Wrexham have moved another step closer to promotion after beating Mansfield Town 2-0 at the STōK Cae Ras on Friday afternoon.
This was billed as a huge game for Wrexham with the end of the League Two campaign now in sight.
Mansfield were League Two leaders heading into Friday’s clash, just three points ahead of Wrexham as they prepared for a six-pointer.
After a cagey opening, Wrexham found the opener with Paul Mullin scoring from close range.
Mullin added number two from the penalty spot after Luke Bolton had been brought down on his way to goal.
That foul appeared to occur outside of the penalty area but Mullin wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity to slam home yet another goal.
Wrexham saw out the game and took an enormous step towards promotion with one player in particular earning huge praise…
Andy Morrell on Max Cleworth
Wrexham’s opener may go down as an Andy Cannon assist as he put the ball into the box for Mullin to tap home.
We can’t overlook the impact of Max Cleworth though as the defender made his goal happen.
Cleworth drove out from the back before threading a superb ball to Cannon, splitting the Mansfield midfield in the process.
That kind of line-breaking pass from a centre back is exactly what coaches want in the modern game and Cleworth is really developing into an exciting right-sided centre back.
Coaches who run three-man defences may well be watching Cleworth with interest ahead of the summer transfer window but Wrexham fans are just enjoying his progress this season.
Former Wrexham striker Andy Morrell has now joined in with the praise for Cleworth, taking to social media to state ‘how good is Max Cleworth!’
Morrell added that Cleworth has a ‘big future’ ahead of him, with Wrexham fans no doubt hoping that his future is at the STōK Cae Ras – at least for a little while yet.
Cleworth has been on the Wrexham books since the age of just 12 and has now progressed up through the ranks.
So much of the Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds era has seen Wrexham bring in experienced, proven players to try and move up through the leagues.
James McClean, Elliot Lee, Paul Mullin, Ollie Palmer, Steven Fletcher all spring to mind in this regard.
Cleworth’s rise through the ranks has been a nice complement to that experience, becoming a very impressive League Two defender this season.
Friday’s display was one of Cleworth’s best and we would love to see his Wrexham rise continue in League One next season; just one more final push needed to make that a reality.