perhaps not the game for him to return when not fully match fit.
Jay Rodriguez
Another disappointing and underwhelming display from such an experienced player. What is most frustrating when watching Rodriguez is his lack of awareness of how his positioning is affecting the side.
He continues to come deep for the ball and leaves his strike partner Smith extremely isolated in attack, he needs to get closer to Smith and become the goal threat he was signed to be.