Wrexham welcomed rivals Stockport County to the Racecourse Ground in a crucial clash at the top of League One.
Phil Parkinson named an unchanged team from the 1-0 win over Wycombe as goal scoring hero Sam Smith continued to lead the line alongside Jay Rodriguez.
Fans demanded an explanation for the absence of Paul Mullin as the striker once again missed out on the matchday squad for the tenth League One game in a row.
Stockport started the game well and dominated the early exchanges before Wrexham had a couple of penalty appeals which eventually was given for a handball in the box.
Rodriguez missed the initial penalty with a good save from keeper Corey Addai but the Wrexham striker then placed the rebound through his legs to open the scoring.
With the game on a knife edge in the second half, Stockport defender Brad Hills was sent off for a second bookable offence following a foul on Ollie Rathbone. The Red Dragons hung on for another vital three points.
Wrexham player ratings vs Stockport
Wrexham grind out another win with another clean sheet in their promotion push, here’s how the Wrexham players rated in their clash with Stockport.
Arthur Okonkwo- 7
Shaky distribution early on from both feet and hands but grew into the game to make a fine finger-tip stop early in the second half from a corner.
Max Cleworth- 8
The consistency of this young defender is remarkable and once again showed great maturity in dealing with the considerable threat of Olaofe, as always composed on the ball and used it well.
Eoghan O’Connell- 8
Colossal performance once again from the physical centre back, dominated in the air as expected and has become such a reliable performer for Parkinson in big moments.
Lewis Brunt- 8
Another strong performance from Brunt at the back as the Red Dragons defence continues to be the foundation for their success.
Ryan Longman- 5
Produced some dangerous deliveries in the opening exchanges but then struggled to get into the game, was well marshalled by Stockport defender Ibou Touray.
James McClean- 4
Caught out a couple of times defensively early on and was fortunate that Olaofe didn’t punish the mistakes. Booked for a strong challenge in the first half and was perhaps fortunate not to see a second yellow with further fouls throughout the game.
McClean offered very little going forward and his place at left wing-back may be an area that Parkinson considers changing with lacklustre performances such as this.
Matty James- 9
Continued his excellent recent form with a stand-out performance in the middle of the park. Showed real composure and outstanding leadership on the ball in a frantic atmosphere.
George Dobson- 8
Booked early in the match for a rash challenge on Callum Camps but then began to deliver some real quality into the box, one pass should have been a penalty for Smith and another did result in a penalty for handball.
Ollie Rathbone- 6
Worked hard as always but a quiet afternoon for Rathbone in terms of attacking threat, it was left more to Dobson to provide the quality service into the front pair. Missed a glorious opportunity to make it 2-0 with a header.
Jay Rodriguez- 7
Looked lively at the start of the game and then the moment that he had been waiting for came along as he converted the rebound from his missed spot kick to open his Wrexham account.
Sam Smith- 7
Intelligent movement and once again fought for every ball that was planted in his area, should have won a penalty in the first half after a beautiful touch left him pulled down in the area.
Substitutes
Steven Fletcher- 6
Replaced Rodriguez with twenty minutes remaining and as always, made his presence known up top.
Ryan Barnett- 6
Came on for Longman with twenty minutes left, worked hard down the right flank and did his defensive duties well as Wrexham hung on for the crucial win.
Elliot Lee- 6
Replaced Dobson with fifteen minutes remaining with the midfielder living dangerously on a booking, worked hard to preserve the lead with some important interceptions.
Jack Marriott- N/A
Replaced Smith with minutes left on the clock to bring fresh legs up top.